Pat Toomey, who ran against Arlen Specter in his last primary and lost, has decided to throw his hat in the ring for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2010. The other potential prospect is Attorney General Tom Corbett, who has yet to announce whether he’s going to enter the primary race to head the GOP ticket. Toomey has strong credentials on fiscal issues, which I think the state needs right now. He’s also good on gun rights. I will probably be more favorable toward Corbett if he enters the race, because I think he has a stronger likelihood of winning a statewide race (since he’s already done it, in an overwhelmingly Democratic year), but that’s not because I think Toomey would be a weak candidate.
9 thoughts on “Toomey is In”
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I’d rather Corbett stayed where he was.
Toomey cannot win statewide. Bad candidate.
That’s my concern, mobo. I wouldn’t write it off completely because his work at CFG could really put to rest a debate on fiscal issues which is obviously going to be relevant.
However, I think Corbett’s past performance bodes well for a likely win.
My concern is the chatter about Gerlach. He needs to stay in his Congressional seat. If he leaves that seat, it will probably go into Democratic hands and we won’t get it back. Besides, I don’t think he’s got the name recognition statewide from what I hear.
Bitter, you could say the same thing about Corbett. If he leaves as AG, will our CCW reciprocity agreements be safe? I’ve pretty much come to accept that any PA governor will be a Democrat for the foreseeable future. We need to work on that, but in the meantime, we need Corbett where he is.
mobo:
I think those agreements are safe. The AG of Pennsylvania has an affirmative duty to seek out reciprocity agreements with other states. A Democrat won’t be able to rescind those agreements, and if he tries, we could take the AG to court.
I also disagree. While it is true that the AG has control over them, they would have to actively pick a fight with us to do it. I think that’s pretty unlikely to happen in a role like that.
Why do you forsee the governor’s office only being Democratic? History certainly doesn’t take that view.
bitter:i disagree on gerlach. he’s probably the best known and most liked republican in the philly media market, which is where half the state votes are. that guy has gone through the ringer the last 3 cycles with everybody piling on, and he still comes out on top. and that’s no easy GOP district either. corbett is mike fisher part 2 and has the personality of a rock, and I think if toomey get the nomination we’re toast. as people get to know gerlach, he’ll turn some heads and I think have a really great shot at winning back the gov office for the GOP.
Haven’t seen Corbett speak, I don’t really think the comparisons to Fischer are apt, and Corbett has shown he can win in a state wide race in a very Democratic year. He did well in nearly all the Philadelphia suburbs, and did better in Gerlach’s own district than Gerlach. I don’t think Gerlach is a bad candidate, but I think Corbett is stronger, and more proven in a state wide race. You _do_ need a fair amount of support in the rest of the state for the Republican candidate to win Pennsylvania, and it’s not entirely clear to me that Gerlach will carry enough support in the suburbs, particularly Montgomery and Delaware counties, to help carry the state.
i disagree, but thats ok. i think the corbett phenomenon is a myth, and I think most people dont have a clue who corbett is. being against crime is a good platform for AG, but not governor. in reference to the mike fisher part 2: i looked on the state elections page and fisher won his 2000 AG re-elect in a dem presidential year in PA also, by 11 points (corbett was 6)! i’m not saying corbett’s 08 win was easy, but I think we republicans need to keep things in perspective as every AG in PA has always been a Republican. plus, corbett will have a difficult time raising money as a sitting AG, and the GOP MUST KEEP PACE with the Dem in that dept!! gerlcah has shown he can raise big money, year after year