Tom Corbett

Tom Corbett

Republican Party

Prior offices

U.S. Attorney Western District of Pennsylvania

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Attorney General of Pennsylvania

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Governor of Pennsylvania

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Education

Bachelor's

Lebanon Valley College

Law

St. Mary's University School, 1975

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army National Guard

Years of service

1971 - 1984

Personal

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Attorney

Tom Corbett (born 1949) was the 46th Governor of Pennsylvania, serving from 2011 to 2015. A Republican, Corbett was elected on November 2, 2010, defeating Democrat Dan Onorato. He served one term in office, losing his bid for re-election in 2014 to Democrat Tom Wolf. Wolf succeeded Corbett as governor on January 20, 2015.

At the time of his election in 2010, Corbett was serving as Attorney General of Pennsylvania. He vacated the position, which he held since 2004, upon his inauguration as governor in January 2011. Corbett previously served as attorney general from 1995-1997. He was appointed interim attorney general by then-Governor Tom Ridge to finish the unexpired term of Ernie Preate, who resigned after being convicted of mail fraud.

Corbett ran unsuccessfully for re-election in 2014. Based on approval ratings, The New York Times rated Corbett as the 5th most vulnerable governor in 2014.

Corbett listed his priorities as governor as "A Job for Every Pennsylvanian that Wants One," "A Stable Financial Future for Pennsylvania," "Investing in Education," "A Trained and Educated Workforce," and "The Budget."

An analysis of Republican governors by Nate Silver of the New York Times in April 2013 ranked Corbett as the 19th most conservative governor in the country.

Biography

Corbett has a bachelor's degree from Lebanon Valley College, and a law degree from St. Mary's University School in San Antonio, Texas. He served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 28th Infantry Division from 1971 to 1984. During that time, he was able to achieve the rank of captain. Shortly after graduating from law school in 1975, he worked as an assistant district attorney in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Corbett was chosen in 1980 to act as an assistant to the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, a role he maintained for three years.

After returning to Pennsylvania and private practice, he entered the state's political stage for the first time, winning the election for township commissioner in Shaler Township, Pennsylvania. President George H. W. Bush appointed Corbett United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1988; he remained there until midway through Bill Clinton's first year in office.

Following his resignation, he again returned to private practice in Pennsylvania, while simultaneously serving as an advisor to Tom Ridge's successful 1994 gubernatorial campaign. Corbett worked on a number of state commissions, including the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency where he served as chairman. When he was appointed by Ridge to fill the vacancy of state Attorney General, he was required to sign a pledge that said he would not run for re-election the next year, a common practice in the state of Pennsylvania for appointments to elected offices.

Leaving office in 1997, he returned to the private sector by starting his own practice, Thomas Corbett and Associates, one he kept in operation until 2004. That same year he served as the general counsel for Waste Management.. Corbett's professional background also includes teaching civics and history at Pine Grove Area High School in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.

Education

• Bachelor's degree, Lebanon Valley College
• Juris Doctorate degree, St. Mary's University Law School (1975)

Political career

Governor of Pennsylvania (2011-2015)

Corbett was elected the 46th Governor of Pennsylvania in the November 2, 2010, general election. He was sworn into office on January 18, 2011. He lost his bid for a second term as governor in 2014, and was replaced by Democrat Tom Wolf on January 20, 2015.

Approval ratings

Several polls were conducted in the months leading up to the 2012 general election to gauge the people of Pennsylvania's opinion of their governor. The thousands of likely Pennsylvania voters who were surveyed between mid to late September reported an average 32% approval rating, while approximately 45% of respondents disapproved of the job he was doing. His job performance ratings continued to decline through early 2013. An April survey from Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed Corbett's approval rating hovering at 47 percent approval to 38 percent disapproval, with a negative 29 to 43 percent favorability rating-- marking the fourth consecutive month of negative scores for the first term governor. The poll, released over a year before the governor ran for re-election, also showed him losing by at least nine percentage points in hypothetical match-ups against three Democratic opponents. The poll indicated that U.S. Rep Allyson Schwartz polled more favorably than Corbett among female respondents by a margin of 2 to 1. Schwartz lost the Democratic nomination to Tom Wolf, who has also polled very strongly against Corbett.

Job Approval Rating of Governor Tom Corbett
Poll	Approve	Disapprove	Don't Know or NA	Margin of error	Sample size
Quinnipiac University (April 19-24, 2013)	38%	47%	15%	+/-2.8	1,235
Franklin and Marshall Poll (September 18-23, 2012)	30%	42%	28%	+/-3.9	632
Quinnipiac University Poll (September 18-24, 2012)	36%	47%	17%	+/-2.9	1,180
Muhlenberg College PA Poll (September 10-16, 2012)	30%	46%	25%	+/-4.0	640
AVERAGES	33.5%	45.5%	21.25%	+/-3.4	921.75
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Job creation ranking

A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Corbett was ranked number 41. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.

2013-14 Budget

Corbett delivered his 2013-14 budget to the Pennsylvania Legislature in early February 2013. Nathan Benefield of the pro-market Commonwealth Foundation commended asserted that Corbett's leadership had helped revive Pennsylvania's economy, which created jobs at a rate 17 times higher than that of the other 49 states. Benefield also supported Corbett's proposal to eliminate the state's corporate tax. Additional analysis by the Commonwealth Foundation showed that his proposed $67.6 billion in total spending would be the highest level ever for Pennsylvania without adjusting for inflation and the second-highest, behind only 2010-11, after taking inflation into account.

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Tom Corbett endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Sandusky Case

Do you think the way the Sandusky case was investigated by Governor Tom Corbett when he was Attorney General should be reviewed further, or not?
Poll	Yes	No	Do not know	Margin of error	Sample size
Franklin and Marshall Poll (September 18-23, 2012)	49%	42%	9%	+/-3.9	624
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

How would you rate the way Governor Corbett handled the Sandusky case when he was Attorney General?
Poll	Good to excellent job	Fair job	Poor job	Do not know	Margin of error	Sample size
Franklin and Marshall Poll (September 18-23, 2012)	17%	27%	39%	18%	+/-3.9	624
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Minimum wage

In December 2013, Corbett announced he did not support raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage given its negative impact on the state’s economic recovery. “The economy’s starting to come back,” Corbett said during an interview with the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader. "I always worry about changing the dynamic when we’re starting to come out of (the recession.)"

Attorney General of Pennsylvania (2005-2011)

Issues

Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")

See also: State Attorneys General Against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

On the same morning President Barack Obama signed into law his health care reform bill, Corbett and twelve other Attorneys General filed suit against the federal government to stop the plan, claiming it was unconstitutional.

Immigration

Nearly two weeks after the United States Justice Department filed suit against the state of Arizona over Senate Bill 1070 - The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (SB 1070), contending that it "interferes with federal immigration responsibilities," Corbett joined eight other Republican state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the measure. The Pennsylvania Attorney General argued that "the lawsuit filed by the federal government in this case undermines the constitutional authority of all our states."

Noteworthy events

Affordable Care Act lawsuit

See also: State Attorneys General Against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010

Corbett was one of 13 state attorneys general who initiated a 2010 lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The suit argued that the individual mandate fell outside of the federal government’s authority and that the requirement for state Medicaid expansion of coverage violated state sovereignty. The case was ultimately heard before the Supreme Court, which ruled to uphold the individual mandate as falling within Congress’ authority to levy taxes and struck down the Medicaid expansion as being unduly coercive in light of the withholding of funding that would result from noncompliance.

Elections

2014

See also: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014

Results

Primary election

Corbett was unopposed in the Republican primary.

Governor of Pennsylvania, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tom Corbett	100%	373,465
Total Votes		373,465
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State.

General election

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Tom Wolf/Mike Stack	54.9%	1,920,355
	Republican	Tom Corbett/Jim Cawley Incumbent	45.1%	1,575,511
Total Votes				3,495,866
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State

Debates

October 8 debate

Click here to watch a recording of the October 8, 2014, gubernatorial debate hosted by C-SPAN.

Endorsements

• Former Pennsylvania Governors Dick Thornburgh, Tom Ridge and Mark Schweike
• PEG PAC (affiliated with Pennsylvania Business Council)
• Chamber PAC (affiliated with Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry)

General election polling

General election

Pennsylvania Governor's Race - Corbett vs. Wolf, Polling from September 2014
Poll	Tom Corbett* (R)	Tom Wolf (D)	Other/Undecided/Won't vote	Margin of error	Sample size
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov October 16-23, 2014	39%	52%	8%	+/-3	3,111
Magellan Strategies October 13-14, 2014	42%	49%	9%	+/-2.9	1,131
Mercyhurst University September 15-24, 2014	28%	43%	29%	+/-4.5	479
Franklin & Marshall September 15-22, 2014	37%	57%	6%	+/-6.4	231
Magellan Strategies September 17-18, 2014	40%	49%	11%	+/-2.9	1,120
Muhlenberg College September 16-18, 2014	33%	54%	13%	+/-5.0	429
Quinnipiac September 3-8, 2014	35%	59%	6%	+/-2.9	1,161
Harper Polling September 2-3, 2014	41%	52%	7%	+/-3.2	665
AVERAGES	36.88%	51.88%	11.13%	+/-3.85	1,040.88
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Pennsylvania Governor's Race - Corbett vs. Wolf, Polling to August 2014
Poll	Tom Corbett* (R)	Tom Wolf (D)	Other/Undecided/Won't vote	Margin of error	Sample size
YouGov August 18 - September 2, 2014	39%	50%	11%	+/-2.0	3,560
Franklin & Marshall August 18-25, 2014	24%	49%	27%	+/-4.3	520
Magellan Strategies July 30-31, 2014	38%	50%	12%	+/-2.8	1,214
CBS News/NYT/YouGov July 5-24, 2014	39%	52%	9%	+/-0	4,150
Franklin & Marshall June 23-29, 2014	25%	47%	27%	+/-4.4	502
Public Policy Polling May 30 - June 1, 2014	30%	55%	15%	+/-3.4	835
Rasmussen May 27-28, 2014	31%	51%	18%	+/-4	750
Quinnipiac February 19-24, 2014	33%	52%	14%	+/-2.6	1,405
Gravis Marketing January 28, 2014	34%	41%	24%	+/-4	717
Quinnipiac December 11-16, 2013	37%	44%	14%	+/-3	1,061
AVERAGES	33%	49.1%	17.1%	+/-3.05	1,471.4
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.

Hypothetical match-ups

Democratic primary

Governor of Pennsylvania - Democratic Primary
Poll	Allyson Schwartz	Kate McGinty	Rob McCord	Tom Wolf	Not sure/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
Muhlenberg College for Morning Call May 13-15, 2014	14%	5%	9%	37%	35%	+/-5	414
Harper Polling May 12-13, 2014	15%	5%	15%	50%	16%	+/-4.14	559
Franklin & Marshall May 6-12, 2014	14%	5%	9%	33%	39%	+/-4.3	530
Muhlenberg College for Morning Call April 28-30, 2014	16%	3%	14%	42%	33%	+/-5	417
Franklin & Marshall March 25-31, 2014	7%	4%	6%	33%	46%	+/-4.3	524
Franklin & Marshall February 18-23, 2014	9%	1%	3%	36%	49%	+/-4.2	548
Harper Polling November 9-10, 2013	22%	15%	12%	5%	47%	+/-3.85	649
AVERAGES	13.86%	5.43%	9.71%	33.71%	37.86%	+/-4.4	520.14
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2010

See also: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2010

Corbett announced his candidacy for the Republican party nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania on September 15, 2009.

• 2010 General Election

Corbett and his running mate Jim Cawley earned 54.5% of the vote in the general election on November 2, 2010, defeating Democrat Dan Onorato and his running mate Scott Conklin.

Governor/Lt. Gov. of Pennsylvania, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Corbett/Jim Cawley	54.5%	2,172,763
	Democratic	Dan Onorato/H. Scott Conklin	45.5%	1,814,788
Total Votes				3,987,551
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State

• 2010 Republican Primary

Corbett won the Republican nomination for governor on May 18, 2010 with 68.7% of the vote over opponent Samuel Rohrer.

Governor of Pennsylvania, 2010
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tom Corbett	68.7%	589,249
Samuel Rohrer	31.3%	267,893
Total Votes		857,142

2008

• 2008 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary
  • Tom Corbett ran unopposed

On November 4, 2008, Tom Corbett won re-election to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He defeated John M. Morganelli (D) and Marakay J. Rogers (L) in the general election.

Pennsylvania Attorney General, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Corbett Incumbent	52.4%	3,002,927
	Democratic	John M. Morganelli	45.7%	2,619,791
	Libertarian	Marakay J. Rogers	1.9%	109,856
Total Votes				5,732,574
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State.

2004

2004 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary
Candidates		Percentage
Tom Corbett (R)		52.8%
Bruce Castor (R)		47.2%
Total votes		931,362

On November 2, 2004, Tom Corbett won election to the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He defeated Jim Eisenhower (D) and Marakay J. Rogers (G) in the general election.

Pennsylvania Attorney General, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Corbett	50.4%	2,730,718
	Democratic	Jim Eisenhower	48.3%	2,621,927
	Green	Marakay J. Rogers	1.3%	70,624
Total Votes				5,423,269
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Tom Corbett campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2014	PA Governor/Lieutenant Governor*	Lost	$31,739,681	N/A**
2010	PA Governor/Lieutenant Governor*	Won	$28,657,319	N/A**
2008	PA Attorney General	Won	$4,723,224	N/A**
2004	PA Attorney General	Won	$4,507,611	N/A**
Grand total			$69,627,835	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only availabale data.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Corbett and his wife, Susan Manbeck, have two children - Tom, a video game producer, and Katherine, a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Tom + Corbett + Pennsylvania + Governor"

Tom Corbett News Feed

Tom Corbett for Governor Campaign logo

See also

• Governor of Pennsylvania
• Governor
• Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2014
• Pennsylvania Attorney General
• Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
• Former Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley

External links

Suggest a link

• Social media:
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  • nndb = 823/000228139 YouTube
• Biographies:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Wikipedia
• Executive actions:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Works by or about:
  • WorldCat
• Media appearances:
  • IMDb

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Ed Rendell (D)	Governor of Pennsylvania 2010–2015	Succeeded by Tom Wolf (D)
Preceded by Jerry Pappert	Pennsylvania Attorney General 2004–2010	Succeeded by Linda Kelly (R)
Preceded by Ernie Preate	Pennsylvania Attorney General 1995–1997	Succeeded by Mike Fisher