(Pittsburgh) — Democratic lawmakers from Western Pennsylvania decided en masse that former Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf is their choice in the Democratic primary for governor.
With a rousing collective agreement, Western Pa. heavyweights including U.S. Congressman Mike Doyle, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald Allegheny County Democratic Chair Nancy Mills, and more came together today to endorse Wolf and his campaign going forward.
Situated in the Allegheny County Courthouse courtyard, the Democrats and their supporters praised the businessman’s credentials
“I believe that Tom Wolf, who has built a business that makes its products in America and directly competes with China, has the vision to make Pennsylvania a leader in American manufacturing and give our state a fresh start,” said Congressman Doyle.
Wolf was moved by the support shown to him.
“I am humbled to have the support of Congressman Doyle, County Executive Fitzgerald, Mayor Peduto, and Nancy Mills and I am thrilled to join with them to fight for a fresh start for Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. “These great leaders are working together to rebuild Western Pennsylvania’s economy and strengthen the middle class. Their vision and efforts to revitalize Pittsburgh and Allegheny County is exactly the model I will follow as governor, and with them, I know we can be successful.”
Much of the focus of the endorsement event was on Wolf’s business savvy and his ability to run a successful company, as Doyle mentioned.
“We need to put a businessman, someone who understands how to grow the commonwealth, into the seat of governor,” State Rep. Ed Gainey said.
In discussing Wolf’s now-famous profit sharing policy, Fitzgerald said that the former Revenue Secretary did “not just do it because he is a great guy — he did it because it was smart business.”
Wolf has recently become the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination according to recent polls commissioned by Franklin & Marshall, Robert Morris, and Harper. His meteoric rise in the polls coincided with his extensive advertising campaign, which included multiple commercials and a radio ad.
Democratic Chair Mills said, “It’s not just the commercial — but the message” when it comes to Wolf.
Regardless, the mass support this early on in the campaign is uncharacteristic of Western Pa. Democrats.
“[The Allegheny County Democratic Party] didn’t agree in the mayor’s race last year, didn’t agree in the County Executive race three years ago, but you know what — we are all agreeing today,” said Fitzgerald.
“Tom, the West is committed to you,” Gainey said.
Also in attendance at the event was State Senators Jim Ferlo, Wayne Fontana and Matt Smith; State Reps. Jake Wheatley and Bill Kortz; City Councilmen Daniel Lavelle and Corey O’Connor; Allegheny County Councilmen Mike Finnerty and Bob Macey; and former Representative Ron Klink.
25 Responses
McCord better get on the air in Pittsburgh ASAP!
I think it will be pretty rotten if Tom Wolf wins the primary. He doesn’t have anything close to the experience of the other candidates so if he wins, it will just mean that money won out again and it will be business as usual. I have hope for Pennsylvanians that this will not be the case.
For the people that think John Hanger only has legalization going for him you are all dead wrong. He has 29 years of experience in the energy sector, and is the only candidate for campaign finance reform and easier access to the ballot for third parties. All of these reasons bring out active voters and he is probably the ONLY candidate that is getting people to switch parties just to vote for him in May. Myself and several of my friends have changed parties just to vote for John Hanger in May. If you don’t think that is a big deal, then you are delusional.
That is a great point about how much the unions and their endorsements mean in a primary election. I tend to agree that most won’t do much to help push their chosen candidate in this gov race with 6 people in it. The only union that would make a difference in the primary would be USW. They are statewide, organized, time-tested and have resources that most unions do not. Don’t think they get involved pre-primary.
Truth-
The unions are jealous that they can’t get their workers the kind of deal the Wolf gives his workers. And, if all employers were that generous, the union leaders (with their cushy salaries and perks) would have to leave their executive jobs and do regular work. Also, Wolf isn’t going to “owe” them the way the endorsed candidates would.
My point is that the voters aren’t going to give a rat’s @ss about union support, if they believe that Wolf was a good boss to his workers and paid them well with profit sharing.
It’s an open question as to how much the union support is worth in this primary. If they merely endorse, but don’t push their members to do door-knocking, phone-banking, and maintaining a presence at the polls on Election day, then it’s not going to mean much. Will the unions bust their butts for the endorsed candidates in a primary?
Once the primary is over, the unions will fall in line behind the Dem nominee.
I’ll be surprised if the unions bring their A-game for just a primary.
Breaking News: A bunch of middle-aged guys supports a middle-aged rich guy.
@ rep this is coming from the same person who said jack wagner would win mayor stick with picking losers in election schwartz is the only one who voted on legislation.
If the commentary on this website accurately represents the electorate, then I’d say Schwartz has a stranglehold on the illiterate vote. Have her supporters on here ever coherently given a concrete reason to nominate her?
@david 1 union in york ibew thats it across the state
Mary Louis-
So, in your world, he should reject the endorsement of elected officials, including the mayor of the second largest city in the state?
Do you understand, that as Governor, he would be working with these people anyway on urban policy?
Truth-
“i find it hard to grasp that they would get behind a candidate with zero union support”
His workers get profit sharing which is better deal than they would get from union. So, those concerned about worker rights shouldn’t be upset at him for treating his workers well.
It was so nice to think that Mr. Wolf would be not part of the corrupt establishment and yet here he is rushing into their embrace! In one way or another, all these politicians have lived off the largesse of the taxpayer whether through lifetime employment or making fortunes through government contracts or making taxpayer money available in exchange for campaign donations. Mr. Wolf started out so young and strong only to surrender.
I am betting that John Hanger’s campaign will shock the elites, as we Hanger supporters like to say. There may be a silent majority (I should say plurality) that takes Hanger to victory. I don’t know the winning combination in terms of absolute numbers or a percentage, but in a 5 or 6 person race, this contest may be quite “fluid” as poll taker G. Terry Madonna last reported.
I still can’t get over that his tagline “a fresh start” is from house of cards. Can’t wait to see what stupid things Wolf and his campaign do. Plus he’s basically a liberal Mitt Romney. Whatever happened to taking the power back from the 1%?
Guess nothing has changed under Peduto. Politics as usual in Pittsburgh – back room deals and money trying to determine the outcome of the election. Too bad the Philly is 3 times the size of Pittsburgh. McCord and Wolf will throw all their mud at Wolf now (who definitely has some skeletons in his enormous closet) while Schwartz sits back and wins through Philly.
I say wagner still wins allegheny county they have yet to pick apart wolfs past.i find it hard to grasp that they would get behind a candidate with zero union support knowing how big Pittsburgh is in unions then again money talks i think they may have joined the wolf pack to early as for who is running the worst campaign Schwartz and mccord for letting the wolf run free for a month on tv by himself could have been a major mistake.
“nobody but those who favor legalizing marijuana will know him”
Umm… isn’t that a pretty high percentage?
(pun intended)
The GOP would love to challenge and beat this untested guy. People should just vote for ‘2 Term’ Corbett if Democrats are dumb enough to back this guy because of irrelevant polls THREE MONTHS OUT from the primary! SMH
WHERE WAS TOM WOLLF… KATIE MCGINTY… ALLYSON SCHWARTZ…. ROB MACCORD IN 2010??? WHEN WE NEEDED GOOD DEMOCRATS HTEN????
The real question that no one is asking is, who has run the worst campaign, McCord or Schwartz?
Haters gonna hate
Gosh. Mr Wolf is lying down with some real old dogs. I hope he doesn’t get up with fleas.
if philly comes out big for schwartz it may be hard to keep up with those large numbers i think they seen wolfs money and poll numbers. whos to say what will happen. rob mccords been very quiet so far.this race will tighten up and get nasty .im sure wolf has more than just those 2 stories they ran this week and corbett continues to take aim at schwartz maybe he knows she maybe the nominee.
Central PA will be “evenly divided”? Between which candidates? Jo Ellen Litz won’t make the ballot. John Hanger? Ha! That’s funny. Hanger has no regional appeal, will not have enough money to run a serious TV campaign, and nobody but those who favor legalizing marijuana will know him. To think he will get anywhere near the support of Wolf is a joke. Hanger probably will finish in 4th or 5th place.
Southeastern PA will split between Schwartz, McCord, McGinty, and Wolf (he will do far better than anybody expects in the Southeast).
Wagner is the only candidate from the West, but he won’t win there (even if he gets on the ballot, and we’ll see about that).
This isn’t the Lt. Gov. race. In a race like Governor, where the candidates have to be on TV for a while to win, regional voting is just a very small part of the equation.
Central PA will be evenly divided also, so I think the west will play a big part.
That is Big, since Western Pa will be crucial for whoever is going to win the primary, since Eastern PA will be divided among all of them.
Sounds like Tom’s wolfpack is growing.