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Rohrer aide says there’s a ‘clean, clear contrast’ with Corbett

Now that Jim Gerlach has dropped out of the gubernatorial race, state Representative Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) no longer has the benefit of a high-profile candidate to take votes away from state Attorney General and GOP front-runner Tom Corbett.

But for Rohrer, who’s framed himself as the true conservative candidate, little will change, an aide says.

“It sets up a very clean, clear contrast for any Republican that’s paying attention to the governor’s race,” Rohrer’s senior adivser Jeff Coleman said in an interview.

“You have on one hand a candidate in Corbett that has very high name-ID and enjoys good positives in the traditional sense,” Coleman said of Corbett, who is became the overwhelming favorite when Gerlach dropped out. “But this is a very different year in 2010. … The measures that the Republican State Committee have applied to choosing a governor have been name recognition and fundraising. They have placed no emphasis on vetting the candidate and their view of governing. If you listen to what the heartbeat of grassroots Republicans today, it has much more to do with taxation, spending and the role of government.

“So over the next few months,” Coleman added, “the people who vote in Republican primaries are going to give both Sam and Tom a real once over before making a decision. What can not happen is for us  to have a primary that’s decided on very thin information. When you’re going into an economic tsunai, you need someone who knows where to take the state.”

January 8, 2010 at 10:44 am

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Jim Gerlach, Sam Rohrer, Tom Corbett

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