Democrat Wolf defeats Republican Gov. Corbett in Pa.

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.