Current Pennsylvania Governor Candidates Show Red Hats in the Ring Outnumbering Blue Ones

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Pennsylvania State capitol
Image via Javier B Photography at Creative Commons.
The field of politicians eager to be the next Pennsylvania Governor filling this office is crowded.

As Governor Tom Wolf nears his term limit, numerous Pennsylvania governor candidates are eager for his seat at least on the Republican side, writes Katie Meyer for WHYY.

Seven Republican candidates are currently vying for the position in the primaries.

On the other side of the aisle, one Democratic thus far has decided to run.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Abington resident and former Montgomery County Commissioner, is considered the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. But he has yet to announce his candidacy.

The Republican field is crowded:

  • Lou Barletta, former congressman, was one of the first congressional members to endorse President Trump, who in turn endorsed him in an ill-fated 2018 Senate run
  • William McSwain of West Chester, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, runs on a tough-on-crime platform
  • Charlie Gerow, a GOP strategist and CPAC vice-chair, highlights his conservative bona fides while echoing popular rhetoric from the Trumpist wing of the party
  • Joe Gale, Montgomery County Commissioner, positions himself as the most Trump-aligned candidate in the field
  • Dan Laughlin, a state senator, stakes his claim as being the most moderate candidate in the Republican gubernatorial field
  • Scott Martin, a state senator, proposes a platform of limiting government and bolstering free markets

Meanwhile, Doug Mastriano, a state senator (and favorite of the Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party), has yet to announce a candidacy.

Read more about the current slate of Pennsylvania Governor candidates at WHYY.

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