HOLLIDAYSBURG — It might be an uphill task for Republicans to unseat Democratic incumbents Gov. Tom Wolf and Sen. Bob Casey in November.

But with the dust settled from the May primary election, state Republican Party Chairman Val DiGiorgio said he is excited to begin working on get-out-the vote campaigns for gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner and U.S. Senate candidate Lou Barletta.

DiGiorgio, of Chester County, passed through Blair County on Wednesday on his way to a fundraiser in Erie, meeting with local Republican county committee members along the way.

As party chairman, he is charged with giving county committees tools to help get Republicans elected, coordinate campaign messages and make tens of thousands of voter contacts to identify Republicans and independents and learn what issues are important to them.

He took some time at the U.S. Hotel last week to talk about Wagner’s effort to unseat Wolf and Barletta’s attempt to unseat Democratic Casey.

“I’ve been looking forward to having a candidate like Wagner for a long time. He is willing to take his message into neighborhoods, talking with former gang leaders, for example, about criminal justice reform. In a lot of respects, he is a conservative Republican. But he has crossover appeal with social justice issues. That’s how Scott wins.”

It’s rare for a governor in Pennsylvania to lose a re-election bid. Republican Tom Corbett is the only governor who has lost a re-election in the four decades since a governor was allowed to run for a second term.

DiGiorgio believes Wolf is vulnerable because three budgets passed without his signature.

“It shows he has not led and may be unable to lead. He said voters may also remember his plan during his first two years to raise income and sales taxes,” he said.

In Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, DiGiorgio said Casey’s appeal to moderate Republicans is fading. “He is now a full rank-and-file … Nancy Pelosi Democrat. We like to say Bob Casey is an obstructionist, supporting sanctuary cities, reversing Republican tax cuts and now has a questionable record of being pro-life and pro-Second Amendment.”

However, Republican candidates are likely to face an uphill battle to unseat the Democrat incumbents in both races, said Terry Madonna, director of Franklin and Marshall College Poll.

“For average voters, Wolf does not have a big negative working against him that people can latch onto. There were three budgets not signed off by Wolf. But name one government service that was cut. … The answer is none. The GOP is going to have give voters reason why Wolf shouldn’t get second term, and for the average voter, the fact is Wolf doesn’t have a negatively transformative moment in his governorship.”

Polls conducted so far have Wolf getting a double-digit lead over Wagner, he said. But anything is hard to predict six months out from the November election.

Wagner will point out Wolf’s proposed income and sales tax hikes in his first two years, but that proposal was absent in Wolf’s last two years, Madonna said.

There is Wolf’s shale tax proposal, but that is popular, Madonna said. And then there are popular moves, including medical marijuana and increased support for basic education.

“I look around and try to find a big negative against Wolf. What is it voters will latch onto, but I don’t see it,” Madonna said.

According to Madonna, there are 800,000 more active Democrats in Pennsylvania than Republicans.

“Wagner has an aggressive campaign style. … He has to figure out some way to attract conservative Democrats.”

Madonna believes Casey is even more likely to win re-election than Wolf.

“Casey has been on the ballot five times in his career. He won four by double digits. He’s not really had to face fear that he’s not going to win re-election,” he said.

In addition, Casey may have what it takes to be re-elected in Democratic areas like Johnstown that have become loyal to Republican President Donald Trump.

“Unlike Hillary Clinton,” he said, “Casey knows Johnstown and Altoona. He’s maintained connections and relevance with the working class who have shifted to Trump.”

For example, Madonna said, Casey supported Trump’s executive order to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and his recent steps to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mirror Staff Writer Russ O’Reilly is at 946-7435.