Pennsylvania primary election knocks Penn affiliates out of race

The Pennsylvania primary election held on Tuesday, May 23, was the end of the road for several Penn alumni seeking office.

The defeated Penn graduates include 1989 Wharton MBA recipient Rob McCord, who sought the gubernatorial nomination, and 1998 Penn Law graduate Tomas Sanchez, who lost the Democratic nomination for state senate.

Additionally, 1963 College and Wharton graduate and Senior Lecturer Marjorie Margolies and Penn professor of anesthesiology and critical care Valerie Arkoosh both lost the Democratic nomination for congressional representative in the 13th district to current Pennsylvania state representative Brendan Boyle. Margolies is mother-in-law of Chelsea Clinton and received outward support from the Clinton family during her campaign.

Although Margolies lost this election, she remained optimistic about the political cycle.

“I think you just have to go for [the election],” Margolies said. “I’ve always said you have to be prepared to lose before you can win.”

Four Democrats campaigned for the nomination of Governor. Former state revenue secretary and MIT graduate Tom Wolf polled as the frontrunner of the race. beating out his three opponents by a wide margin on Tuesday.

Current GOP governor Tom Corbett is credited for a series of controversial political decisions while in office. During his term, he opposed same-sex marriage, the sale of medical marijuana and the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Corbett also supervised enormous cutbacks in funding for state education.

Tom Wolf ran a significantly self-funded campaign, which included a series of television advertisements illustrating him as a Jeep driver and featuring testimonials by his daughters.

With schooling a prominent election issue, Wolf’s campaign website promises that he will work to restore the faltering Philadelphia public education system.

“Jobs and education are the two key issues [facing Pennsylvania today],” Margolies said.

Since 1970, every Pennsylvania governor has won a second term.

Tuesday's primary also ended the road for several female candidates, including Margolies. Of the 20 Senators and Representatives elected to represent Pennsylvania in Congress, none will female. 

Margolies is a known women’s rights activist and spoke to this dearth.

“I think we need more women at the table. Women are not [at] the table; they’re on the menu. I think we need to make sure there are more women running and more women winning,” Margolies said.

Margolies did not specify whether she plans to run another campaign in the future.

On Tuesday, voters cast ballots at seven locations on Penn’s campus, including those situated at Harnwell, Houston Hall, and Hill House. Official numbers of the amount of votes cast on campus are still being tabulated and will be available next week on the Philadelphia City Commissioners website.

Party nominees will square off on Election Day in November.

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