PA-Gov: Democrat Wolf elected to another term as governor, easily beating GOP’s Wagner

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf easily beat his Republican challenger Scott Wagner in Tuesday’s election, according to Philly.com, which cited projections from multiple media outlets.

The latest numbers around 10 p.m. showed Wolf with over 60 percent of the vote to Wagner's 39 percent with just nearly 60 percent of precincts reporting, according to the York Daily Record.

The numbers

Wagner lagged far behind Wolf in likely voter support — consistently by double digits — from the beginning of the campaign.

Wagner also was far behind Wolf in the money department. Wagner has spent about $18 million — including $10 million of his own money — over the last two years running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and in the general election campaign, the Daily Item reported, citing campaign finance reports on the Department of State’s website.

Wolf, on the other hand, has spent just over $27 million over the same period, the Daily Item added, citing campaign finance reports.

The 'golf spikes' video

Wagner also suffered a few self-inflicted public relations problems while on the campaign trail, most notably calling an 18-year-old climate activist “young and naïve” during a town hall and posting a video telling Wolf he would “stomp all over” his face “with golf spikes.”

“Governor 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,” Wagner told Wolf in a now-deleted Facebook live clip.

One of Wolf’s only hiccups was his refusal to hold more than one debate with Wagner, believing the pair had been engaging in an “open and continuous debate” since the primaries.

Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for Wagner’s campaign, ripped Wolf over the issue, telling TheBlaze in September the governor is “a hypocrite and a coward” for agreeing to just a single debate.

The Alex Trebek-moderated debate

That debate — moderated by “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek — was blasted in the media. The York Daily Record said Trebek hogged too much debate time “on his own musings,” adding that Twitter users jeered the TV legend “for showing how much he knew about the state.”

President Donald Trump endorsed Wagner at an August rally in Wilkes-Barre:

Former President Barack Obama stumped for Wolf during a September rally for him and other Pennsylvania Democrats.

Wolf’s campaign ripped Wagner for not releasing his tax returns — but Wagner’s campaign hit back immediately, noting that the GOP nominee filed required statement of financial interest in May.

The candidates differed on a variety of issues, including the death penalty — which Wagner supports and Wolf does not. There is a moratorium on the death penalty in the state. Wagner pushed an agenda that supported local businesses while Wolf touted his efforts to improve education.

This is a developing story and will be updated.