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On Facebook, Hoeffel announces bid for governor

Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph M. Hoeffel has decided to run for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010, positioning himself as the true "progressive" in a growing field of contenders.

Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph M. Hoeffel has decided to run for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010, positioning himself as the true "progressive" in a growing field of contenders.

"I am in the race, and I am ready to ride!" Hoeffel announced in a post on his Facebook page yesterday.

Hoeffel said he was concerned that other top candidates in the primary would lead the party in a conservative direction.

"I want to see the state government continue to invest in health care, education, and jobs, to take an aggressive role in trying to create opportunities for people," Hoeffel said in an interview. "I like the policies Ed Rendell has pursued, and I fear that the Democratic Party may veer to the right."

He joins a field that includes Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, the early choice of many Rendell insiders; Auditor General Jack Wagner, who shares an Allegheny County base; Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox; and Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty.

This is Hoeffel's second statewide race. He gave up a U.S. House seat in a failed bid to defeat Sen. Arlen Specter, then a Republican, in 2004. After he was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2007, Hoeffel seemed doomed to the lonely existence of a minority commissioner, but he reached a power-sharing agreement with Republican James R. Matthews, freezing out Republican Bruce L. Castor Jr.

Hoeffel made his decision after his campaign commissioned a survey of 800 likely Democratic voters by pollster Celinda Lake conducted from Sept. 8 to 13. It found that half the electorate was undecided, as might be expected so early in the race. He led the pack with 15 percent of the vote, compared to 12 percent each for Onorato and Wagner.

The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points, showed Hoeffel running stronger in Southeastern Pennsylvania, where he has high name recognition after years as a congressman and county commissioner, coupled with his race for Senate.

"I have to work to get my name known outside this area, but I've got as strong a base here as anybody else in the state - and this is where the Democrats are," Hoeffel said. As much as 40 percent of the vote has come from Philadelphia and the four suburban counties in recent Democratic primaries.