PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Republican state Sen. Jake Corman ended his run for Pennsylvania governor days before the primary election in the hopes of unifying the Republican Party. It remains to be seen how much of an effect that will have, but his decision does mean that for the first time since the late 1970s, there won’t be a Corman in the upper levels of state government.
Corman has been in the Pennsylvania Senate since 1999, when he took over the Centre County seat his father, Doyle Corman, held since 1977. He climbed the ranks, becoming majority leader in 2015, then president pro tempore in 2020.
Corman was up for re-election this year but announced he was running for governor and would not seek re-election to the state Senate.
That run, however, never gained much momentum. With polling in the low-single-digits, Corman bowed out of the race, throwing his support behind former Congressman Lou Barletta. He said it’s the right move for the party, though he admitted it’s not easy.
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“I’m asking those friends of mine, those supporters of mine, even though my name will be there, not to vote for me. My daughter’s first election, I’m gonna tell her, ‘Don’t vote for me. Don’t vote for your dad,’ ” he said.
At the 11th hour, a week before the election, Republican insiders had reportedly tried to get other candidates to drop out and unify behind another in an effort to keep frontrunner Doug Mastriano from winning the nomination. Insiders say he is too controversial to beat Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is unopposed in the Democratic primary, to win the general election in the fall.
Mastriano was officially endorsed by President Donald Trump over the weekend.
“It’s difficult,” continued Corman. “My name will obviously remain on the ballot. I even asked my mother last night to vote for Lou. It’s gonna be hard for a mother to go on on her ballot, see her son’s name and not check it.”
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Longtime political analyst Terry Madonna said Corman’s absence from the state Senate will mark a changing of the guard.
“He’ll be out of the Pennsylvania Legislature,” said Madonna. “Whether his future is in business or in government relations remains to be seen. But obviously, in the near future anyway, it’s not likely to be a return to the Pennsylvania Legislature.”
“To see him strategically trying to find ways to keep other candidates from being elected is probably not the way he imagined it all ending,” added Muhlenberg pollster and political science professor Chris Borick.
Corman is expected to finish out his term. He has not indicated his future plans.