Democrat Tom Wolf captured the governor’s seat in Pennsylvania Tuesday, defeating Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in an historic election.
Networks called the election as soon as polls closed at 8 p.m.; Mr. Wolf had led by double-digits in polls throughout the campaign.
Since Pennsylvania began allowing two-term governors in the late 1960s, no governor had ever lost a bid for reelection. Mr. Wolf, a businessman from York, defeated Mr. Corbett in part by accusing him of making steep cuts in education funding.
Mr. Corbett, a former state attorney general, raised the ire of teachers’ unions by failing to maintain a high rate of education spending after federal stimulus money dried up. School districts around the state laid off thousands of teachers.
Mr. Wolf, a former state revenue secretary under Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell in 2007-08, will be dealing with a Republican legislature.
President Obama campaigned for Mr. Wolf in Philadelphia in the closing days of the race.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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