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PA-Gov: Wagner to Enter Democratic Primary

Jack-Wagner-2013
Fmr. Auditor General Jack Wagner

Despite the crowded Democratic field, it appears that Jack Wagner has decided to throw his hat into the ring for PA Governor.

The former Auditor General is collecting signatures in order to be on the May 20th Democratic primary ballot. Gubernatorial candidates need to amass at least 2,000 signatures and get 100 from 10 separate PA counties.

The website Keystone Politics obtained the instructions Wagner sent out to potential volunteers on how to gather the necessary signatures. The form, which contains a header stating “Jack Wagner: Pennsylvania Governor 2014”, seems to be pretty solid evidence that he is running.

The Philadelphia Daily News also confirmed from State Sen. Rob Teplitz that Wagner’s allies are circulating petitions to get him on the ballot. Teplitz was a member of Wagner’s staff during his time as State Senator and Auditor General.

Wagner has had difficulty in the political arena as of late. Last year, he lost the Democratic primary for mayor of Pittsburgh to Bill Peduto and in 2010 he lost the Democratic primary for Governor to Dan Onorato.

Other Democratic candidates for Governor include Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, State Treasurer Rob McCord, former Department of Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf, former DEP Secretaries Katie McGinty and John Hanger, Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz and minister Max Myers.

19 Responses

  1. Frank-
    I’m shocked that Wagner decided to run. His is a VERY late entry. The other candidates have been fundraising and setting up field operations. Wagner seems to be completely relying upon his name recognition and voters seeing the word “Allegheny” next to his name. I don’t know his financial situation, but he’s going to have a tough time getting on the air. His recent loss in a Dem mayoral primary doesn’t bode well for his strength as a candidate.

    A FB friend of mine joked yesterday that most PA voters think Wolf is the only Dem running.

    As for McCord, he’s a sharp guy who is running a first rate operation. However, he’s not “my guy” in that I’ve made a decision to vote for him yet. I like the field of candidates, but I’m more interested in preventing Schwartz from being the nominee, as I think she’s the most vulnerable and I don’t like her NSA vote. So, I’m probably going to vote for the Dem most likely to beat her, because I think she has the worst chance of beating Corbett. Whether that is McCord, Wolf, etc. I don’t know yet.

  2. @david first off you were wrong saying wagner would not run. second you were hoping he would not run. because he will hurt your candidate mccord.this election will be all about who has the largest area of support.last time i checked philly is the largest area and we all know whos from there just say it david i know its hard SCHWARTZ.

  3. Corbett’s people hope Jack wins because he won’t be able to raise any $, can hammer him on voting for a pay raise and the pension grab as a state senator and the race will go from being one of the most watched campaigns in the country to being one hardly mentioned at all.

  4. It’s hard to say which candidate this helps the most.

    At tonight’s Delco Dem convention, I had a McCord staffer ask me who benefited the most. To be honest, I’m not sure.

    I understand the argument that it helps Schwartz, because it splits off Western votes from the other candidates. Schwartz has no discernible support outside of Philadelphia, so he’s not pulling away her voters.
    Head to head, Wagner would probably beat Schwartz.

    This is all pretty ironic, because Schwartz is considered the most vulnerable Democrat, because of the expected (and unfair) attacks. My Republican friends (yes, I do have a few) are hoping for Schwartz for the same reason the Dems are dreading her as the nominee.

    This could also help John Hanger. Wagner is a bit conservative and will suck conservative/moderate Dem votes away from Wolf and Wagner, but not progressive votes from Hanger.

    If the race goes from 5 candidates to 6 and they were all very very close, then winning goes from getting just over 20% to 17%.

    Before this, I was figuring the winner would get 25%-30% of the vote (Expected voter count: just over 1 million Dems, with some undervote.). Given Wagner in the mix, 22%-25% could now be enough to win it.

    How big is the progressive wing of the Democratic party primary voters?

    Every single candidate/campaign has a “path” to victory calculated. (regional, issues, union support, committee support, money, etc).

    I’m looking forward to seeing the Petition results next month to see an early indication of field operations.

    But, it’s still really anybody’s game.

    Corbett’s been hoping for Schwartz and pretending like they are afraid of her to induce the Dems to think she has a shot. She’s definitely their pick for an opponent.

    However, Corbett is recently worried about Wolf as a real threat.

    Will team Corbett start attacking Wagner, now?

  5. If Wagner finds away to win the primary – get ready to say Governor Corbett for the next 4 years. Jack please retire. Stop ego races. Pennsylvania can’t survive another 4 years of Corbett. Jack, for once care more about pa then yourself. Just Let It Go!!!!

  6. tom wolf is doing exactly what smith tried against casey for senate he loaned himself 10 million and loss big so money is not evertything.its name id in pa

  7. @jack1977 wagner has name id and he is the only only one running from western pa i understand alot of mccords supporters are not happy. they thought western pa was mccords area. the other candiates need alot of money simply because no one knows them even mccord who has been state treasure for 6 years has terrible name id so dont count wagner out.

  8. It looks like all the crazies have come out today… Jay Paterno, Jack Wagner and that Libertarian.

    Basically, McCord, Wolf and Wagner are all the same guy. Rich guy, good in business and finance. The problem is Wolf has a better story and more money. Wagner has baggage and two losses underneath his belt.

  9. Jack doesn’t have a chance in hell of winning. He will have his name on the ballot, but no $ to get any message out. His years as Auditor General won’t matter in this race and he will pull in 8 to 10 points, if that. Could play the spoiler, but not real chance at winning. It will be 3 loses in a row for him and then he’s out of politics.

  10. I voted for this man for Auditor general and I am unabashed for it. He was an excellent Au.G, and understands the State’s fiscal problems. Out of all the Democrat candidates, I have enough faith that he will retain a Bluedog leaning and not sell out to that scumbag Bloomberg. Who knows, maybe he’ll be Bob Casey Sr. part 2. I would like that. If Corbet continues to stab libertarians like me in the back, i will have no prob voting for Wagner for Guv.

  11. If you listen real close you can hear the mccord and wolf supporters crying.jack wagner has just as good as chance as anybody look at last poll taken schwartz 22 wagner 17 so i say back jack.

  12. I have an immense amount of respect for Jack, but I’m not convinced that he can raise the money and build the operation for this. Four years ago was his moment, not to mention 2013. Politically, I dated Wagner but married McCord.

  13. Jack will be an outstanding governor. Anyone that has followed his political career knows that he is a candidate that understands government and has been a public servant for all the right reasons. As the only candidate from Western Pennsylvania, I like his chances in this hotly contested primary!

  14. Jack Wagner’s priorities and plan for PA are clear. In order of importance, they are:

    Jack Wagner
    Jack Wagner
    Jack Wagner, with special emphasis on Jack Wagner

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