HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More than a dozen Republican candidates for governor appeared on stage together for the first time Wednesday evening in a question-and-answer session that inspired a lot of agreement, some attempts to stand out and a couple sideswipes.

Thirteen candidates showed up to Dickinson College in Carlisle for an event sponsored by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and conservative website Broad and Liberty.

The questions — such as how would you reverse brain drain or how would you manage the pandemic differently than Gov. Tom Wolf — inspired pledges to cut taxes and regulations, promises to respect liberty and bitter recriminations over shuttering businesses and schools.

The government, bureaucrats, politicians and teachers’ unions were favorite punching bags, as were Wolf, President Joe Biden and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

They vowed to support “school choice,” cut unemployment compensation and, for some, to repeal the state’s mail-in voting law.

Candidates each received one minute to answer a question, with no time built in for rebuttals or responses.

A few worked a little harder to stand out.

Charlie Gerow, a marketing consultant and longtime conservative activist, gave out his cell phone number.

A question about protecting the energy industry brought criticism of the centerpiece of Wolf’s strategy to fight climate change, a plan to impose a price on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

It also brought pledges to expand drilling in what is already the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state. Jason Richey, a Pittsburgh-based lawyer, said he would push to develop liquefication plants to help export the state’s natural gas.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2022/01/06/pennsylvania-republican-governor-candidates-question-and-answer-session/