Pa. Sen. Anthony Williams Picks Up 2 Big Endorsements for Governor

(Pa. state senator Anthony Williams is flanked by Rep. Dwight Evans, left, and Mayor Nutter.)

by KYW's Steve Tawa

He joined late in the race for governor in Pennsylvania, but state senator Anthony Williams is trying to make up for that, in part, with an endorsement from Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter.

State representative Dwight Evans (D-Phila.), chairman of the powerful state House Appropriations Commmittee, is also backing Williams.

The Democratic primary for governor is less than two months away, and the the big leader in the race is "I don't know," according to a recent survey. Williams notes:

"The latest Franklin and Marshall poll had 71 percent of Democrats polled as undecided."

But Williams insists he'll do well:

"We're competitive, we have a base, we have a message. People are paying attention to it."

Mayor Nutter and Williams go way back to their early days in politics when Williams father, the late Hardy Williams, was an influential state senator.

Nutter calls the 53-year-old Williams "an outside-the-box thinker" on education, economic opportunities, and fighting crime:

"A great public servant, a son of West Philadelphia, and a great friend to the City of Philadelphia."

Williams was quick to respond to a reporter's observation that Governor Rendell told a national interviewer that Tom Corbett was a "slam-dunk" to be the Republican nominee and "probably the favorite" to become the next governor.

Williams was asked how that analysis affects the quartet of Democratic candidates, when a Democratic governor has that view.

"Probably the same way it affected Hillary Clinton, when he picked her to be a slam-dunk. That's his opinion."

Clinton won the battle in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary, beating Barack Obama by 10 percentage points, but lost the primary war.

The other Democratic candidates in the May 18th primary are Montgomery County commissioner Joe Hoeffel, state auditor general Jack Wagner, and Allegheny County Executive Don Onorato.