Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014

The 2014 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by the Democratic nominee, Tom Wolf. Corbett was the first incumbent Pennsylvania governor to lose reelection since William Bigler in 1854, and the first Republican to ever do so.

Corbett was considered vulnerable, as reflected in his low approval ratings. An August 2013 Franklin & Marshall College poll found that only 17% of voters thought Corbett was doing an "excellent" or "good" job, only 20% thought he deserved to be reelected, and 62% said the state was "off on the wrong track". ''Politico'' called Corbett the most vulnerable incumbent governor in the country, ''The Washington Post'' ranked the election as the most likely for a party switch, and the majority of election forecasters rated it "likely Democratic".

Despite Corbett's unpopularity and speculation that he would face a primary challenge, he was unopposed in the Republican primary. The Democrats nominated businessman and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue Tom Wolf, who defeated U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz, Pennsylvania Treasurer Robert McCord and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Katie McGinty in the primary election. In primary elections for lieutenant governor, which were held separately, incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Jim Cawley was renominated unopposed, and the Democrats selected State Senator Mike Stack.

This is the first Pennsylvania gubernatorial election since 1982 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president, and the first time since 1934 this occurred during a Democratic administration. This also remains the last time that a Pennsylvania gubernatorial election has been decided by a single-digit margin, as Democrats have won each subsequent election by large double-digit margins.

Background

Democrats and Republicans have alternated in the governorship of Pennsylvania every eight years from 1950 to 2010. This has been referred to as "the cycle", but it was broken with a Democratic Party win in 2014. Pennsylvania has also voted against the party of the sitting president in 18 of the last 19 gubernatorial contests dating back to 1938; Democrats lost 16 of the previous 17 Pennsylvania gubernatorial races with a Democratic president in the White House, a pattern begun in 1860. The last incumbent governor to be defeated for re-election was Democrat William Bigler in 1854. Until 1968, governors could only serve one term; the state constitution now allows governors to serve two consecutive terms. Libertarian nominee Ken Krawchuk failed to file the paperwork to be on the ballot in time and was excluded from the election as a result.

Republican primary

Incumbent Tom Corbett filed to run, as did Bob Guzzardi, an attorney and conservative activist. However, Guzzardi failed to file a statement of financial interests as required by law, after being told by an employee of the State Department that it was unnecessary. Four Republicans, backed by the state Republican Party, sued to have him removed from the race. The case reached the state Supreme Court, which ordered that Guzzardi's name be struck from the ballot. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series veteran Norm Benning backed Governor Corbett during the later half of the NASCAR season with Re-Elect Tom Corbett placed on his truck.

Candidates

Declared

* Tom Corbett, incumbent governor of Pennsylvania

Disqualified

* Bob Guzzardi, attorney, businessman and conservative activist

Declined

* Bruce Castor, Montgomery County Commissioner
* Jim Gerlach, U.S. Representative and candidate for governor in 2010
* Tom Smith, businessman and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012
* Pat Toomey, U.S. Senator

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

* Rob McCord, Pennsylvania Treasurer
* Katie McGinty, former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
* Allyson Schwartz, U.S. Representative
* Tom Wolf, businessman and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue

Withdrew

* John Hanger, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
* Jo Ellen Litz, Lebanon County Commissioner (failed to qualify)
* Max Myers, businessman and former pastor
* Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown
* Jack Wagner, former Pennsylvania Auditor General, candidate for governor in 2010 and candidate for Mayor of Pittsburgh in 2013

Declined

* Bob Casey, Jr., U.S. Senator
* Scott Conklin, state representative and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2010
* Kathy Dahlkemper, former U.S. Representative
* Eugene DePasquale, Pennsylvania Auditor General
* Kathleen Kane, Pennsylvania Attorney General
* Tom Knox, businessman, candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia in 2007 and candidate for governor in 2010
* Daylin Leach, state senator (running for Congress)
* Patrick Murphy, former U.S. Representative
* Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia
* Ed Rendell, former governor
* Joe Sestak, former U.S. Representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2010
* Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners
* Tim Solobay, state senator
* Michael J. Stack III, state senator ( running for lieutenant governor)

Endorsements

Polling

* ** Internal poll for the Tom Wolf Campaign
* ^ Internal poll for the Kathleen McGinty Campaign
* * Internal poll for the Allyson Schwartz Campaign

Results

General election

Candidates

* Tom Wolf (D); former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
* Tom Corbett (R); incumbent governor
* Paul Glover (G); activist
* Jonathan D. Jewell (I); Independent
* Ken Krawchuk (L); technology consultant and nominee for governor in 1998 and 2002

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 22, 2014
Complete video of debate
October 8, 2014

Spending

As of mid-October, Wolf had raised $27.6 million and spent $21.1 million while Corbett had raised $20.6 million and spent $19.3 million. The two campaigns had run over 21,000 television ads, costing over $13 million.

Predictions

Polling

;With Corbett

;With Gerlach

;With Guzzardi

;With Kelly

Results

By congressional district

Corbett won 10 of 18 congressional districts, despite losing statewide to Wolf, though at the time most of the districts were gerrymanders drawn by Republican legislators. Wolf won the 6th, 7th and 8th districts, which all elected Republicans to the House.

See also

* 2014 Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial election
* 2014 United States gubernatorial elections
* 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania

Notes

References

External links

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014
at Ballotpedia

;Official campaign websites

Tom Corbett for Governor
Republican

Tom Wolf for Governor
Democrat

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014
2014 Pennsylvania elections
2014
2014 United States gubernatorial elections