Tom Corbett

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Tom Corbett
Pennsylvania Attorney General
Incumbent
Assumed office
2004
Current term ends
2012
Political party Republican
Website Official Pennsylvania Attorney General website

Contents

Tom Corbett (born 1949) is the current Republican Attorney General of Pennsylvania. Though he was first elected to the position in 2004, Corbett had previously served in the office as an appointment by then-Governor Tom Bridge in 1995 to fill the unexpired term of Ernie Preate who was convicted of mail fraud.

Education

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

Professional experience

Corbett 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, 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. His skills and experience within the legal profession were recognized nationally when President George H. W. Bush appointed him 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. In the wake of Ridge's victory, Corbett worked on a number of state commissions, including the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Deliquency where he served as chairman. When he was appointed by ridge to fill the vacancy of state Attorney General left behind by the scandal-plagued Ernest Preate in 1995, he was required by the State Senate Democrats 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.

Political Issues

Healthcare reform

In the wake of the historic passage of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform legislation on Christmas Eve in 2009, Corbett was one of ten Republican Attorney Generals questioning not only the constitutionality of a specific controversial provision within the Senate version of the bill, but also exploring potential legal challenges to the measure as well. The stipulation in question was the back room deal Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid struck with Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson to recruit him as the 60th vote needed to pass the measure, an arrangement "dubbed the 'Nebraska Compromise' or the 'Cornhusker Kickback' by GOP critics." The agreement gives Nebraska exemption from its share of the Medicaid expansion, "a carve out that is expected to cost the federal government $100 million over 10 years." Corbett tweeted that he was "analyzing [the] constitutionality of 'Nebraska Compromise' in health care bill."[1]

2010 gubernatorial candidacy

See also: Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 2010

Corbett announced his candidacy for the Republican party nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania on September 15, 2009. [2] A Quinnipiac Poll taken in December 2009 indicated that he leads U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach for the Republican nomination with 38 percent favoring his candidacy. Furthermore, the polling data suggested that were the gubernatorial election to be held today Corbett would easily beat the three top-polling Democrats in head-to-head match-ups. [3]

Campaign contributions

2008 Race for Attorney General - Campaign Contributions
Total Raised $4,258,741
Total Raised by Primary Opponent N/A
Total Raised by Gen. Election Opponent $1,154,610
Top 5 Contributors Republican State Leadership Committee $691,550 (16.24% of Total)
John M. Templeton, Jr. $128,000 (3.01%)
Pennsylvania Future Fund $111,500 (2.62%)
John S. Middleton $100,000 (2.35%)
John G. Rangos, Sr. $85,000 (2%)
Other Notable Contributors Comcast $27,800 (0.65%)
Individuals v. Institutions $2,075,892 (48.7%)
$1,381,536 (32.4%)
In v. Outside State $3,084,972 (72.6%)
$1,145,527 (27%)

Electoral history

2004

2004 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary Election [4]
Candidates Percentage
Tom Corbett (R) 52.8%
Bruce Castor (R) 47.2%
Total votes 931,362
2004 Race for Attorney General - General Election [5]
Candidates Percentage
Tom Corbett (R) 50.4%
Jim Eisenhower (D) 48.4%
Marakay J. Rogers (Green) 1.3%
Total votes 5,423,269

2008

  • 2008 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [6]
    • Tom Corbett ran unopposed
2008 Race for Attorney General - General Election [7]
Candidates Percentage
Tom Corbett (R) 52.4%
John M. Morganelli (D) 45.7%
Marakay J. Rogers (Green) 1.9%
Total votes 5,732,574

Family life

Corbett currently resides in Pennsylvania with his wife, Susan Manbeck. The couple has had two children - Tom, a video game producer, and Katherine, a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.

Contact Information

Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
16th Floor
Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Phone: 717-787-3391
Fax: 717-787-8242

External links

References

  1. ↑ Politico "GOP AGs may sue over health bill" 24 Dec. 2009
  2. ↑ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Corbett announces he will run for governor in 2010" 15 Sept. 2009
  3. ↑ Philly.com "Poll finds Attorney General Tom Corbett holds wide lead in governor's race" 17 Dec. 2009
  4. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2004 Republican Primary Election Results
  5. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2004 General Election Results
  6. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2008 Republican Primary Election Results
  7. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State: Elections Information - 2008 General Election Results


Political offices
Preceded by
Ernie Preate 		Pennsylvania Attorney General
1995–1997 		Succeeded by
Mike Fisher
Preceded by
Jerry Pappert 		Pennsylvania Attorney General
2004–present 		Succeeded by
NA
v • d • e
State Attorneys General
   
Attorney General elections, 2010
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