Knox makes his picks

Millionaire businessman Tom Knox, who dropped out of the Democratic race for governor earlier this year, was briefly back on the political radar Wednesday evening, when he e-mailed supporters to make his endorsements in the party’s statewide races.

Knox endorsed Senator Arlen Specter for renomination, and backed Dan Onorato in the governor’s race, picking the Allegheny County Executive over state Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia), who entered the race largely because Knox, who he supported, got…

May 12, 2010 at 10:35 pm | Comments (6)

Williams to make decision on guv race in a few weeks

Democratic primary voters go to the polls to nominate a candidate for governor in less than four months, but state Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) doesn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to decide whether or not he’s going to run.

Williams, who has been making waves in local political circles by suggesting he might jump into the race after businessman Tom Knox jumped out, would have to play an intense game of…

January 27, 2010 at 1:12 pm | Comments (0)

So who really wins from Knox’s exit?

Everyone’s been trying to spin Tom Knox’s withdrawal from the gubernatorial race in their favor, and understandably so. Joe Hoeffel and Chris Doherty have correctly make the point that there’s one less candidate in the east. Jack Wagner (though I haven’t yet spoken to one of his strategists) will correctly say that Dan Onorato still has to fight for his own base in the west.

But I’ve been thinking about this…

January 23, 2010 at 3:55 pm | Comments (9)

Hoeffel says Knox’s exit is a ‘big boost for me’

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel said Friday that Tom Knox’s withdrawal from the Democratic gubernatorial primary will allow him to solidify his southeast base, even though he faces the likely prospect of being significantly outspent in the five-county Philadelphia area.

“It’s a big boost for me,” Hoeffel told pa2010.com. It allows me to solidiffty my support in the southeast.

“I already had a 20-point lead over Tom in the southeast, with the other candidates trailing…

January 22, 2010 at 3:10 pm | Comments (9)

Doherty camp: ‘One less person to compete’

Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty’s campaign argued Friday that Tom Knox’s withdrawal from the gubernatorial race was good news, leaving one less Democrat to vie with Doherty for votes in the eastern part of the state.

“I think fewer candidates in the race means less competition,”  campaign spokesman Mark Nevins told pa2010.com. “On that front I think it’s probably a positive development.”

That logic would seem to cut against what Doherty’s strategists…

January 22, 2010 at 1:39 pm | Comments (3)

Audio from Knox’s conference call

Click here to listen to Tom Knox’s Friday conference call, during which he withdrew from the governor’s race.

Apologies for the sub-par quality. We’ll have to fix our audio in the future.

January 22, 2010 at 1:20 pm | Comments (0)

Knox drops out of governor’s race, backs Onorato

Wealthy Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox withdrew from the Democratic primary for governor and threw his support behind Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato Friday afternoon, ending a candidacy that had never really gotten off the ground in mind of party insiders and giving a significant boost to Onorato’s hopes of winning the Governor’s Mansion.

Knox’s announcement, made in a conference call with reporters, was somewhat anti-climactic, coming after days of flurried speculation and press reports that…

January 22, 2010 at 12:58 pm | Comments (2)

The latest on the Knox exit (Updated)

Well, the chatter continues, albeit without any concrete, on-the-record facts.

On Wednesday night we parsed the reports and rumors that Democrat Tom Knox was dropping out of the gubernatorial race. We continued to call around Thursday, but people are surprisingly tight-lipped about this. Still, except for Knox’s campaign manager, no one is adamantly shooting this down.

One little nugget that did emerge: The Inquirer reports that a…

January 21, 2010 at 4:25 pm | Comments (0)

THE RUMOR MILL: Word of a Knox exit swirls, but campaign chief says no

Rumors were spreading like wildfire Wednesday night that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Knox is planning to drop out of the governor’s race and endorse Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato. We heard it from a few knowledgeable Democrats, but no one who had spoken directly with Knox.

We called around a lot—to Democratic insiders, rival campaigns and people close to Knox. While we were working on that, Capitolwire (subscription only) reported that Knox and Onorato are…

January 20, 2010 at 9:50 pm | Comments (20)

Education and economy talk from Knox and Onorato

Policy prescriptions continued to move toward the forefront of the Democratic primary for governor Tuesday, with Tom Knox announcing a plan for the state’s community colleges only a couple hours after Dan Onorato unveiled an economic plan. After months of mostly insider maneuvering, the sustained focus on issues in recent weeks has underscored the candidates’ efforts to cement their positions four months before the May primary.

Knox, the wealthy Philadelphia businessman, called for full story

January 12, 2010 at 9:24 pm | Comments (3)