Republican candidate Tom Corbett showcased the endorsements of a variety of Democratic figures Friday as an apparently tightening race for governor headed into its home stretch.
In a room decorated with photographs of Democratic notables including former President Bill Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, and Sen. John Kerry, Mr. Corbett stood with about a dozen Democratic supporters at the Banksville headquarters of the Boilermakers Union.
Alluding to the Democratic voter registration edge in the state, the attorney general said, "As a Republican we don't get elected statewide unless Democrats vote for us."
Among the cross-party endorsers was the veteran state Rep. Pete Daley, D-Washington County, who lauded Mr. Corbett's prosecutions of legislative figures.
"I believe in what he's done with the Legislature," Mr. Daley said. "We have to get through this political corruption.''
Mr. Daley is running for re-election against GOP nominee Richard Massafra, a Washington County businessman.
Ray Ventrone, the business manager of the Boilermakers local, said the chief motive for his union's decision was their belief that the Republican would be a more effective ally for the coal industry.
"Democrats have a history of hugging trees lately," he said.
Mr. Ventrone said his membership was attracted by the Republican's position on Marcellus Shale. Mr. Corbett is opposed to a severance tax on the fast-growing natural gas drilling industry. His opponent, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, supports a tax on the industry at a level that he said would be competitive with other states with natural gas deposits.
Mr. Corbett appeared on a day when new public polling showed his opponent beginning to narrow the advantage Mr. Corbett has held throughout the campaign. A new Quinnipiac survey showed Mr. Corbett with a lead of 49 percent to 44 percent. Separately, a daily tracking poll conducted by Muhlenberg College for the Allentown Call showed Mr. Onorato trailing by a wider margin, 49 percent to 40 percent.
The Republican nominee professed serenity about the movement in the polls.
"We always knew this race would tighten," he said, "We anticipated it would be a close race."
But he added that he was confident Nov. 2 would be a day of victory for his campaign and for Republicans up and down the ballot.
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