At a campaign stop in Dauphin County, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf said he’s not concerned about the prospect of working with a Republican-dominated Legislature.
“It’s leadership. It’s bringing people together,” he said. “It’s actually getting up out of your chair, getting out from behind your desk, walking down, bringing people together, giving people a compelling vision about what we need to do to make Pennsylvania better, and working with them to come up with solutions – not just sitting back at your desk.”
The state House is likely to remain in GOP hands. Right now, Republicans hold the Senate by a slim majority, and whether they hang onto it is anyone’s guess.
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has taken flak from within his party for not passing many conservative policies, even with a GOP-controlled state House and Senate.
Corbett signed into law only one of his top legislative priorities over the past year — transportation infrastructure funding. It passed due to bipartisan backing, and it’s been controversial among conservatives because it uncapped a tax on gas and resulted in higher driver fees.
Wolf’s agenda is as liberal as Corbett’s is conservative. He’s proposing a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers, an income tax targeting wealthier households, and boosting the state’s share of education costs in public schools across the commonwealth.
He insists he can curry Republican support for his platform.
“That’s what I’ve done all my life,” Wolf said. “That’s what I’m going to do as — if I’m elected governor, and it’s worked in every context in my life and I hope it will work here.”
