page_title: Mike Turzai
section_title: Gubernatorial run, 2018
hierarchical_section_title: Mike Turzai / Political career / Gubernatorial run, 2018
caption_attribution_description: English: A campaign rally for Pennsylvania 2018 gubernatorial candidate Mike Turzai.
context_page_description: Michael Coyne Turzai is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who served as Speaker of the House. He is from Allegheny County and represented the 28th legislative district since 2001. His district included the municipalities of Pine Township, Marshall Township, Bradford Woods, Franklin Park, and McCandless. Turzai served as the House Majority Leader from 2011 until 2014, and was elected Speaker in January 2015. He was a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2018 until he suspended his campaign in February 2018.
context_section_description: On November 14, 2017 Turzai officially announced he would run for governor in 2018, challenging Democratic incumbent Tom Wolf. Others in the Republican primary field are Scott Wagner, R-York; Paul Mango, a former health care director with McKinsey & Company; and Jones Day attorney Laura Ellsworth.
  During the primary race Turzai will also run to retain his 28th District House seat, defending against Democrat Emily Skopov; he will step down from that role if he wins the primary. He will remain Speaker throughout the election season.
  During a campaign stop in December 2017, Turzai said as governor he would prioritize "Fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, school accountability and increased investments in career and technical education." He said that if he was unable to bring about those changes during a first term, he would not seek a second term. State Representative Kathy Rapp and state Senator Scott Hutchinson endorsed his candidacy with supporting remarks.
  As of February 2018, Turzai had $1.2 million in his campaign account.
  On February 10, 2018, Turzai announced to the state Republican Party Committee that he would no longer be running for governor, following the endorsement of Scott Wagner.
caption: Mike Turzai at a campaign rally
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