GOP gov candidate says he will ‘stomp’ Dem opponent’s face with ‘golf spikes’

Republican Scott Wagner says he will stomp on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) face with “golf spikes” in a Facebook Live video streamed on Friday.

{mosads}”Between now and Nov. 6, you better put a catcher’s mask on your face because I’m going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes,” Wagner says in the video, vowing to defeat his opponent. “Because I’m going to win this for the state of Pennsylvania, and we’re going to throw you out of office.”

Wagner’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill. A campaign spokesman though told PennLive.com that the candidate’s remarks were not to be taken literally. The original video was taken down Friday afternoon, though it was unclear whether Wagner or Facebook had directed it be take off the site.

Full video of GOP candidate Scott Wagner threatening Gov. Tom Wolf: “You better put a catcher’s mask on your face because I’m going to stomp all over your face with golf spikes.” pic.twitter.com/Whh6TdsOXz

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) October 12, 2018

“He wanted them to be a metaphor for how he will approach the final stretch of the campaign. Tom Wolf has spent the entire race hiding behind false and negative attack ads like a coward instead of debating in front of the people of Pennsylvania,” Anthony Romeo said in an email to PennLive.

“Scott will spend the last month of the race making it clear to voters why they should not give him a second term,” Romeo added.

Beth Melena, a spokeswoman for Wolf’s campaign, told The Hill that the comments were evidence that Wagner is “unfit for office.”

“Scott Wagner’s latest rant shows he is unhinged and unfit for office. Threats of violence have no place in society, especially from someone running for public office. This is part of an unfortunate pattern with Scott Wagner,” she said.

Wolf holds a strong advantage over his opponent, with a RealClearPolitics average of polls showing Wolf with a 16-point lead. President Trump won the state by a slim margin over Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016.

Updated at 6:30 p.m.