Scott Wagner makes final push for Pa. governor

As Election Day nears, a pugnacious Scott Wagner is crisscrossing the state in hopes the same fighting spirit that landed him an unprecedented, write-in win to the state Senate will help him erase Gov. Tom Wolf’s comfortable lead.

“This is a mission,” not a campaign, Wagner said during a recent interview with the York Daily Record.

Wagner, the Republican nominee for governor, and Wolf, the Democratic incumbent, are both from York County. Beyond that, they have no common ground, according to both candidates.

In the battle of two York County millionaires, Wagner has labeled Wolf as an elitist who is out of touch with voters. Wolf calls those claims hypocritical, as Wagner commutes in a private helicopter and luxury vehicles.

But Wagner, who owns Penn Waste, said he’s never cut his York County farming roots.

“I’m a blue-collar guy,” said Wagner, a 63-year-old husband, father and grandfather. “You know, I got dirt under my fingernails when I was a lot younger, and I’m willing to still do it today. I believe I connect with people well.”

More: Tom Wolf works to seal re-election bid

Wagner needs to work hard in this election to connect with Pennsylvanians. Independent polls show about 20 percent of voters don’t know him, despite spending millions on his own campaign and television ads slamming his opponent.

Debates are one of the most effective ways of reaching a statewide audience, but this race has bucked a trend of at least 30 years and offered only one. And that one, led by “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, got more attention because of the moderator than the candidates.

Wagner has agreed to and asked for more debates, but Wolf has declined. The governor has said the campaign itself is a debate.

Wagner is using the same grit that helped him win in the past and enabled him to build multiple businesses, including Penn Waste.

“I started from scratch,” Wagner said, in 1985 with two used, rented garbage trucks using borrowed money. He said he was sued 10 days later by a national company.

“This has been scrapping, and block and tackling my whole life,” Wagner said.

He’s scrapping in this election to claim an underdog victory, with independent polls predicting a double-digit lead for Wolf.

Some of Wagner’s missives have gained national attention, including a recent Facebook Live video in which he said he was going to stomp all over Wolf’s face with golf spikes – a statement Wagner walked back after mounting pressure.

 

It attracted negative attention and headlines from nearly every state and national news outlet, including