Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain said he’s running for governor of Pennsylvania to turn the corner on eight years of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and put the state “on a better path” moving forward.
“Pennsylvania is at a fork in the road, and what it needs at this critical juncture is strong conservative leadership,” McSwain, 53, said. “I’ve lived a life of public service and I’m ready to lead.”
Wolf, McSwain said, “governed out of fear” and his COVID-19 pandemic closures and policies did “lasting damage” to businesses, students and the state’s economy.
“We’ve got a lot of lost ground that we need to make up for, and the sooner we do it the better,” he said.
The primary election is May 17, and the winner of the Republican nomination will take on state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the presumed Democratic nominee.
McSwain said his background as a Marine Corps veteran and former law enforcement official help him stand out from the Republican primary field. “I’m a conservative outsider. I’m not a career politician,” he said.
That statement might raise eyebrows with some who have known McSwain for a while.
According to a March 16 Philadelphia Inquirer story, former colleagues and officials who worked with McSwain said he was building a foundation for a political future for several years, including openly lobbying for the job of deputy U.S. attorney general just months after becoming U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia.
“He had…
