Wolf backs Evans in 2nd District
Gov. Wolf endorsed State Rep. Dwight Evans on Tuesday in the April 26 Democratic primary for the Second Congressional District seat, but said his support had nothing to do with the 11-term incumbent, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, being under federal indictment.
Gov. Wolf endorsed State Rep. Dwight Evans on Tuesday in the April 26 Democratic primary for the Second Congressional District seat, but said his support had nothing to do with the 11-term incumbent, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, being under federal indictment.
"I think the congressman has all the rights that any American citizen has to defend himself," said Wolf, who has known Evans since 1991. "He is doing that. And he should do that. I'm not saying anything about any Democrat. This is about Dwight."
Wolf praised Evans, who has served 36 years in the state House, at the Enterprise Center, a West Philadelphia nonprofit organization that helps small business owners. He and Evans spoke about taxes and job creation with 10 business owners gathered for lunch at the center.
"He understands the value of strategic thinking in politics," Wolf said later of Evans in a room filled with union laborers, stagehands, and State Store workers. "Politics is not just a matter of transactions. It's not just a matter of getting from one day to the next, from one vote to the next or horse-trading."
Mayor Kenney endorsed Evans this month.
Evans was an early supporter of Wolf in his 2014 run for governor and a key endorsement for Kenney's campaign last year.
Fattah on Tuesday cast Wolf's endorsement of Evans as repayment of "a political debt" but questioned whether it made sense to support Evans, who would go to the House with no seniority and little pull in the competition for federal dollars.
"Can we afford the trade?" Fattah asked.
Kenney, like Wolf, said his Feb. 4 endorsement was about Evans and not Fattah's legal problems.
Fattah is due to start his federal trial six days after the primary. He was charged in July with racketeering, bank fraud, bribery, and money laundering in what prosecutors call a scheme to pay back an illegal loan to his 2007 mayoral campaign.
Also on the Democratic ballot for the Second District congressional seat are Dan Muroff, a lawyer and ward leader from East Mount Airy, and Lower Merion Township Commissioner Brian Gordon.
James Jones, who operates a human resources consulting firm, is the lone Republican in the race.
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@ByChrisBrennan