Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity is to be among the guests filling the U.S. House’s gallery Tuesday night when President Donald Trump delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term.

Her presence at the prime-time speech underlines her alignment with Trump on the national stage as she pursues her challenge against popular Democratic incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro, widely seen as a potential contender for the White House in 2028.

A campaign spokesperson said Garrity will attend the address in her official capacity as state treasurer rather than as a candidate, but the Republican lawmaker bringing her to the event specifically cited her campaign for governor when he announced her as his guest.

“I am pleased to announce that the next governor of Pennsylvania Stacy Garrity will be my guest at the coming State of the Union,” U.S. Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, who represents the 15th District, said earlier this month at a gathering of Pennsylvania Republicans in Harrisburg.

Steven Chizmar, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, said that Garrity was in Washington for the National Association of State Treasurers through Tuesday and that her attendance at the speech will come as part of this previously scheduled trip.

“This opportunity will allow her to gain valuable insights into national issues that could impact Pennsylvanians and the services provided by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department,” Chizmar said. “Attending the State of the Union is an honor rooted in more than two centuries of American tradition and Stacy Garrity is proud to be able to attend the president’s address.”

Garrity’s trip to Washington comes just days after Shapiro was among the Democratic governors to meet with Trump at the White House for the National Governors Association’s annual conference — though he skipped the black-tie dinner after Trump’s attacks on colleagues.

Garrity is a longtime Trump supporter who has voiced support for Pennsylvanians to cooperate with ICE agents and previously claimed that Trump won the 2020 election.

Trump endorsed Garrity at the end of January, saying, “Stacy is a true America First patriot who has been with me from the beginning.”

Garrity was reelected as treasurer during the 2024 red wave in Pennsylvania when all state row offices were won by Republicans, as Trump carried Pennsylvania with more votes than any statewide Republican candidate in history.

But now a little over a year into his second term, Trump’s approval rating is sinking. According to a new Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll, 60% of Americans said they disapprove of how Trump is handling the presidency. This is a potential liability for Garrity and other Pennsylvania Republicans on the ballot this year.

The Pennsylvania Democratic Party seized on Garrity’s planned appearance at the State of the Union. Party chair Eugene DePasquale said during a news briefing Monday that Garrity will be “cheerleading” Trump’s “damaging” policies and specifically tied Garrity to rising healthcare costs.

Democrats boycott or bring guests to send a message

Healthcare costs will likely be a key point of Democratic messaging against Trump on Tuesday night, following a national spike in insurance premiums when enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act expired at the start of the year.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, who represents the 4th District, which is primarily Montgomery County, is to bring Lisa Boone Bogacki, a physical therapist and affordable healthcare advocate from Berks County.

Bogacki‘s husband, Gary, died from a sudden cardiac event in 2009 and Bogacki’s family came to rely on the Affordable Care Act and Social Security survivor benefits.

“Prior to the ACA, I paid over $20,000 annually for insurance coverage, and this was where the majority of the kids’ survivor’s benefits was spent,” Bogacki said in a news release from Dean’s office. “The ACA finally made insurance premiums affordable for us. This year, my premiums have drastically increased, following the new cuts made to the program.”

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, who represents the 17h District in Western Pennsylania, also focused on health care messaging with his announced guest, Jonathan Akanowicz, an independent pharmacist from Hampton Township.

Akanowicz has been working to lower prescription drug costs and save community pharmacies by campaigning against pharmacy benefit managers.

Addressing another contentious issue, Trump’s immigration agenda, U.S. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware plans to bring Maria Mesias-Tatnall, director of outreach and immigration assistance at the Delaware Department of Justice.

Some Democrats are choosing to express their disapproval in other ways.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, of the 12th District in Pittsburgh and surrounding area, plans to attend the progressive-led “People’s State of the Union” in Washington instead of Trump’s speech, her office said.

She is to deliver the Working Families Party’s response to Trump, according to the progressive organization.

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of the 5th District mostly in Delaware County, is also scheduled to attend the “People’s State of the Union” event, organized by progressive groups MeidasTouch and MoveOn, her office confirmed.

After he boycotted Trump’s joint address to Congress last year, U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans of the 3rd District in Philadelphia will not attend Trump’s address Tuesday night. In his place, Evans — who is retiring — has designated Carolyn Hill, a Philadelphia grandmother who is impacted by Trump’s cuts to SNAP, an honorary guest.

Republican lawmakers from the region

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania will be hosting hosted Jason Zugai, vice president of United Steelworkers Local 2227, as his guest after Japanese company Nippon Steel finalized a buyout of U.S. Steel in June. McCormick played a key role in persuading Trump to back the deal after his initial public opposition.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of the 7th District, which is north of Philadelphia will to bring Sarah Arndt, the lead teacher at PathStone Carbon County Head Start, where she has worked for the past 13 years. Funding for her program was in jeopardy last fall amid the lengthy government shutdown and state budget impasse.

And Sheryl Klein, a senior at Council Rock High School South in Bucks County, will to be the guest of U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of the 1st District. Klein founded and leads the high school’s Women’s Empowerment Club.

“That is the kind of civic engagement we should be encouraging across this country at every level: unifying, positive, and rooted in service to something greater than ourselves,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie represent key swing districts, which both parties are targeting in the fall.

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