By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Writer
roarty@politicspa.com

UPDATED: The Onorato campaign called the ad “dishonest” in a statement to PoliticsPA.

“We have repeatedly explained Dan Onorato’s position on the issues and his record of fiscal discipline and job growth speaks for itself,” said campaign spokesman Brian Herman. “That is what Pennsylvania voters care about, it’s why they continue to support Dan, and what we will remained focused on in the final days of this campaign.”

Onorato has said repeatedly that although he is personally not supportive of abortion, he would not back any attempt to change the state’s abortion laws. It’s a tricky issue for the chief executive, who has been backed by pro-life groups before, and has been the subject of criticism from other gubernatorial foes, such as Joe Hoeffel.

The Allegheny County native has sought from the start of his campaign to defuse questions about his position on abortion for socially liberal Democrats in the southeast, a key demographic in the primary. He has also outlined his support for legislation that would require gun owners report if their weapon is lost or stolen, and he is in favor of allowing local municipalities to enact stricter regulations.

But a senior strategist for the Williams, who favors abortion-rights, said calling Onorato “pro-life” is perfectly within bounds.

“That’s a difference between Dan Onroato and Anthony Williams,” said Mark Nevins. “If Dan Onorato has other distinctions in his point of view, that’s his responsibility to point out.”

If nothing else, the new ad at least shows the Williams’ campaign money supply, funded almost entirely by wealthy school-choice advocates, has remained strong.It caused at least one Onorato insider to say the state senator might end up spending more in the primary than the chief executive, who has held a significant financial advantage over the field.

“They’re spending so much money that we’ll at least be close to parity,” the campaign source said.

Running concurrently with the negative ad in at least some media markets, including Harrisburg, is a positive spot from Williams that highlights his plans to create jobs, protect abortion-rights and support gun-control measures. The 30-second spot, which begain airing late last week, also features Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

Nevins said the ad is prelude to the final positive piece from the Williams campaign, which he said will air in the next few days.

“To use a baseball metaphor, that’s our set-up man,” he said, referring to the spot currently running. “That sets us up for our closer.”

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Anthony Williams hit the airwaves Wednesday with a new ad critical of frontrunner Dan Onroato’s stance on abortion-rights and gun-control.

The 30-second spot also repeats criticism from the state senator’s first anti-Onorato ad, which calls into question his economic record in Allegheny County. All in all, Williams’ appears to be using a kitchen-sink approach against Onorato, using anything and everything he can to go after the chief executive.

The ad was first reported by pa2010.com, which saw it air in the southeast media market. It’s unclear if it’s airing anywhere else.

Williams trails Onorato by more than 20 points in a series of polls released Wednesday morning. The other two candidates in the race, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel and Auditor General Jack Wagner, also trail by large margins.