Corbett promises to pursue job growth

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Wednesday that he will run for re-election.

Corbett, a native of Shaler Township, returned to Pittsburgh to announce his campaign at the Heinz History Center, which is located Downtown. Corbett, a Republican, has served as governor since 2011 and based his candidacy for a second term on claims that he has fulfilled his promises to create more jobs and reduce taxes.

While Corbett claims that he has created more jobs, researchers at the University of Arizona have ranked Pennsylvania 43rd in the country in job growth. Jobs in the state grew .74 percent from August 2012 to August 2013.

According to Billy Pitman, press secretary for Corbett’s campaign, 141,000 new jobs have been created since Corbett took office. The governor’s focus area has been improving Harrisburg, and if elected, he plans to “focus on breaking down barriers to small business, which affects job growth.”

Marc Eisenstein, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College in Harrisburg, Pa., conducted a survey in August 2013 on voters’ evaluation of Corbett’s first term. The sample included 594 voters, 292 Democrats, 217 Republicans and 85 people who identified themselves as independent or “other.”

The survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent, reported that 62 percent of voters said that the state is “off on the wrong track.”

Voters were skeptical of Corbett’s performance in office.

Twenty percent of all voters — and 38 percent of Republicans — said that Corbett deserved re-election.

According to the survey, respondents also said that education and unemployment are the two most important issues Pennsylvania faces.

While the voters who answered survey questions disapproved of the governor’s performance, Pitman said that Corbett has taken steps to increase the number of jobs in the state.

Pitman added that the number of jobs in natural gas drilling has grown during Corbett’s administration.

“His main priority is job creation, and he wants to make sure that jobs are there for when [college students] are graduating and having just a better economy, in general, to come out to,” Pitman said.