Election Forum: Looking at Tuesday’s election and longing for Philly’s mayoral race

Although Tuesday’s election is viewed by many as a yawn, the election team from NewsWorks/WHYY found plenty to talk about at a lively forum Wednesday.

WHYY’s Holly Otterbein and senior reporter Dave Davies unpacked some of the most outrageous advertising claims in the gubernatorial race, where incumbent Republican Tom Corbett is fighting for his life against challenger Tom Wolf, who maintains a comfortable ― if narrowing ― lead in most polls. They, and WHYY’s Vice President of News and Civic Dialogue Chris Satullo explored the contentious issue of what Corbett did to funding for the Philadelphia schools.

But soon, Davies said, the relatively dull governor’s race will give way to the April mayoral primary in Philadelphia, which, because of Philadelphia’s Democratic majority, usually ends in the defacto election of a mayor.

Holly Otterbein outlined a field of candidates that Davies said many observers find less than satisfying. But there could be a spoiler on the way, Davies said, as former Mayor and Pa. Governor Ed Rendell’s name is being bandied about as a potential candidate. 

Dick Polman, NewsWorks’ National Interest Blogger, also outlined the mid-term Congressional fight and highlighted several hot Senate races throughout the country.