PA-Gov: Wolf says GOP nominee Wagner would be 'disaster for working people' — and Wagner fires back

The campaign for Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Scott Wagner — the Republican looking to take Wolf's seat this fall — would be "a disaster for working people."

Wolf's campaign said so in an email blast to supporters, PennLive reported, after Wagner praised the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday that public unions don't have the constitutional right to force employees to pay dues.

Wagner called the 5-4 decision "a huge step forward empowering workers and putting more money in the paychecks of public employees, for them to do what they want with it."

What else did Wolf's campaign say about Wagner?

But Wolf's campaign manager, Jeffrey Sheridan, said Wagner "is thrilled because he thinks he can now take more money away from workers and give it to his wealthy friends and special interests. We can't have a leader like that in Harrisburg," PennLive said.

Sheridan added that if Wagner "wins in November, we'll lose workers' last line of defense in our state government: Governor Wolf. We can't let that happen. Chip in now, and help Governor Wolf fight back against the next round of attacks on workers — before it's too late," the outlet said.

More from PennLive:

Clicking on a link brings supporters to Wolf's campaign home page, where backers can choose to chip in as little as $5 — or as much as $1,000 — to Wolf's re-election campaign. The York County Democrat is currently sitting on around $15 million, giving him a 10-1 edge over Wagner. But, hey, every little bit helps, right?

What did Wagner's campaign say in response?

Wagner spokesman Andrew Romeo told TheBlaze on Thursday that "Tom Wolf is now scrambling to raise money because he knows he can no longer forcibly coerce union members to line his campaign coffers. Scott is pleased the Supreme Court ruled to empower workers' rights yesterday and looks forward to implementing policies that will help more Pennsylvania workers find jobs and be compensated fairly for them."

The Wagner campaign also on Thursday announced a series of six town halls in various Pennsylvania counties slated for next month: Cumberland County (July 5), Northampton County (July 7), Lackawanna County (July 9), Westmoreland County (July 11), Cambria County (July 17), and Montgomery County (July 18).

Wolf last month called Wagner "unhinged from reality" after Wagner challenged him to debates in all 67 Pennsylvania counties. Wolf also dismissed Wagner's offer as a "political gimmick."

But Romeo minimized Wolf’s criticisms and told TheBlaze that "the only person coming off as out of touch in this scenario is Tom Wolf. By refusing to join Scott in taking questions directly from the voters in every county, the governor is showing he does not care about the people of Pennsylvania and thinks he is above providing them with an explanation for his record and where he wants to take the commonwealth."