It's Clinton vs. Christie ... for Wolf vs. Corbett

THE NOV. 4 gubernatorial election, still 25 days away, already feels so . . . well . . . over.

But the race managed to serve yesterday as a stage for a potential 2016 presidential matchup.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stumped for female votes at the National Constitution Center for Democrat Tom Wolf, who already holds a healthy lead in the polls on Gov. Corbett with that half of Pennsylvania's electorate.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, rallied in Wayne for Corbett. The RGA, Corbett's biggest donor, has pumped nearly $6 million into keeping the state's top job in the hands of a Republican.

We were left with the sense that Clinton and Christie were really thinking about how Pennsylvania's 20 Electoral College votes figure into the 2016 presidential math.

Having a pal in the governor's mansion that year, someone who owes a favor, could be handy.

Clinton hit Corbett hard on key gaffes he made in his first term, including saying women who opposed legislation requiring an ultrasound before an abortion could just "close their eyes" during such a procedure and comparing gay marriage to incest.

And she said it was "heartbreaking" to see public-education woes across Pennsylvania.

"When education funding is cut and your kids pay the price, that is a down payment on decline," Clinton told about 1,000 people.

Christie, speaking about 14 miles away to about 200 people at Valley Forge Military Academy, accused Wolf of lying about Corbett's record.

Corbett has chafed at the claim that he cut public education funding, insisting that it has really increased on his watch. That's true if you count legislatively mandated pension funding increases.

Christie slammed Wolf for talking about changing the way the state taxes residents but not providing specifics when pressed.

"This is a guy who knows only one thing and that's raise taxes," Christie said. "If you want higher taxes, vote for the governor's opponent, because of all the vague, ridiculous things he's talking about, every one of them is going to cost money."

A Quinnipiac University Poll in June found Christie leading other potential GOP presidential candidates among registered voters in Pennsylvania for a prospective 2016 run but trailing Clinton, 45 percent to 41 percent. Clinton ran stronger with women while Christie did better with independents.

A RealClearPolitics.com average of national polls shows Clinton leading Christie by 9 points in a potential 2016 general election matchup.

Megan Rath, the Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Bob Brady in the 1st Congressional District, has the pressure of first-time candidacy intensified by a documentary crew tracking her movements on the campaign trail.

Filmmaker Marco Ricci is studying the issue of incumbency as Rath runs in a district where 73 percent of the registered voters are Democrats, against a city Democratic Party chairman who has held office since 1998.

For balance, Ricci has also turned his lens on Texas' 13th District as Democrat Mike Minter challenges Mac Thornberry, a Republican first elected in 1994 in the "Contract with America" wave headed that year by former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

How red is Thornberry's district? He didn't even have a Democratic challenger in 2012 and won with 91 percent of the vote against two third-party foes.

Rath says she has banked more than $50,000 for her run - the next campaign finance reports are due next week - and she points out publicly that she raised that cash with almost no help from the city or state parties.

Rath invested a big chunk of that cash in two Interstate 95 billboards that went up this week.

The billboards make no mention of Rath's political party, she said, because she wants to focus on building her own brand as an "urban Republican" while avoiding what she calls the "wack-a-doodle" conservative partisanship of politicians like U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.

"I think all the people need to be exposed, if you want to use that word, to know this was not political on her part."

- Gov. Corbett, when asked in a debate Wednesday if state Attorney General Kathleen Kane is being political by releasing some of the pornography emailed by his former top deputies.

- Staff writer Jenny DeHuff

contributed to this report.

Phone: 215-854-5973

On Twitter: @ChrisBrennanDN

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