HARRISBURG — A Democratic state senator who is stepping into the race to replace Gov. Ed Rendell is taking a position on education usually championed by Republicans and says he already has nearly $2 million in cash or commitments for the primary campaign.

Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, said Monday that Pennsylvania must expand taxpayer-financed options for parents who don't want to send their children to public schools.

Williams also focused on job skills, saying the state must bypass various classroom training programs and route more training money directly to employers to temporarily subsidize the paycheck for a worker they hire to train on the job.

Both concepts, he said, can help turn around a state that is struggling with poverty and joblessness.

"The private sector will lead us out of the recession and, frankly, right the economy in Pennsylvania," Williams said at a Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon at a downtown hotel. "With all due respect, the government can help, it can't lead."

Public schools must do a better job of preparing graduates to get jobs and be held accountable for their students' academic performance, while the state must commit to training students for growing high-tech and health careers, Williams added.

Williams' fledgling campaign has not yet been required to publicly disclose his campaign finances.

Some of the money is in the bank and some is in the form of pledges from his supporters, he said Monday.

But he said some is from sources that traditionally underwrite Republican campaigns, such as groups that want to cut government spending, proponents of "school choice" and "people concerned about unions in Pennsylvania."