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Daughter defends Pa. GOP governor candidate Scott Wagner in face of 'deadbeat dad' attack

Staring directly into the camera, Katharine Wagner calls her father's rival, Paul Mango, a "disgrace" and accuses him of peddling "flat-out lies."

Sen. Scott Wagner  meets and greets voters during a campaign swing through the Pennsylvania Farm show in January.
Sen. Scott Wagner meets and greets voters during a campaign swing through the Pennsylvania Farm show in January.Read moreBradley C Bower / For the Inquirer

Facing an attack ad that depicts him as a "deadbeat dad," Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner responded Thursday with a new television spot featuring a character witness who was well-positioned to rebut the claim: his daughter.

Staring directly into the camera, Katharine Wagner calls her father's rival Paul Mango a "disgrace" and accuses him of peddling "flat-out lies."

"Dragging me into his dirty campaign is beyond the bounds of decency," Katharine Wagner says in the 30-second ad, which the Wagner campaign said was airing in all six markets in Pennsylvania. "My dad is a wonderful father who has always supported me."

"Mango is taking a decade-old dispute and twisting the truth," she says. "Mr. Mango, you're not half the man my father is. Take down your disgusting ads and apologize."

The Wagner campaign said the ad was a direct response to Mango's latest ad, launched last week, that said Wagner had been "hauled into court" and ordered to pay $800,000 in back alimony and child support. (The case involved Wagner's daughter from a different marriage — not Katharine.)

The Mango campaign cited court records stemming from Wagner's 2008 divorce. The records involve a dispute in 2012 over Wagner's income and how much he could feasibly pay each month in child support and alimony. A judge wrote that Wagner's "total arrearage" under a recalculated obligation was "approximately $800,000." But there was no indication that Wagner had missed any payments. His campaign has said Wagner made all payments on time.

Typically, family members show up in political ads seeking to introduce a candidate as a likable person. In this case, the ad actually shows how ugly the race has become with a month to go in the primary election.

The testimonial from Katharine Wagner may serve another purpose. The Mango campaign has intimated that it will go on the air with a new ad about "violent Wagner."

That raised the prospect that Mango would resurface a 2006 temporary protection-from-abuse order that Katharine Wagner obtained against her father. In her petition for the order, Katharine Wagner, who was 19 and living with her grandparents, wrote that her father had visited to talk about her drinking.

At one point, her father "came after" her, squeezed her neck, and pushed her up against the kitchen counter, the petition says. Katharine Wagner said that her father had been "verbally and emotionally abusive to her and her family, at least for the past 10 years."

A judge granted the order but later dismissed it after Katharine Wagner failed to show up for a court hearing. Charges were never filed against Scott Wagner.

He has said that his daughter had been in a drunk-driving accident. In a letter to the State GOP Committee this year, Katharine Wagner reflected on the incident, saying she had gotten "into trouble with alcohol" at the time. "My father stepped in and did everything possible to save my life," she wrote, adding that her father "even grabbed a hold of" her once but didn't choke her, as she said Mango's camp had claimed.

Katharine Wagner wrote that she "reacted like an angry teenager by filing a PFA against my father — an act that I deeply regret to this day."

"I have worked at my dad's company for over 10 years and enjoy a wonderful, healthy relationship with him," she wrote.

Scott Wagner, addressing reporters in Harrisburg on Tuesday, said: "There's big talk out there about an issue with my oldest daughter. Almost 12 years ago, I tried to save my daughter's life. That's what this is all about."

"Mr. Mango wants to go after my daughter, he's going after the wrong person's daughter," he said. "I was being a parent."

The Mango campaign said it had not, and would not, bring up Wagner's daughter in the campaign. "We believe the history of their personal problems is between Wagner, his daughter and the law," campaign spokeswoman Laura Lebaudy said.

"It is disappointing to see that Wagner is the one who chose to bring his daughter into this campaign to defend his actions when no one else has," she said in an email.

The primary election is set for May 15. Pittsburgh-area lawyer Laura Ellsworth is also running in the primary against Wagner, a York County state senator, and Mango, a Pittsburgh-area retired health-care consultant.

The winner will face Gov. Wolf, a Democrat, in November.