Tom Wolf

On April 2, 2013, Wolf announced his candidacy for Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2014 election. He pledged $10 million of his personal wealth toward the primary election, with an intent to raise at least $5 million from supporters throughout the state. He was the third person to announce candidacy, following John Hanger of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Max Meyers, a minister from Cumberland County, but at least four others were expected to join the race.[21]

By March 2014, several polls suggested Wolf was the front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination following an extensive television campaign.[22][23] A Franklin & Marshall College poll conducted in late February 2014 showed Wolf with a 27-point lead over his nearest competitor, Allyson Schwartz,[24] and a Harper poll showed him leading Schwartz by 26 percentage points,[25] as did an additional Franklin & Marshall poll in late March 2014.[26]

In late April and early May, Wolf faced attacks from fellow candidate Rob McCord over his association with controversial former York, Pennsylvania, mayor Charlie Robertson.[27] Allyson Schwartz also accused Wolf's campaign of plagiarizing his "Fresh Start" plan from an energy equipment company.[28] Despite the attacks, a Muhlenberg College/Morning Call poll suggested Wolf continued to lead with 38% to Schwartz's 13% and McCord's 11%.[29]

Wolf takes the oath of office as Governor on January 20, 2015.

In the May 20 primary, Wolf defeated Schwartz, McCord, and Katie McGinty to win the Democratic nomination for governor. He faced incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett in the November general election.[30] Heading into the final two months of the campaign, a number of polls indicated a varying but consistent advantage for Wolf over Corbett. Although Corbett slightly narrowed the deficit as the election approached, Wolf maintained a persistent lead in the race.[31][32][33][34] On November 4, Wolf was elected governor with 54.9% of the vote.[35][36] Wolf's victory was notable for engaging traditionally Republican areas of the state. Insiders have attributed this phenomenon to Regional Field Director Brendan Murray and his extensive relationship network in north-central Pennsylvania.[37] Wolf is the first challenger to oust a sitting governor since governors became eligible for immediate reelection in 1968.

Governor Wolf as he signs an executive order to ban fracking in state parks on January 29, 2015, while others look on.

Wolf assumed office as the 47th Governor of Pennsylvania upon the expiration of Corbett's term on January 20, 2015, with the inaugural ceremony occurring in front of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg.[38] Upon taking office, Wolf opted not to move into the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence but instead commuting from his home in York. A spokesman for Wolf said the residence would still be used for official events and other functions.[39] Shortly after being sworn in, Wolf signed two executive orders banning gifts to state employees and requiring a bidding process for outside legal contracts.[40] Wolf also restored a ban on hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking", in state parks[41] and placed a moratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania.[42] The most significant executive action in his first days in office was his move to fully expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Wolf proposed his first budget in March 2015, which included an increase in education spending, reductions in property taxes and the corporate tax, and a new severance tax on natural gas.[43] Six months into his tenure, in July 2015, the websites OnTheIssues and InsideGov named Wolf the most liberal incumbent governor in the United States, based on a rating of public statements and press releases among other measures; Wolf rejected this assessment, arguing that his policies are directed by practicality rather than ideology.[44][45]

On July 1, 2015, Wolf vetoed a budget submitted to him by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, causing a budget dispute between the governor's office and the legislature. This marked the first time a Pennsylvania governor vetoed a budget bill in its entirety since Milton Shapp did so in 1976.[46] Wolf argued the budget was not balanced, disputing Republicans' claim that it would provide increased funding in certain areas without raising taxes.[47][48] A point of dispute in the budget process was the proposed privatization of Pennsylvania's wine and liquor sales, which Wolf opposes.[49] The state operated without a full budget for 267 days—the longest period without a full budget in Pennsylvania history–until the 2015-16 budget became law without Wolf's signature in March 2016.[50][51]

Wolf's first gubernatorial portrait

In January 2016, at the Elizabethtown College, Wolf announced the launch of the "It's On Us PA" campaign, which aims to expand awareness of sexual assault in schools and on college campuses.[52] This announcement made Pennsylvania the first state to implement a statewide campaign that called for a collaboration of schools, law enforcement, victim services organizations, and other community members to promote awareness, education, and bystander intervention of sexual violence specifically on school campuses.[53] Several schools, including Franklin and Marshall College, Butler County Community College, as well as the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Chancellor Frank Brogan signed on to the initiative. On November 30, 2016, Wolf announced the awarding of "It's On Us PA" grants of one million dollars to 36 post-secondary schools in the state to combat sexual violence on their campuses. Programs considered for funding included but were not limited to those that enhanced awareness of available resources as well as the rights of students and, most importantly, to increase mechanisms for anonymous reporting.[54]

Wolf has expressed his opposition to targeting countries with economic sanctions or boycotts, saying, "We ... will not encourage economic punishment in place of peaceful solutions to challenging conflicts."[55]

He has signed into law bills that legalized medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, reformed pensions, and expanded the number of offenses former criminal defendants could get sealed, among other legislation.

On February 24, 2016, Wolf announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because it was diagnosed early, he said it would not hinder his ability to work.[56] Following treatment, Wolf's spokesperson announced in January 2017 that Wolf's physician had given him a "clean bill of health".[57]

Wolf declared Pennsylvania's heroin and opioid addiction crisis a statewide emergency in January 2018. Pennsylvania became the eighth state to do so. Such a declaration lets Pennsylvania officials "override any current rules or regulations they perceive as hampering the state's ability to address the opioid epidemic".[58]

During his time in office, he eliminated the "capital stock tax," which is a tax on the value of a business's assets.[59]

Wolf successfully ran for re-election to a second term in 2018 and was uncontested in the Democratic primary.[60] He defeated Republican State Senator Scott Wagner in the general election on November 8, 2018, with approximately 57% of the vote.[61] He is the first Pennsylvania governor to win election twice while losing both times in his home county (since 1968, when a new state constitution permitted governors to run for consecutive terms).[62]

In 2019, Wolf signed reforms into law that would allow no-excuse mail-in ballot voting.[63]

On June 23, 2020, State Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) and 24 co-sponsors introduced five articles of impeachment in House Resolution 915 against Wolf based on charges that he damaged Pennsylvania's economy and exceeded his authority by unilaterally and unlawfully imposing his mitigation orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[64][65] The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee but moved no further.[66] On September 14, 2020, District Court Judge William S. Stickman IV ruled that the restrictions placed by Wolf during the pandemic were unconstitutional, having violated the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment.[67][68]

On December 9, 2020, Wolf announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and that he and his wife were self-quarantining at home in York.[69] His wife tested negative for COVID-19.[70]