Wagner: ‘Some things don’t work out the way you want’

PITTSBURGH – As rain fell across Pennsylvania for most of Tuesday, Jack Wagner’s gubernatorial campaign held on to a glimmer of hope that a lower state turnout coupled with the intense 12th District special election just might be enough for an upset victory in the Democratic primary.

But as results came in from Allegheny County—a critical base shared by both Wagner and eventual winner Dan Onorato—it became increasingly clear there would be no surprise endings.…

May 19, 2010 at 1:17 pm | Comments (1)

Onorato easily wins gubernatorial primary, setting up showdown with Corbett

PITTSBURGH—Dan Onorato, the Allegheny County Executive who started plotting a path to the Governor’s Mansion years ago, took a big step toward getting there Tuesday, easily winning the Democratic gubernatorial primary in a race he was favored to win from the start.

Onorato bested three primary rivals thanks to a campaign infrastructure he started building long before them and a massive TV blitz that introduced him to Pennsylvania Democrats at a time when the vast…

May 19, 2010 at 6:24 am | Comments (5)

LEFTOVERS: Plouffe boosts Specter, late-game endorsements for Onorato and Wagner

Almost out of nowhere in the last 24 hours, a strong “Obama-has-given-up-on-Specter” meme took hold in the press. It’s the natural media overreaction to the premature counting out of Joe Sestak months ago. Yes, Arlen Specter very well could lose on Tuesday, and anyone who supports him is mentally “preparing” for that, the same way you prepare for any possibility. But everyone should calm down. Virtually nothing changed in the complexion of this race between…

May 17, 2010 at 5:47 pm | Comments (6)

Poll forecasts Onorato win

Nothing short of a massive exodus of undecided voters to one other candidate will stop Dan Onorato from winning the Democratic nomination for governor on Tuesday, according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University survey released Monday echoed other recent polls in showing Onorato holding a wide lead over his Democratic rivals. The Allegheny County Executive wins 39 percent of the vote, followed by 11 percent for Anthony Williams, 10 percent for Jack Wagner and…

May 17, 2010 at 9:08 am | Comments (0)

Suffolk poll shows Onorato, Sestak with largest leads so far

Democratic Senate candidate Joe Sestak holds a nine-point lead over incumbent Arlen Specter in Tuesday’s primary, according to a new poll. The survey from Suffolk University also showed Democrat Dan Onorato holding a larger lead over his gubernatorial primary opponents than any other public poll has shown to date.

The survey of 400 likely primary voters showed Sestak topping Specter 49 percent to 40 percent, with 12 percent undecided. It found Onorato garnering 46 percent…

May 13, 2010 at 1:51 pm | Comments (27)

Wagner fires back at Rendell

Auditor General and gubernatorial hopeful Jack Wagner was quick to respond to cries of hypocrisy from Gov. Ed Rendell Wednesday, defending his record of fiscal responsibility, complimenting the governor on his recent weight loss and saying that Rendell clearly has a horse in the race.

Wagner’s comments, in a Harrisburg news conference and a campaign statement later, came after Rendell had lobbed criticism at Wagner and Tom Corbett, the state Attorney General and GOP front-runner…

May 12, 2010 at 11:09 pm | Comments (5)

Wagner: Why can’t we all just get along?

With all three of his Democratic primary rivals engaging in one form of contrast advertising or another, gubernatorial hopeful Jack Wagner made clear Wednesday that’s he’s staying positive.

“In the last couple weeks, we have witnessed the beginning of many negative TV ads,” the state auditor general wrote in a campaign e-mail to supporters. “We certainly have issues we disagree on, but the tough issues our country and our commonwealth are facing are far more…

May 12, 2010 at 2:54 pm | Comments (8)

Two surveys show Onorato up big in guv race

Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato has opened up at least a 20-point lead over his Democratic rivals for governor a week in the closing days before the primary election, according to two new polls.

The surveys released Wednesday echoed a body of polling data that has showed Onorato pulling away from the pack, and their results differed little from other recent polls. In a Quinnipiac University poll, Onorato garnered 38 percent of the vote, compared…

May 12, 2010 at 9:09 am | Comments (6)

Poll: Onorato still leads, with Wagner and Williams moving up

Just days before the Democratic primary for governor, Dan Onorato remains the clear front-runner in the four-way primary. But Anthony Williams and Jack Wagner have made up enough ground that the race is not yet out of reach, according to a new poll.

The Rasmussen survey released Monday showed Onorato garnering 34 percent of likely voters, about where he has been over the last week. Williams and Wagner both had their best showings of any…

May 10, 2010 at 12:56 pm | Comments (9)

LEFTOVERS: Editorial page endorsements for everyone

With primary day just over a week away, the editorial page endorsements are coming in droves.

The Tribune-Review made its picks for the Senate race, backing Republican Pat Toomey and Democrat Joe Sestak. “Mr. Sestak, a retired Navy admiral, could not be a better messenger for the Democrats’ agenda,” the newspaper wrote. “He’s incredibly intelligent, thoughtful and articulate. And his expertise on matters military is impressive.” The editorial page also said that “Toomey’s conservative credentials…

May 9, 2010 at 10:14 pm | Comments (11)