Castor: I Want 'Pragmatism' and 'Practicality' for Pa.

Bruce Castor, the minority Republican member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, started "sticking his toe" in the waters of the 2014 race for Pennsylvania governor after the fall elections.

"Now," Castor said in a video interview with Pennsylvania Cable Network, "it's more up to the ankles."

Castor said he saw the defeat of a slate of candidates who he said were largely selected by Corbett as a referendum on the Governor's platform.

"The Governor has expended his political capital, but not on the things that we care about or the things that he campaigned on," Castor said, citing pension reform, property tax reform, and right-to-work legislation as examples.

Castor said the national economic recovery has proceeded "three times faster" than Pennsylvania's while Corbett has been in office.

Castor was undeterred by recent poll results that showed only 11 percent of Republican voters backing him in a primary contest with Corbett. He noted that he's been out of the statewide political picture for several years and described himself as "a relative unknown."

More important, Castor said, are the results of a second poll which showed that only 45 percent of Republican primary voters back Corbett for re-election in 2014. 54 percent of voters in that poll either said they were unsure of backing Corbett or that they would prefer another candidate.

Castor believes he could be that candidate.

"I would be a credible alternative if the trend [of Corbett's sliding approval rating] continues," Castor said.

Castor left open the possibility that he might withdraw from consideration if the Corbett administration experiences a turnaround during the second half of its term.

"I'm not going to run just to make a splash. I want Pennsylvania to go down the right path," Castor said.

"I want Pennsylvania to be a conservative state, but with pragmatism and practicality. I don't see those things happening, but I'm watching."

Castor, who was defeated by Corbett in primary phase of the 2004 race for state attorney general, said his misgivings about Corbett aren't personal.

"People want to cast this as a 'grudge match' between us ... I don't dislike Governor Corbett," Castor said. "I voted for him. I raised money for him."

The full 28-minute interview with Bruce Castor is available at PCN.