PA Gubernatorial Nominee Mastriano's Home Site Of Dance Protest

FRANKLIN COUNTY, PA — Call it "Footloose" in Franklin County.

The 1984 movie, starring Kevin Bacon, focused on a teen rebellion against an ultra-conservative minister and small town-council that had banned dancing and rock music within its borders. The situation wasn't entirely identical outside of Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano's home recently, but a group spent nearly an hour dancing outside of the far-right state senator's home.

About two dozen dancers from across the state came to the event, in which music was played through a portable speaker. Many were college-age who bonded not just over their ability to cut a rug but also through activist activities on issues such as LGBTQ rights, police reform and environmental issues.

Mastriano has maintained that gay marriage should be illegal. His tough-on-crime stance has earned him the support of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association. He has termed the
concept of global warming as "fake science."

Unlike the town council in "Footloose," Mastriano has yet to take a public stance on dancing or rock music. The purpose of the dance was to take Mastriano's extreme political positions and “flip that with joy and positivity,” Bre Macpherson-Rice, one of the organizers, told Penn-Live.

"I just feel really, deeply scared in a way that I haven’t before” she said of Mastriano's political views.

Endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Mastriano was present at the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

A recent Muhlenberg Univeristy-Morning Call of Allentown poll indicated Mastriano was trailing his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, by a 54 percent to 40 percent margin. The election is Tuesday.