Gov. Tom Wolf Thursday issued this statement in reaction to the results of the November 8 election—
I just want to say a few words about the election on Tuesday. For many people in Pennsylvania, as well as myself, there were candidates for office we supported that were successful, and some that were not.
Specifically, I want to congratulate Josh Shapiro, Eugene DePasquale, Joe Torsella, and Pat Toomey on their wins and welcome the new lawmakers who will be joining us in Harrisburg. I look forward to getting to know you and to working with you and I will be reaching out in the coming days.
On a national level, our President-elect is Donald Trump and we do have to give him a chance and hope he does well because he will be the leader of our country and our military.
It should also be noted that many people across this state and country are still hurting – they do not believe the economy is working for them, and are looking for their elected leaders to hear their voices and take action to address these fundamental issues that are squeezing the middle class and working families.
We should not ignore this reality, which is why, right here in Harrisburg, I am going to continue working with Republicans who already held historic majorities to make Pennsylvania stronger.
Over the last two years, working together, we have accomplished historic increases in education funding totaling more than $640 million for education at all levels, a fair funding formula, the legalization of medical marijuana, historic reforms to our liquor system, providing unemployment insurance for 44,000 people, and we continue to make major progress in combating the heroin crisis.
In Pennsylvania, we have shown we can work across party lines to get things done and I am committed to continuing that bipartisan work.
However, there is still more that we need to do. We must work together to reduce property taxes, protect Pennsylvania jobs from being sent to other states, invest in manufacturing and our economy, and ensure those who work hard can join the middle class.
These priorities are values shared across our state, regardless of where you live or what party you belong to.
It is something I have been dedicated to my entire life – when I drove a forklift at my family business, helped rebuild my kitchen cabinet company, shared-profits with my employees, and treated them with the respect and dignity they deserve.
I also want to assure Pennsylvanians that I will continue to protect women’s health, and access to health care for the 700,000 Pennsylvanians now enrolled in Medicaid.
I will keep fighting to staunchly defend the rights of minorities, the rights of people to vote, and for equal rights for the LGBT community.
And I will strive to make government smarter and more efficient while also investing in everyone’s future – from our children to our seniors.
Pennsylvania was founded on the principles of inclusion, tolerance, and fairness, and I look forward to continuing to work with Republicans, Democrats, and everyone in between to move our state forward.
