State Rep. Mike Turzai, R-28th, rallied supporters of his campaign for the governor’s office during a meet-and-greet Friday morning in Butler.

Turzai, the House speaker, was introduced by state Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th, who voiced his support along with Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th, and Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, during the gathering over breakfast at Mac’s Cafe.

Butler County Republican Party officials and other supporters also attended.

“We are at the start of a very interesting race for governor. We have to put the best team on the field against Gov. (Tom) Wolf,” Ellis said.

He said Turzai has helped fight against new taxes that Wolf has proposed during his administration.

“We’re tired of being on defense. We want to be on offense. We want to make sure everybody has the opportunity for a family sustaining job,” Turzai said.

Republican support for creating jobs is what has led to the party holding a 121-82 majority in the House, he said.

He said he wants to protect the most vulnerable residents while allowing the private sector to grow and create jobs.

Turzai said the natural gas industry has created new jobs, allowed businesses to expand and provides fuel. He does not support imposing a severance tax on extracted gas.

He said he had concerns about the impact fee, which gas drillers currently pay, but it generates $200 million a year and half of it is distributed to counties and municipalities where drilling takes place.

“I was concerned about it, but it’s working quite well,” Turzai said.

He said a severance tax would be “punitive” and Wolf, who supports imposing the tax, would like to ban gas drilling.

Shell’s ethane cracker plant in Beaver County will create jobs and could attract manufacturers that use the natural gas byproduct to southwestern and northwestern Pennsylvania, he said.

Turzai labeled Wolf’s campaign ads, claiming former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett reduced education spending, as misleading.

Former President Barack Obama’s stimulus package increased education funding during Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s administration, but the money was no longer available and a recession was underway by the time Corbett took office, he said.

“We never decreased funding for public education,” Turzai said.

Republicans are willing to spend more on education if it improves student achievement and makes school districts accountable, he said.

“We’re not opposed to putting in more money, but we want to see results,” Turzai said.

Selling liquor is a business that should be in the hands of the private sector and state operated Wine and Spirits stores should be eliminated, he said.

The state is facing a $1.3 billion budget deficit even though there is no recession and the economy is growing, he said.

The problem was created by revenue not meeting projections that are based on over estimated economic growth in the current budget and Wolf is aware of the problem, Turzai said.

“Any other governor would have done something. He put his head in his hands. He offered nothing. He hid,” Turzai claimed.

He said agriculture is the state’s leading industry, but is over regulated and not given enough support.

The Department of Environmental Protection acronym DEP has come to mean “Don’t employ Pennsylvanians” because of excessive regulations imposed on agriculture and other industries under Wolf’s administration, Turzai said.

Despite his differences with Wolf, Turzai said he has a good working relationship with House Democrats.

He said he was unanimously elected speaker twice and some Democrats support his campaign.

Hutchinson called Turzai a leader.

“Mike is my mentor. I learned so much from him. We need a leader like Mike. I’m proud to endorse him,” Hutchinson said.

In addition to serving as speaker, Turzai has served as majority leader and policy leader because he knows how accomplish goals, Marshall said.

“Mike doesn’t watch things happen. He makes things happen,” he said.