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Trio of PA-Gov Endorsements

Sims from Buzzfeed
State Rep. Brian Sims

Allyson Schwartz, Rob McCord and Tom Wolf each pulled in an endorsement ahead of this weekend’s Democratic State Committee meeting.

Ron Klink

In a press release from the Wolf campaign, former U.S. Congressman Ron Klink hailed the businessman and former state Revenue Secretary as a man who has innovative skills to lift Pennsylvania’s middle class.

“Tom built his business by investing in its workers, giving them a living wage and good benefits. As Secretary of Revenue, he improved the state lottery instead of privatizing it. And as Governor, he’ll help lift up the middle class by focusing on workers, creating jobs that support a family, and reversing Tom Corbett’s disastrous education cuts.”

The two men walked together this summer in Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade.

Klink was a reporter, then an anchor, for KDKA in Pittsburgh. He served in the House of Representatives from 1993-2000, and voted as a moderate Democrat. He sat on the House Commerce Committee, Financial Services Committee, Education and Labor Committee and Small Business Committee. During his tenure, he worked on a “patients’ bill of rights.”

In the the 2000 Democratic primary race for US Senate, Klink ran against Allyson Schwartz, who is running for governor against Tom Wolf. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that Klink and Schwartz disagreed on social issues, such as gun control and abortion.

Klink went on to win the primary but he lost the Senate race to Rick Santorum. He is the last candidate whom Rick Santorum has defeated.

Brian Sims

Speaking of Schwartz, the current Congresswoman (D-Montgomery) announced her endorsement from her friend, Brian Sims. Sims represents Center City, Philadelphia in the state House. He is the only openly gay Democrat elected in the General Assembly and has become a de facto leader of the gay rights movement in Pa.

“Congresswoman Schwartz has been a fighter as long as I’ve known her. She’s taken on many discriminatory laws, including Pennsylvania’s DOMA when she was a state senator in the mid-1990’s. Even when there were few allies, Allyson made sure to stand up for what is right,” Sims wrote in a fundraising email for Schwartz.

“Governor Corbett is wrong for Pennsylvania. He has failed to lead and when he has led, he denied healthcare to thousands of Pennsylvanians, and tried to gain favor with the GOP’s mega donors.”

Joe Hoeffel

Allyson Schwartz’s predecessor in Congress endorsed someone this weekend as well. Joe Hoeffel (D-Montgomery) announced his support for Rob McCord, the current state Treasurer. He argues that McCord recognizes problems in Pennsylvania’s education system that Tom Corbett does not.

“I’m in Rob’s corner because we need a leader who understands that education is the key to unlocking opportunity in our state. Education is an essential building block for economic growth. Without a strong public education system, we won’t be able to compete for the best jobs. Rob understands this and it’s why I’m supporting him,” Hoeffel wrote in a fundraising email.

“Tom Corbett and his administration have engaged in some of the deepest and most devastating cuts to public education our state has ever seen. And, it’s not just our kids that are paying the price – it’s our economy, too.”

Although Sims and Hoeffel disagree on their choice for the next Pennsylvania governor, they have both endorsed Daylin Leach to succeed Schwartz in Congress.

5 Responses

  1. SouthCentralDemocrat-

    Hoeffel may not have performed well in 2010, but he is still well liked in SE PA, especially among liberals. Though I had met him and heard him speak a few years earlier, when I attended an event the last time he ran I was very impressed with how clearly and deliberately he laid out his positions on the various issues. He didn’t equivocate, like so many other candidates do, to try and please everyone. I was happy to cast a vote for him in that primary.

    Onorato and Wagner were too conservative to be my first choice, and Williams simply couldn’t be trusted because of the money he was getting from charter school interests.

    Hoeffel got more than half his votes from SE PA counties and is not unpopular here. He got killed on fundraising, so he never really had a chance to get his message out.

    But, like I said earlier, the voters in May aren’t going to remember who made endorsements in September. (We are lucky if they even know the names of all the candidates on the ballot.)

  2. It seems like it’s bad luck for McCord to accept the endorsement of Hoeffle, who came in last place back in the 2010 Gubernatorial primary.

  3. I would agree. Of these three, Brian matters most. I’m surprised to see Ron Klink’s name, and while Hoeffel might carry some cache with suburban liberals, his time has passed.

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