With the Democratic challengers fighting it out for their party’s nomination, Governor Tom Corbett has been largely out of the fray. But as soon as Tuesday’s primary election is over, the general election battle begins.
Though it's been two and a half years since former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was first charged with the sexual abuse of children, analysts say the Sandusky scandal might bubble-up again on the campaign trail.
Terry Madonna is a leading authority on Pennsylvania politics. He's the director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. He says the way Governor Corbett handled the Sandusky investigation as Attorney General and the subsequent fallout at Penn State could potentially damage his election bid.
Madonna says there are two things that could happen before November that could bring political attention back to the Sandusky scandal. First is that Attorney General Kathleen Kane could release her report on how Corbett handled the Sandusky investigation, back when he was the state's top prosecutor. Second: Penn State officials Gary Schultz, Tim Curley, and former president Graham Spanier have been charged with covering-up Sandusky's crimes--and it's just a matter of whether they're brought to trial before November's election.
Madonna says, "There is no doubt that this has caught the ire of many many Penn State alums and Penn State football fans. I do think there's still a lot of pushback and fallout against Corbett on all of the ramifications of the Penn State situation."
It's not just Corbett's involvement as Attorney General that Penn Staters haven't forgotten. There's also the role Corbett played as a Penn State trustee, specifically in the board's decision to dismiss Joe Paterno.
And Corbett has been criticized for playing politics in the investigation. One criticism is the idea that he intentionally stalled Sandusky's arrest until after Corbett was elected governor, to avoid political fallout. Another is his now-dismissed lawsuit against the NCAA, in which he objected to its sanctions against Penn State, a move some think may be an attempt to win back Penn Staters.
But there's also the argument that the politicization of the Sandusky scandal goes both ways.
"I'm pretty sure that Attorney General Kane is going to issue her report at an appropriate time." Bob Guzzardi is the Republican who hoped to challenge Corbett in the primar before the state Supreme Court ultimately dismissed him from the ballot for failing to properly meet a filing deadline for financial disclosures. Guzzardi suggests Kane might be waiting to release her report when it's politically expedient.
Governor Corbett wasn't available for an interview. His campaign manager, Mike Barley, says he has no comment on the political implications around the timing of Attorney General Kane's report.
Barley says it's time for everyone to move on.
But are Pennsylvania voters ready to move on? Consider this: every alumni-elected trustee who sat on the Penn State Board during the fallout of the Sandusky scandal has since been replaced.
