PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump said last week that he would support U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser for Pennsylvania governor if he decides to run, pledging the most-coveted endorsement for the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2026.

Meuser, a Republican in his fourth term who represents parts of northeastern Pennsylvania, has been all-but-outright campaigning for governor over the last six months, as Republicans hope to more seriously challenge Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reelection.

Trump, during a speech Friday at the U.S. Steel mill in West Mifflin, quipped that he had heard a rumor Meuser was considering a run. If he does, Trump said he will be behind him.

“If that’s your decision, you’ve got my support, you know that,” Trump said to Meuser, who was in the audience full of steelworkers and other GOP elected officials, as they celebrated the acquisition and investment of U.S. Steel by Japanese competitor Nippon Steel.

“If you run, you have my support totally, and you'll win,” Trump added. “The people are gonna get it real fast.”

Meuser, a 61-year-old former businessman and former state revenue secretary, has been running a shadow campaign for governor — and making a bid for Trump's support — through frequent national TV appearances defending the president's agenda, making campaign-like visits around the state, and attending a recent fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Meuser said in a statement Monday that he appreciates Trump’s support and encouragement, adding that he is still “strongly considering running” and will make a decision this summer.

“I believe the United States is headed in the right direction under strong leadership — but Pennsylvania is being left behind,” Meuser added.

“We're losing population, opportunity, and momentum,” Meuser said. “I firmly believe our commonwealth could be doing far better for all Pennsylvanians — particularly with a governor who enacts policies modeled after the nation's most successful states, such as Texas, Florida, Utah, Georgia, and Indiana.”

At least two other GOP candidates are considering running to be Pennsylvania's next governor: Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is the commonwealth's top vote-getter of any statewide candidate of all time, and State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R., Franklin, who lost to Shapiro in 2022 by 15 percentage points.

Whoever triumphs as the GOP nominee will face an uphill battle: Pennsylvania Republicans have struggled to win statewide elections in recent years when Trump's name is not at the top of the ticket, and Shapiro remains unusually popular in the politically purple state that elected him governor by a wide margin in 2022 and then went for Trump just two years later.

And in 2026 in Pennsylvania, the governorship will be the biggest race on the ballot.

The Pennsylvania GOP declined to make an endorsement in the 2022 race for governor, contributing to the Republicans' down-ballot losses that year with voters in the primary election choosing Mastriano, a far-right candidate, to run at the top of the ticket. This time, top party leaders have emphasized that they will not sit on the sidelines for the primary and will make sure that their party unites around one candidate to challenge Shapiro in 2026.

Shapiro will likely face criticism from Republican candidates for his rumored 2028 presidential ambitions that would keep him out of the state and on the campaign trail for much of a second term, or if successful, would keep him from completing the rest of it.

So far in Trump's second term, Shapiro has largely stayed clear of Trump's political minefield, while focusing on criticizing specific administration policies that he believes will hurt Pennsylvanians. He has sued the Trump administration on several occasions, and recently raised alarms about Congress' proposed cuts to Medicaid that would result in hundreds of thousands of people losing health coverage.

A spokesperson for Shapiro declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Mastriano told conservative radio host John Fredericks on Monday that Trump's endorsement came after pressure from Meuser to endorse him early. But Trump, Mastriano said, will “express support” for any Republican who asks this far out from the race.

The president is known to make major endorsements on his Truth Social account, as evidenced last month, when he announced his support of Republican Jack Ciattarelli for New Jersey governor on the social media platform.

“He's a gentleman,” Mastriano added. “But when it comes to an endorsement, it's a very serious thing.”

Trump endorsed Mastriano in the final days of the 2022 gubernatorial primary. But he later regretted that endorsement, sources close to Trump told Politico in 2023, as Mastriano considered a run for U.S. Senate.

Mastriano — who has been one of Trump's biggest supporters in Pennsylvania following his 2020 loss and who encouraged lawmakers to overturn Pennsylvania's election results — remains a staunch supporter of the president.

Mastriano has also floated that he and Garrity run together as a governor-lieutenant governor pairing. He said that he and Garrity have met privately about teaming up but have not made a decision and that they continue to pray about it.

“If we did team up in any race, we would win,” Mastriano said on Fredericks' show Monday, noting that he believes he would win the GOP nomination on his own no matter what.

Garrity, in a statement, said she is still “strongly considering a run for governor.”

“President Trump is the leader of our party, and I will support whichever candidate — myself or not — that he decides to endorse,” Garrity added.