Report: Castor To Run for Governor?
Previously ran against Corbett in 2004 Pa. Attorney General primary
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Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor could challenge Pa. Governor Tom Corbett in 2014, PoliticsPA reports.
The 51-year-old former district attorney and Lower Salford resident is the minority Republican on the county's 3-person executive and legislative board, alongside Democrats Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards.
Castor told the political news website that he believes Corbett is "vulnerable" to a reelection challenge.
Corbett and Castor have a storied history, including a 2004 Republican primary race for Attorney General. The Republican State Committee endorsed Corbett for the post and Castor ran a grassroots campaign throughout the state, losing the nomination by five points.
Castor has served on the Board of Commissioners since 2008, but it's widely acknowledged that he spent most of his first term frozen out of the decision-making process by his erstwhile running mate, Jim Matthews, and Democrat Joseph Hoeffel.
Since joining Shapiro and Richards on the current Board of Commissioners, Castor and his colleagues have won generally high marks from observers for their bipartisan approach to the challenges facing the state's third-largest county, most notably the retooling of a 2012 operating budget that began the year with a shortfall of more than $10 million.
On the Democratic side, Shapiro has also been named as a possible 2014 contender for Corbett's seat. Shapiro declined last month to comment on those speculations.
andthatsthetruth
11:41 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Go to it Castor. It's a shame we have to wait till 2014. Let's hope the investigation into further Penn State activities may move it to a closer date. It will be a bigger mess to clean up after 2014 ......
1
11:44 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
It's looking more and more like a Democrat will end up in Harrisburg in 2014 as Castor is even worse than Corbett.
1
11:43 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
So the guy who is personally responsible for Republicans losing control of the Montgomery County Commissioners office for the first time in over 100 years thinks he deserves a promotion to Governor? When will this guy's sociopathic delusions end?
I can't stand Corbett but would vote for a stray dog over Castor.
Mike Shortall
10:53 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Just a bit disingenuous there, 1.
Castor wasn't to blame for the Democrats' victory, Jim Matthews was the turncoat in that whole episode. Then he and Hoeffle conspired to muck up the county finances while misleading the entire County on the state of the books.
That's what allowed Shapiro and Richards to run on a "no taxes" platform and why you're seeing discretionary spending being slashed from the County budget.
Castor had nothing to do with any of that, since he was essentially a political pariah to the Matthews-Hoeffel cartel and had absolutely no control or input.
Kathy
11:58 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Both Shapiro and Castor would be worthy candidates for the governor's job. Corbett likely could not even win as Dog Catcher after his failures surrounding the VERY beginning of the Sandusky investigation.
1
12:26 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Please explain why you think Castor is a "worthy candidate for the governor's job". Tell me one thing he has done during his time as a Commissioner (besides embarass the County with his ongoing fight with Matthews) that makes him "worthy" of even keeping the job he has yet alone be promoted to run the whole state. Castor actually hung his Commissioner's sign over his toliet when he was denied the Chair during his last term for crying out loud. PA needs a sociopath like Castor like we need a hole in the head. This clown will NEVER get enough state wide support to run anyway. This whole thing was must likely leaked by him just to get some attention.
James Kephart Jr.
6:19 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
You are probably correct. There are so many morons (no offense) in this state that will fall for the Democrats plan to make the Sandusky investigation a huge issue in Corbett's run for re-election (which is why I generally support the "anything to win" approach by Republicans).
Here is what you buddy Ed Rendell said:
“Should Governor Corbett [as attorney general] have moved faster? I think Governor Corbett’s explanation was he was trying to build a solid case by getting a number of cases to make it ironclad. And I think they do have an ironclad case. I think [Attorney] General [Linda] Kelly has an ironclad case.”
OMG
1:25 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Anybody else in the running that I would vote for?
really????
1:36 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
you can't blame Castor for the state of the GOP in Montgomery County
remember 2008??
Montgomery County Commissioner Jim Matthews has been a fixture in Republican politics for three decades. But the biggest political challenge of Matthews’ career may be upon him. Shortly after he and running mate Bruce Castor emerged victorious from a campaign in which many political experts predicted GOP defeat, Mr. Matthews allied himself with Democratic Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, becoming chairman but effectively giving substantial control to the minority party.
doc
1:41 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Shapiro is a good person! Castor is not!
I am a Republican and would vote for Shapiro and would vote for Mickey Mouse over Castor! Castor is an egoist supreme, a giant in his own mind, definitely with need of intelligence!
Tim Lewis
7:33 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012
I agree with you in part. What you said about Castor applies equally as well to Shapiro.
Robert Stroud
2:03 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Bruce Castor's self love will be his undoing. An egomanaical, lazy bully will go nowhere in the Governor's race. What a fool....
Martin Dyas
4:24 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Bruce is well deserving of the position. He warned us for years what was to come if Matthews and Hoffel continued unchecked. Now that he has bipartisan support, they are able to get the third largest county in PA back on track. The Governor's race will be an uphill battle for any Republican in 2014. If Bruce wants it, he has a good shot at getting it.
1
5:04 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Where in the world do you see "bipartisan support" for Castor? He barely held on to his Commissioner's seat and the Republicans lost control of Montgomery County for the 1st time in over 100 years during his last election. Castor is a clown and him running would only make it for what ever Democrat (Hanger?) emerges.
Mike Shortall
10:58 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
uh ... He's received a lot of positive press for working across the aisle with Shapiro and Richards. That would certainly get Castor some bipartisan support in this region.
I doubt Castor at this point has enough cross-state popularity to run for governor successfully though.
David Franklin
6:31 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Electing Castor over Corbett would be equivalent to replacing one dud with another dud. Corbett has consistently governed against the will of the people of Pennsylvania and Castor is just a shameless self-promoter.
Curmudgeon
3:50 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
@Franklin: Corbett was elected by the people, just as Obama. Obama has governed against the will of the people as well, but you adore him. What's the difference?? Oh I forgot, hypocrisy is allowed if you're a Dem!!
Robert Willi
1:28 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Explain to me where Obama governed against the will of the people?
As for Corbett he has done an okay job, but not taxing the Natural gas people is a big mistake. He should have learned from the past with the strip mining that was done and totally destroyed water ways as well the natural environment around those affected areas.
Mohandus Frieri
6:51 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Corbett has a good a chance of any of being the first one-term governor since the state enacted term limit legislation.
He would make a good governor for Mississippi (oops, they turned down personhood) or Alabama.
However Castor couldn't be elected to his township board of supervisors. He's as slick as his greasy hair.
LongTimeObserver
7:14 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Bruce had to make nice with Shapiro tand Richards to rehab his image to pave the way for a run at the Governor's Office. As for Montco Republicans losing control, that started happening a long time ago just as it has on the national level.
James Kephart Jr.
9:45 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Looks to me like Corbett has done a fantastic job cleaning up the mess Rendell left behind. State looks to be in the black. But I am sure that those on the left will want to use that surplus to re-hire those that we let go in order to get to this surplus.
To all you that think money grows on trees, remember this:
"Gov. Corbett's first budget was the first in more than 40 years to actually cut spending, and he, along with lawmakers, should be applauded for efforts to prepare for the four alarm fiscal fire facing the state"
Rofo_Rec
11:58 am on Thursday, December 6, 2012
... and the fracking ... you're ok with that ? ... smh
Not narrow minded
12:23 pm on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Martin, crawl back in that hole u came from.
Kathy
2:53 pm on Sunday, December 9, 2012
Does anyone know if either Castor or Shapiro attended the big Pennsylvania Society event at the Waldorf in NYC this weekend? That could be an indicator of any intentions to run for Pennsylvania governor.