Fayette, Greene voters follow state to give Wolf Democratic not in governor race
A York businessman garnered support from both Fayette and Greene counties and that of the majority of voters across the state on Tuesday, capturing the Democratic nod over his three challengers in his bid for governor.
According to unofficial results, Tom Wolf clinched the party nomination over U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, current state Treasurer Rob McCord and former state environmental Secretary Katie McGinty.
In Fayette County, Wolf garnered 7,883 votes, followed by McCord with 2,185 votes, McGinty, 1,232 votes and Schwartz with 745 votes, with 96 percent of the precincts reporting by press time.
In Greene County, with 100 percent of the votes counted, Wolf received 1,960 votes with McCord trailing a distant second with 822 votes. McGinty tallied 357 votes, with Schwartz securing 276 votes, according to unofficial results.
Wolf also bested his challengers across the state, having garnered 328,625 votes at press time, with Schwartz securing 100,863 votes, McCord, 91,663 votes and McGinty garnering 42,809 votes, in unofficial results with about 60 percent of the vote counted at press time.
Wolf announced his candidacy in April 2013 and launched a solid advertising campaign to introduce himself to the potential Democratic electorate. Despite his initial lack of name recognition, Wolf led in subsequent opinion polls.
According to a recent Franklin and Marshall College Poll, Wolf outpaced all of his challengers by a 2-1 margin of those planning to cast ballots on Tuesday.
The poll additionally revealed that voters were seeking a candidate that was focused on education and the economy.
In the lieutenant governor’s race, meanwhile, state Sen. Mike Stack of Philadelphia received the Democratic nod, with former U.S. Rep Mark Critz of Johnstown, Bradford County Commissioner Mark Smith, state Rep. Brandon P. Neuman of Washington County and Harrisburg City Councilman Brad Koplinski falling short in their bids to face the GOP nominee.
While Stack was able to fend off his challengers statewide, in Fayette County Critz garnered the top spot, securing 4,910 votes, with Neuman, Stack, Smith and Koplinski taking the second through fifth spots in the race, garnering 3,010, 2,154, 721 and 290 votes, respectively.
Critz, who served as district director for the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha, was elected to the seat following a special election in 2010. He served until January 2013.
In Greene County, Neuman outpaced the other four candidates, garnering 1,380 votes, with Critz, Stack, Smith and Koplinski garnering 1,027, 621, 207 and 52 votes, respectively, with all of the vote counted in the unofficial results.
Across the state, Stack garnered 271,107 votes, with Critz receiving 98,310 votes with about 60 percent of the vote being counted by press time. Smith received 76,975 votes, with Neuman and Koplinski garnering 63,191 and 60,261 votes, respectively, in unofficial results.
Incumbent Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley ran unopposed in their respective bids for the GOP nomination in the Tuesday primary.
In Fayette County, Corbett tallied 2,996 votes, while Cawley received 2,737 votes in his bid for the party nod with 96 percent of the votes tallied at press time.
In Greene County, Corbett received 891 votes, with Cawley garnering 884 votes, with all precinct reporting results.
Across the state, Corbett received 217,492 votes and Cawley garnered 256,315 votes, according to unofficial results with about 60 percent of the votes counted at press time.
Early on, it appeared Corbett would be challenged for the state’s top post by Bob Guzzardi, a Montgomery County businessman.
However, just prior to the primary election, the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and ordered Guzzardi’s name be removed from the ballot because he failed to file his financial interest statement with the State Ethics Commission by the deadline.
Corbett and Wolf, along with Cawley and Stack, will square off again in the November general election.