Scott Wagner speaking in Bucks County in August.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Scott Wagner is known for speaking his mind with a little filter at campaign events, but his latest comments on Friday have put him in hot water.
The Republican candidate for governor made controversial comments in a Facebook video posted Friday. The comments, if taken literally, imply a threat of violence against Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf or they could be interpreted as bombastic statements that went too far.
“Gov. Wolf, let me tell you, between now and November 6th, you better put a catcher’s mask on your face because I’m gonna stomp all over your face with golf spikes because I’m gonna win this for the state of Pennsylvania, and we’re throwing you out of office, because you know what, I’m sick and tired of your negative ads,” the Republican businessman said.
Wagner made the statement while standing before a Wolf campaign billboard that placed Wagner in a negative light by pointing out how many Pennsylvanians his companies sued because they owed his businesses money. On a chair next to Wagner during the video, six hundred paychecks set to go to his employees were piled up for effect.
“Hey governor, I don’t know if you know this or not, but when you render a service, you want to get paid for that service,” Wagner said.
The candidate, who appeared to grow agitated as the video progressed, also called out Wolf for not debating him again or holding a town hall meeting.
“Scott Wagner’s latest rant shows he is unhinged and unfit for office. Threats of violence have no place in society, especially from someone running for public office. This is part of an unfortunate pattern with Scott Wagner,” Wolf campaign spokesperson Beth Melena said.
“Scott’s comments were not to be taken literally. He wanted them to be a metaphor for how he will approach the final stretch of the campaign. Tom Wolf has spent the entire race hiding behind false and negative attack ads like a coward instead of debating in front of the people of Pennsylvania and Scott will spend the last month of the race making it clear to voters why they should not give him a second term,” said Andrew Romeo, Wanger’s communications director.
Wagner’s campaign has faced challenges recently with the most recent public polling from last month putting incumbent Wolf ahead by more than 20 points. Just recently, Wagner, who has self-funded much of his campaign, said in a letter to supporters that he was “tapped out” financially after spending more than $10 million and he needed their support. In his email to supporters, he also put blame on a “small number of establishment Republicans” who were working against his campaign.
Both candidates are multi-millionaires who have come up in the private sector. Wolf said he plans to allow reporters to inspect his 2017 tax returns while Wagner has declined, saying his workers shouldn’t know his financial information and suggested labor unions could use it against him. In Pennsylvania, gubernatorial candidates aren’t required by law to disclose their tax returns but do have to file financial disclosure forms and often let members of the media review their tax returns.
