Dems taking aim at Onorato

As polls show Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato moving away from the pack, his opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary are sharpening their attacks against the frontrunner.

This week saw the first round of negative ads in the Democratic primary. Tony Williams criticized Onorato for inflating his economic record, and Joe Hoeffel began airing a commercial charging the county executive with “flip flopping” on abortion.

Jack Wagner joined in the chorus during a Harrisburg event.

Wagner went on, “In addition, I would say Allegheny County, in the last five years, has had the largest tax increase in its history. And people need to know that, and they need to understand it.”

The latest Muhlenberg College tracking poll gives Onorato a 21-point lead over his closest challenger.

Poll director Chris Borick says the other three Democrats are trying to bring Onorato back to the pack – though he notes that will be tough to do, with less than two weeks to go before the primary.