• Scott Wagner, the Republican candidate in the Pennsylvania governor’s race, told his Democratic opponent, Tom Wolf, he would “stomp all over” his face “with golf spikes.”
• Wagner made that remark in a video posted on Wagner’s Facebook page on Friday. He accused Wolf of being behind a website and series of billboards accusing Wagner’s trash-hauling company of “strong-arming” customers.
• An advocacy group unrelated to Wolf’s campaign paid for the billboards. The video was later removed.
• A representative for Wagner’s campaign told PennLive.com that the golf spikes comment, which sparked confusion and dismay on social media, was “not meant to be taken literally.”

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Scott Wagner, the Republican candidate in the Pennsylvania governor’s race, told his Democratic opponent, Tom Wolf, he would “stomp all over” his face “with golf spikes.”

Wagner made that remark in a video posted on Wagner’s Facebook page on Friday. He accused Wolf of being behind a website and series of billboards accusing Wagner’s trash-hauling company of “strong-arming” customers.

In the video, Wagner accused Wolf of being behind a series of billboards posted around the state reading “Scott Wagner’s Penn Waste sued 6,979 Pennsylvanians. Find out why,” encouraging them to visit PennWasteAlert.com for more information.

An advocacy group unrelated to Wolf’s campaign paid for the billboards. The video showing Wagner’s threat was later made unavailable on Facebook.

A representative for Wagner’s campaign told PennLive.com that the golf spikes comment, which sparked confusion and dismay on social media, was “a metaphor for how he will approach the final stretch of the campaign, and “not meant to be taken literally.”

The website accuses Wagner and his company, trash hauling firm Penn Waste, of conducting anti-competitive business practices by bullying government officials for contracts, violating state environmental regulations, and suing customers over late and unpaid bills, with a lawsuit against the company alleging Penn Waste dispatched sheriffs to people’s houses and mistakenly sued people for nonpayment when they had never used Penn Waste’s services.

In the video, Wagner did not directly deny PA Spotlight’s allegations. He defended his practice of suing nonpaying customers, touted his record of creating jobs in Pennsylvania, and attacked Wolf’s intelligence.

“You don’t know the difference between revenue and bottom line,” he said, addressing Gov. Wolf, who formerly served as a business executive and as Pennsylvania’s secretary of revenue.

“Scott Wagner’s latest rant shows he is unhinged and unfit for office,” Wolf’s campaign said in a statement addressing the video.

“Threats of violence have no place in society, especially from someone running for public office,” his spokesperson said,sarcastically wondering if Wagner was “channeling John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or Rambo in his latest unhinged rant.”

Wolf is favoured to win reelection to the governor’s office and is leading Wagner in the polls by 16 points, according to RealClearPolitics.

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