Group wants Corbett to return cash from company with BP ties

An environmental group is calling on Republican Tom Corbett to return campaign cash he received from an energy company that is drilling in the Marcellus Shale because it also has an ownership stake in the BP well spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania called on Corbett, the state Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor, to return $3,000 he received from the company’s political action committee last month, three…

June 23, 2010 at 11:47 am | Comments (8)

Onorato talks up the techies

PITTSBURGH—What do super computers have to do with gubernatorial politics? Plenty if you’re campaigning in Allegheny County, home to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and their joint research venture, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center.

County executive and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Dan Onorato spoke at the supercomputing center here Tuesday morning in front of a crowd of about 60. As he has so many times before, he put the focus on the Pittsburgh region’s economic…

June 22, 2010 at 1:05 pm | Comments (1)

Onorato wants to debate Corbett… 14 times

Why do something once when you can do it 14 times?

Democrat Dan Onorato on Monday called for that many debates with Republican gubernatorial rival Tom Corbett, with at least two debates in each Pennsylvania media market. Onorato made the challenge in a letter to Corbett and during a conference call with reporters during which he voiced confidence that his experience reforming government as Allegheny County Executive makes his pitch a stronger one against Corbett,…

June 21, 2010 at 12:51 pm | Comments (8)

Onorato camp greets GOPAC attendees

PITTSBURGH—Throughout his campaign to capture the Democratic nomination for governor, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato constantly held up the story of his home county’s economic revitalization as a key qualification for office. On Thursday, the Onorato campaign was making that familiar pitch, but to an unfamiliar crowd—the Republican activists who came here for the GOPAC conference.

A small cadre of Onorato campaign staffers held court in front of the Renaissance Hotel here, handing out pieces…

June 17, 2010 at 5:54 pm | Comments (7)

As expected, Corbett starts guv contest with money edge

The financial benefits of skipping a tough primary are clear.

After cruising to his party’s nomination, Republican Tom Corbett is starting the general election race for governor with a significant financial edge over Democrat Dan Onorato, according to newly-filed state campaign finance data. As of earlier this month, Corbett, the state Attorney General, had about $3.3 million in campaign cash. Onorato, the Allegheny County Executive who won a four-way primary in May, had a little…

June 17, 2010 at 5:37 pm | Comments (9)

Corbett says Twitter subpoena was legit

Attorney General Tom Corbett on Tuesday issued one of the most direct defenses of his office’s much-criticized decision to subpoena Twitter for information on two anonymous critics, saying the judge who signed the subpoena “agreed with us it had a legitimate purpose, and the legitimate purpose was not going after people who were criticizing me.”

Corbett, during an appearance on Fox29, reiterated his office’s contention that the subpoena was a proper way to demonstrate that…

June 8, 2010 at 3:15 pm | Comments (12)

Guv candidates ask for cash as deadline looms

The money fight in the gubernatorial race is already well under way, but Monday night’s state campaign finance deadline had the candidates and their campaigns pitching for some last-minute cash.

The post-primary was set to close at midnight, and reports filed later this month will provide the first snapshot of how Democrat Dan Onorato and Republican Tom Corbett are faring in the run-up to the general election. Onorato spent heavily in a competitive four-way primary…

June 7, 2010 at 1:43 pm | Comments (1)

Onorato says ticket with Conklin is ‘progressive’

CLARIFICATION APPENDED (See bottom)

PITTSBURGH—By most measures, the Democratic ticket for governor is a relatively conservative one by party standards—both gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato and running mate Scott Conklin reside on the right flank of the party’s political spectrum on social issues like abortion.

But Onorato says he’s not worried about any trouble exciting the Democratic base.

“We’re one of the more progressive tickets out there,” Onorato told pa2010.com during an…

June 7, 2010 at 10:23 am | Comments (6)

Poll: Corbett up 16 in guv race

Five months before the general election for governor, Republican Tom Corbett is holding a comfortable 16-point lead, according to a new poll.

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June 5, 2010 at 10:57 am | Comments (16)

Onorato: Polls are ‘moving in the right direction’

Democrat Dan Onorato says he’s not worried about the polls that show him facing an early gap against Republican rival Tom Corbett.

Onorato, appearing on Fox29 in Philadelphia Wednesday morning, noted that he is already closing the gap against Corbett, with a deficit that most surveys had at about 20 percent narrowing down to low double-digits.

“We’re excited about those numbers because if you go back six months it was a 20-point gap,” Onorato said,…

June 2, 2010 at 10:30 am | Comments (8)