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PA Gov: Wagner Debuts 3 New TV Ads With 2 Weeks to Go

Down the stretch with a substantial ad buy.

On Monday, Republican gubernatorial candidate, Scott Wagner released three new television ads that hit incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf on healthcare and school taxes, while boasting about an endorsement from President Donald Trump in another.

In a press release, the Wagner campaign describes it as “a statewide television blitz that will continue until election day.”

Their campaign says it is spending $750,000 on television ads from Oct 22-28.

Two of the ads claim that if elected Governor, Wagner will lower taxes and provide quality health insurance for all Pennsylvanians.

Wagner’s 30 second ad, “Quality Healthcare” shows the GOP candidate walking with employees of his company, Penn Waste, detailing the health insurance he provides to those he employs and blaming Wolf for an increase in health insurance prices in Pennsylvania.

“My company’s health plan covers pre-existing conditions and we take care of each and every person who works there,” Wagner says. “Under Tom Wolf, healthcare premiums are going through the roof.”

PennLive writes that Wagner’s campaign has rarely touched on healthcare insurance through television ads throughout the campaign thus far, but releases this ad at a time when many GOP candidates are highlighting the topic.

Wagner’s second 30 second television ad, “School Taxes” follows a theme that he has harped on rather often, painting himself as the candidate who will not raise taxes, while Wolf is attempting to do the opposite.   

“How about those school taxes?,” Wagner asks in the beginning of the ad. “Seniors are being forced out of their homes.”

Wagner details his time as a state Senator opposing the Wolf administration’s tax plans and believes if his opponent gets another term, he will try to raise taxes once again.  

“I’m on a mission to protect your paycheck,” Wagner says later in the ad.  

The Wolf campaign finds these new ads to be false and an attempt to distract voters.

“Scott Wagner’s latest ads are a desperate attempt to distract voters from his disastrous record,” said Karissa Hand, Wolf’s campaign Deputy Communications Director. “The truth is that Wagner as governor would jeopardize the health care of 5.3 million Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions, tax seniors’ retirement accounts, and side with corporations and big oil and gas over middle-class families.”

In Wagner’s press release debuting these ads, they cite a Politico/AARP poll conducted on Oct 1-2 with Wolf leading Wagner 48-36 and believe that the incumbent is “losing ground” and discuss the strategy of making the ad buy in the final weeks of the campaign.

“Outspending us 7-1 has done little for Tom Wolf, given that more than 50 percent of Pennsylvanians still won’t vote to give him a second term,” said Campaign Manager Jason High. “On the other hand, we have conserved our resources to be able to make significant television buys down the stretch when most voters are paying attention. As these ads make it clear to the people of Pennsylvania that Scott Wagner is the only candidate in this race who will lower taxes and health care costs, we’re confident he will be elected on November 6th.”

The final ad is a 15 second spot titled, “One Hell of A Governor” that shows Trump at a campaign rally expressing his support for Wagner.

“He’s going to be one hell of a Governor,” Trump says while at the podium of a recent rally in PA. “He’s tough, he’s smart, Scott Wagner.”

FiveThirtyEight currently has the race listed as Solid Democratic.  

9 Responses

  1. The republicans control the house and senate in Pa.Why didn’t wagner get bills passed through his party influence and sent to Wolf to either sign or veto as the process goes. All of the sudden when hes running for Gov. hes going to make all these Fake promises–what the heck did he do all the years hes been there except play golf in his expensive spikes !!

  2. The key is to focus upon the issues, which is what these ads are intended to accomplish.

    1. Dr. Bob, personality/likability almost always trumps (no pun intended) issues. Wagner is an unhinged hot head. I don’t want him running a hot dog stand let alone state government.

  3. I can’t wait until November 7th when Scott Wagner will be nothing more than a private citizen and no longer the standard bearer of our party.

  4. Scott Wagner’s candidacy is an absolute failure to the point that the hometown newspaper for Scott Wagner and Gov Wolf has endorsed Governor Wolf. Scott Wagner has shown from the moment he walked on the statewide stage this campaign cycle a skill at political ineptness born from a profound lack of political experience. Confronting a tracker at the York Country Club and the infamous “golf spikes video” are salutes to political incompetence as no savy politician like Gov Ridge or Gov Scranton or Lt. Gov Bill Scranton III or Gov Mark Schweiker would have ever done something so foolish. Experience would have taught them to know better. And they are better candidates and politicians. When the books are written discussing Pa politics and this race the lack of political experience and therefore political wisdom will be at the center core of vexing problems as to why Scott Wagner will lose in a landslide and why his campaign totally failed.

  5. “My company’s health plan covers pre-existing conditions” … umm because that’s the law. You don’t really have a choice.

    1. Believe it or not for group plans they do not have to cover pre existing conditions. They do in the individual market. I know someone fighting that battle right now.

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