Pentecostal Pastor Seeks Democratic Nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania

Promising “a different Pennsylvania,” Max Myers, a former minister with the Assemblies of God church, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor of Pennsylvania yesterday.

In announcing his candidacy at the capitol rotunda in Harrisburg as part of a three-day, five city tour of the state, the little-known Myers became the second candidate to officially join a field that could eventually include state Treasurer Rob McCord, U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, former Navy Admiral and ex-congressman Joe Sestak, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, former Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty — a one-time advisor to Vice President Al Gore — and wealthy industrialist Tom Wolf, a former state revenue secretary.

Wealthy businessman Tom Knox, who grew up in a housing project in Philadelphia’s impoverished East Falls neighborhood and briefly sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2010, is rumored to also be eyeing a bid for the party’s nomination.

Policy wonk John Hanger, another former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, had been the only declared candidate in the field prior to yesterday’s announcement by Myers.  Hanger, a longtime consumer advocate and former member of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC), announced his candidacy last November.

With Gov. Tom Corbett’s approval ratings plunging and the state’s jobless rate rising — Pennsylvania experienced the highest increase in unemployment in the country during the past year, jumping from 7.6% in January 2012 to 8.2% in January 2013 — it’s no wonder so many Democrats are chomping at the bit to take on the beleaguered Republican incumbent.

The 59-year-old Myers, who describes himself as a “visionary” and currently serves as the director of the Global School of Supernatural Ministry — a ministry training facility located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — is running on a platform that seeks to significantly reduce poverty by establishing a public education system that’s second-to-none while fostering a business and manufacturing climate that will lead to substantial job growth in the Keystone State.