Public Media for Central Pennsylvania
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway is joining Pa. Senator Jake Corman's campaign for governor

Head and shoulders shot of Kellyanne Conway
Stephanie Chasez/The White House
/
The White House
Kellyanne Conway, who served as a campaign manager and counselor to former President Donald Trump, is joining Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman's campaign for governor. Conway is seen here in a commissioned portrait at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House on Thursday, July 27, 2017, in Washington, D.C.

State Senator Jake Corman is getting help in his bid to win the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor from a nationally known pollster: Kellyanne Conway, former campaign manager for Donald Trump.

Corman's campaign announced Friday that Conway is joining his team as campaign pollster and a special adviser. Conway was campaign manager for Trump in 2016, when he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton, including in Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden beat Trump in Pennsylvania in 2020.

Corman, who is Senate President Pro Tempore, is a native of Bellefonte, Centre County. He is facing a stiff battle in the bid for the Republican nomination for governor. Thirteen Republican candidates appeared at a recent debate. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is expected to win the Democratic nomination.

“Kellyanne Conway is a proven winner who’s ready to help Republicans take back the governor’s office here in Pennsylvania,” Corman said in a news release. “Her experience in communications and polling is second-to-none. Kellyanne knows what it takes to win tough campaigns, and we’re excited to have her on our team.”

Conway founded The Polling Company Inc./WomanTrend, a privately held company she operated from 1995-2017. She now runs KAConsulting LLC. A lawyer, Conway was licensed to practice law in four states, including Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania needs a strong, principled leader who will end years of destructive progressive politics in the governor’s office,” Conway said in the announcement. “Jake Corman is that leader. He has the experience to take command quickly and restore the personal freedoms stripped from Pennsylvanians by Gov. Wolf during the pandemic. He’ll create jobs, expand educational opportunities and give law enforcement the tools they need to stop the violence plaguing Pennsylvania communities.”

Corman was one of those to successfully legally challenge the Wolf administration's mask mandate in Pennsylvania schools last year.

Pennsylvania is seen as a key battleground state in elections for U.S. House and president. Legislative redistricting is currently underway.

Anne Danahy has been a reporter at WPSU since fall 2017. Before crossing over to radio, she was a reporter at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pennsylvania, and she worked in communications at Penn State. She is married with cats.