Impact of Rohrer Write-in on Governor's Race

A group of conservative voters has launched a write-in gubernatorial campaign for Berks Country Representative Sam Rohrer, who lost in the spring primary. One analyst says he can envision a scenario where the movement has an impact on the fall election.

Rohrer and his hard-line conservative platform won 31 percent of the vote in May. The lawmaker hasn’t endorsed Republican nominee Tom Corbett, and indicates he doesn’t have any plans to. Pennsylvania law bars primary losers from running on third-party ballot lines, but a small group of Rohrer supporters have launched a website urging voters to write in Rohrer’s name in this fall.

Franklin and Marshall College political scientist Terry Madonna says the Corbett campaign should be worried. “I mean [Corbett] has, not arguably, somewhere between a seven to ten point lead,” he says. “But what happens if they end up absorbing 7 to 10 points of his lead? I don’t think that’s out of the question, for Rohrer to get up to ten points.” Madonna says if nothing else, the campaign creates more hassles for Corbett. “You don’t want to be there if you don’t have to be,” he argues.

Rohrer is keeping the write-in campaign at arms-length distance. He didn’t return calls for comment, and Representative Gordon Denlinger, a Lancaster Country Republican who’s close to Rohrer, says the representative isn’t endorsing the movement. Denlinger isn’t fully backing the effort, either, but says it’s wrong to tell conservatives to vote for Corbett, just to put a Republican in the governor’s mansion. “, I would certainly not ever encourage someone to say, set aside your beliefs, let that take a back seat and just move forward with some type of a political calculation,” he argues.

Rohrer centered his primary bid around reduced government spending. He argues Pennsylvania is on the verge of insolvency, and increased spending and dishonest budgeting are putting the state billions of dollars in the hole each year. Rohrer actively courted “Tea Party” voters, appearing at 9/12 Project and Tea Party meetings across the commonwealth.

Organizers of the write-in campaign say they just don’t trust Corbett. One of the main collaborators, Sue Nelms, says the Attorney General lost her support when he called the Constitution a “living document.” She’s also skeptical, because Corbett didn’t deliver a clear answer to the hypothetical question of whether he’d seize Pennsylvanians’ guns, if ordered to d0-so by the president. “If he was governor of our state, I think he would not follow the Constitution,” she says. “And I think that’s sad.”

Lawmakers Grumble Over Budget

A majority of Senators and Representatives voted for this year’s state budget, but many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle aren’t happy with the spending plan.
Berks County Republican Sam Rohrer, who ran for governor in this year’s GOP primary, says he's worried the spending plan is paving the way for a multi-billion dollar deficit next year.
Rohrer says the spending plan over-inflates the new fiscal year’s expected revenue, and underestimates General Fund expenditures.
He says that will create a deficit of at least 800 million dollars, and that’s before expiring stimulus dollars and pension payments are added in.

"And for the governor and other leaders to come back and say by surprise, ‘we just didn’t know that the revenues would come in where they were going to come in,’ is a demonstration of complete ignorance, or even worse, a purposeful distortion of the numbers."

Meantime, many liberal lawmakers are angry the budget didn’t include taxes on smokeless tobacco and cigars.
Allegheny County Democrat Dan Frankel says it’s “not credible” for lawmakers to walk away from that revenue, while voting to cut funding for most state departments.

Corbett: Can Appeal to Tea Party & Moderate Voters

State Representative Sam Rohrer of Berks County isn’t sure whether he’ll endorse Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Corbett but Corbett says he’s not worried about securing the support of Rohrer’s conservative backers.
Rohrer’s base of supporters ended up being comparatively small – he garnered 31 percent of the Republican primary vote.
But the conservatives, many of them Tea Party and 9-12 Project members, are devoted, and Rohrer say it may take some convincing to get them to vote for Corbett.
Speaking at an Allegheny County polling site on Tuesday, Rohrer said Corbett and the State Republican Party have some fence mending to do.

"They really have alienated a huge number of the people of the state, beginning with the endorsement process, and going all the way through. And I think it’s much more difficult for him to bring together the party."

Corbett insists he reached out to conservative activists and grassroots groups throughout the primary campaign.

"So we’ve already begun that process. So I would disagree with Mr. Rohrer. I think many of his supporters and many of the independents out there will be coming on board with us."

Corbett also says he’s confident he can appeal to the Tea Party voters, while still wooing the state’s moderate independent and Democratic voters.

Corbett Wins

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett’s quickly began looking at the future last night after accepting victory in the Republican Gubernatorial primary.
Corbett says it was all about “hope and change” two years ago, but as he spoke to the voters this year it was all about “enough.” Enough Washington, enough Harrisburg, enough taxing and spending and enough Ed Rendell. He says the victory was not the end of a campaign but the beginning of an effort to change in the way Harrisburg operates. He says, “We need to force Harrisburg to go back to the drawing board and to enact meaningful reform and not increase the burden on you the taxpayers of Pennsylvania. We need real change and that only comes from real leadership and real action. And that is the kind of governor I am going to be.” Corbett says as governor he will live up to his no new taxes pledge and will fight to end waste, fraud and abuse while creating jobs and helping the state live up to its energy potential. “ Time and again America has turned to Pennsylvania for innovation and entrepreneurship, and now we have the opportunity to be a leader once again through our energy supply, not only to the nation but to the entire world,” says Corbett. Corbett also thanked Sam Rohrer for a “spirited campaign.” He says now is the time to “unify and make Pennsylvania great once again.”

Listen to Tom Corbett's full election night speech.

Corbett, Rohrer Exchange Barbs

The Republican gubernatorial campaign has turned negative in the final days before Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary.
Supporters of State Representative Sam Rohrer of Berks County have hammered Attorney General Tom Corbett for calling the Constitution a “living document” in April.
The phrase is often construed as coded support for judges who impose new laws from the bench.
Larry Pratt, the executive director of Gun Owners of America, ripped into Corbett at a Harrisburg Rohrer rally.

"Those kinds of words come from somebody who does not respect for authority. Who thinks that he is the lord over it all. And there’s no way to restrain him. Anyone who believes in that living constitution nonsense is an enemy of freedom."

Corbett responded to Pratt’s attack...
"First off, I ask how many of them have served their country. As far as I know, Mr. Rohrer has never served his country in the military. To say I’m an enemy of freedom is absurd and ridiculous."
Corbett insists he’s a strict constructionist and conservative.
Acting on Corbett’s behalf, the state Republican Party distributed flyers last week attacking Rohrer for supporting the 2005 legislative pay raise and voting to increase lawmakers’ pensions.
Corbett says Rohrer isn’t a leader, arguing the Berks County representative hasn’t authored a single bill during his House tenure.

Interview With Candidate Sam Rohrer

There’s a final weekend of campaigning before voters go to the polls Tuesday for the Pennsylvania Primary. There are four Democrats and 2 Republicans seeking their parties’ respective nominations in the gubernatorial primary.
This week during Morning Edition and All Things Considered we are featuring one-on-one interviews with each of the candidates.
Republican Sam Rohrer is in his 17th year as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Berks County. He calls himself a “Constitutional Republican” and has been courting Tea Party members.
He spoke with DUQ’s Scott Detrow
Listen to the interview.