Makes sense:
Democrats have “done a good job of addressing the needs of Americans and will continue to do so,” despite election defeats, said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), whose state narrowly voted for President Donald Trump after going Democratic in the previous six presidential elections.
“What we saw in November, to a certain extent — and remember, Hillary Clinton won by 3 million votes — what we saw were a lot of people who were concerned about whether either party is addressing their needs, rightly or wrongly,” Wolf told The Huffington Post on Wednesday.
Trump campaigned as an anti-establishment candidate and his voters “wanted to shake things up,” Wolf said. A winning strategy for Democrats, he said, is to accomplish policy priorities to restore voters’ faith in government.
Wolf cited his latest budget proposal, which he said increases funding for public education, jobs and the fight against the opioid crisis.
“I’m actually increasing amount of money that I think Pennsylvania ought to invest in those areas. At the same time, I’m not asking for any tax increases,” he said. “I’m going to make government work better to do the things that people in Pennsylvania want it to do.”
Wolf said it’s important for state and local officials to fight policies that hurt their constituents through the courts. But ultimately, he said, voters will decide.
Last month, attorneys general from more than a dozen states, including Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro (D), vowed to challenge the constitutionality of Trump’s ban on immigration from seven majority-Muslim nations. A lawsuit filed by Democratic attorneys general in Washington state and Minnesota successfully halted enforcement of the ban.
Now Wolf is all for working for the people and knows his priorities unlike the PA GOP General Assembly:
Gov. Tom Wolf attended a listening session arranged by state Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161 of Swarthmore, on Thursday to hear the concerns of medical professionals and women after the recent passage of a tough new anti-abortion measure.
Senate Bill 3 would outlaw the procedure after 20 weeks, even in cases of rape and incest, and certain abortion techniques would be prohibited. The governor vowed to veto it.
“If SB3 actually gets to my desk, I’m going to veto it. I think this is really fundamental to who we are as Pennsylvanians ... We need to keep politics out of the doctor’s office,” he said.
Delaware County’s state Sens. Tom McGarrigle, R-26 of Springfield, and Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, both voted in favor of the measure.
Wolf said the Senate took no testimony from medical practitioners and failed to give women a voice.
“This is about giving people the right to decide what they want to do with their lives,” Wolf said. “I think it’s really important not only because it’s a fundamental right but also because it’s a reflection of who we are. It’s a bill that flies in the face of the values that are dear to this country and this commonwealth.”
In addition, he asked, “Why are we having this conversation in 2017?”
Wolf faces an obstructionist GOP General Assembly being led by his likely opponent, a die hard Trump supporter:
Supporters and detractors alike describe Scott Wagner, a 61-year-old freshman state senator from York County, as “Donald Trump-lite.”
“I think when you check me out, you're gonna find I'm the real deal,” Wagner told dozens of supporters Thursday at Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co. in Murrysville, one of several stops on a two-day state tour to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor. The election is in 2018.
Similar to what's expected from the president-elect, Wagner has been a bit of a disrupter in Harrisburg since being elected almost three years ago. He also has affection for President-elect Trump.
“Donald Trump is a visionary and he's a leader,” Wagner said in an interview. “He cares deeply about this country, and I care deeply about this country.”
And he’s going to fund his campaign with his garbage money:
Republican state senator who wants to challenge Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's re-election bid is reporting that he loaned his campaign $4 million.
Scott Wagner's campaign on Tuesday reported almost $4.3 million in his campaign account as of Dec. 31. That includes $175,000 in interest and $90,000 from his Senate campaign account.
Wagner and Wolf are both from York County in southcentral Pennsylvania. Wagner owns the $65 million municipal waste hauler Penn Waste.
But Wolf’s also ready for re-election:
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf is reporting that he headed into 2017 with $1.7 million in his campaign account as he prepares to run for re-election next year.
Wolf reported Tuesday night that his campaign spent $1.4 million last year, about half of it in large-dollar contributions to the Democratic Party or party allies. He reported raising $2.5 million, including more than $580,000 from labor unions and more than $150,000 from family members.
Wolf’s campaign spent more than $32 million on his 2014 gubernatorial run. His office says he’s paid off a $4.45 million personal loan he took out to help finance that campaign.
Wolf is a top target for the GOP. With the future of Pennsylvania’s gerrymandering system up for grabs, we need him to stay in office so he and the Democratic-controlled PA Supreme Court can put an end to the GOP’s hold on the Keystone State. Click here to donate and get involved with his re-election bid.