Dem candidates for Pa. gov square off in debate

Democrats competing to be the party’s standard-bearer against Republican Gov. Tom Corbett stuck close to their campaign scripts in a debate in Harrisburg.

But there were some surprises as six of the seven candidates fielded questions for two hours Friday night at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit at a downtown hotel in Harrisburg.

Rob McCord, the state treasurer and a candidate, seized the opportunity to call for increasing the state’s minimum wage to $10.70 an hour — higher than any of his opponents has proposed.

Tom Wolf, a York businessman and former state revenue secretary who emerged as the front-runner in polls released this week, defended his decision to pump $10 million of his own money into his campaign.

McCord and Schwartz have sought to make Wolf’s wealth a campaign issue.