Jack Wagner

One name that has come up a few times as a potential gubernatorial candidate on the Democratic side is former Environmental Secretary Katy McGinty. Inside Edge reported shortly after McGinty stepped down that she was making calls and while not asking for support those receiving the calls believed she may be laying the groundwork for a state-wide run. You can probably remove her name from the short list as it appears Barack Obama will name McGinty the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Good news for Dan Onorato, Jack Wagner, Tom Knox and Tom Wolf.

State Auditor General Jack Wagner is considered one of the front-runners for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2010. If Wagner was looking for any signs in his re-election bid this year, he probably got them.

Wagner was facing a re-election challenge from Lancaster businessman Chet Beiler. Wagner was expected to win from day one and could have cruised to re-election, but deteremined to win even more friends for a 2010 state-wide bid Wagner never let up off the accelerator. For that he was rewarded with with more votes than other candiate on the ballot. Wagner received 70K more votes than even Barack Obama did.

Look for Wagner to turn that momentum into a gubernatorial bid fairly quickly.    

Democrats Jack Wagner and Rob McCord seem to be cruising in their row-office races in early returns.

Wagner, the incumbent Auditor General, was leading Republican Chet Beiler by about 36 points, 66.6 percent to 30.6 percent, with almost 48 percent of precincts reporting. Wager had about 1.4 million more votes than Beiler.

McCord, the party's candidate for the open state Treasurer seat, was leading Republican Tom Ellis by about 25 points, 61.3 percent to 36.6 percent with almost half the precincts reporting. He was up more than half-a-million votes.

Both candidates had been expected to cruise easily, thanks in part to significantly better fundraising and a Democratic registration edge that exceeds 1.2 million voters.

In a busy election season, it probably makes sense that candidate for state Auditor General have waited until close to Election Day to try and break through the chatter with TV ads of their own. And here they are.

Democratic incumbent Jack Wagner, who is heavily favored and is also considered a potential candidate for governor in 2010, has already had ads up for a few weeks, including a soft biographical spot (click here to see it) featuring his time in the Marines and his family life.

"As Auditor General," he says to the camera, "I've made a difference, saving millions of taxpayer dollars and security major reforms of state programs. I'm proud of that record, and I'd appreciate your vote."

Republican challenger Chet Beiler, who has significantly less campaign cash, has been a bit later to the party, with his very short spot (embedded below) only hitting the airwaves in recent days.

"Chet Beiler will use his real-world business experience the corruption and waste in Harrisburg," the ad says.

The candidates for state Auditor General will hold their first and only debate Tuesday morning in Philadelphia.

Incumbent Democrat Jack Wagner, Republican Chet Beiler and Libertarian Betsy Summers will face off at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Mansion on Walnut Street at 11 a.m. The debate will also be televised on PCN the next day at noon.

Wagner is heavily favored to win reelection, with stronger name recognition and significantly more campaign cash than his opponents. His name has also been floated as an early Democratic candidate for governor in 2010.

When your line of attack agaisnt your opponent is they are neglecting their duties as an elected official, but then admit the opponent is attending all their meetings, it's time for a new line of attack. That lands Tony Bompiani on this week's Winners & Losers list.

Democratic Auditor General Jack Wagner has nearly $400,000 more on hand than his Republican challenger, Chet Beiler, according to campaign finance documents filed with the Department of State last week.

The significant cash advantage boosts the incumbent Wagner, already the favorite, and raises doubts whether Beiler will raise enough money for a statewide election.

Wagner has $511,855 on hand after raising $338,111 from May 13 to Sept 15. He spent $198,116 the past four months.

But Beiler has just $121,912 on hand after raising $194,299 since May. The Republican, who spent $138,087 since May, also has $135,281 in unpaid debts.

Beiler did reportedy raise $100,000 last weekend during a fundraiser with former Gov. Tom Ridge.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board this weekend announced its endorsement of Auditor General Jack Wagner for re-election to a second term.  The state's second largest newspaper is the first newspaper endorsement in the 2008 Auditor General race. The newspaper concluded Wagner and his performance deserve a second term for among other reasons he "has picked ripe targets during his first term in office, and he has solid results to show for it."  The newspaper cited Wagner's audits of PHEAA, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Port Authority of Allegheny County in particular.

Auditor General Jack Wager was endorsed for reelection today by the the Pennsylvania State Building and Construction Trades Council, the campaign announced.

Wagner, a Democrat who is running for a second term against Republican Chet Beiler and is also considering a run for governor in 2010, already has significant support from organizied labor.

The Council represents 96,000 active and retired construction workers across the state.

"Jack Wagner has stood up for working men and women during his entire career, and especially as Auditor General," Council President Frank Sirianni said in a statement.  "We're proud to support him for re-election."