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BELLEFONTE -- Republican Sen. Jake Corman (R-Benner Township) kicked off his campaign to be Pennsylvania's next governor during a rally last week at Axemann Brewery in his hometown of Bellefonte.
A few hundred supporters packed the upstairs area of the brewery to hear Corman speak. Corman, who has been one of Gov. Tom Wolf's strongest critics, officially announced his bid for governor. The event had been delayed for a couple of weeks while Corman recovered from a breakthrough case of COVID-19.
He said that it was important to make the official announcement in his hometown.
"It was so important to me to make this announcement at the beginning of this adventure in my hometown, where I grew up," Corman said. "My parents instilled values in my sisters, my brother and I, values of family, of faith, of hard work. American values. Pennsylvania values."
Centre County commissioner Steve Dershem emceed the event. He introduced Sue Paterno, the wife of the late Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno. He also introduced Jake's daughter, Bella Corman.
"I've known Jake Corman most of his life and I will tell you that he is the man to lead Pennsylvania," Dershem said. "He has the skill and the wisdom to get it done. A lot of times in politics, when you decide to run for something, the first thing they ask you is 'do you know what you're getting into?' Jake knows what he's getting into and he has a solution for it."
Corman said that he was inspired to run by the actions of current Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
"For the past 18 months, we saw a governor who told us who could go to work and who couldn't go to work to support their families. Who could go to school and get educated and who couldn't go to school. Who could get healthcare to improve their lives and who couldn't get healthcare. We had a governor tell us who could congregate, who could protest and who couldn't protest. The governor took a different approach. He took an approach that he knew better. To me, we're not a stay at home and let the government figure it out society. We are a can-do society," Corman said.
Prior to Corman's speech, he was endorsed by Paterno, who made it to the event in spite of a recent injury that left her arm in a sling. She talked about his commitment to the Centre Region.
"For the last 20 years, Jake has been a tireless advocate for our region and our Commonwealth. When Penn State needed a strong advocate in the legislature, Jake has always been there, working to ensure Penn State maintains a world class institution," Paterno said.
She also talked about his commitment to the Special Olympics, a subject near and dear to her heart.
"A few years ago, I met with Jake and showed him that Pennsylvania was one of the few states that didn't provide any state funding for Special Olympics, he stepped up. He found money in the budget to help the most vulnerable among us and did it without fanfare or accolades," Paterno said.
Corman was joined on stage by his daughter and his wife, Kelli. Bella, a freshman at Penn State, became emotional as she introduced her father.
"I want to talk about Jake Corman, the dad. Davis, Jacob and I are the luckiest children in the world because the job he's best at is being our Dad. For the past 19 years, he and my Mom have supported me in every way imaginable. He's been in my corner for everything in my life -- from Little League to graduation. If you know him, you know that comes with a few tears along the way, some laughs and so much love," Bella said.
Following the speeches, Corman met with supporters, getting plenty of hand shakes, high-fives and hugs as the event wrapped up. Dershem said that he's hopeful the next Pennsylvania governor will come from Centre County.
"We haven't had a governor from Centre County since probably the Civil War," Dershem said, "so it would be great if Bellefonte brought another one home in 2022."
For more information about Corman's run for governor, visit www.cormanforpa.com.