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wawa
Credit: Hoyt Gong

Wawa — the beloved convenience chain known for its hoagies and late night snacks — has a little-known, but fairly active, political action committee. This year, the Wawa, Inc. PAC says they are helping candidates from both party lines ahead of the midterm elections.

Recently, however, campaign records show that Wawa's PAC donated $12,500 to Scott Wagner, the Republican candidate challenging Governor Tom Wolf (D-Pa.). Most recently, the PAC gave $10,000 to Wagner’s campaign and earlier this year, it gave a $2,500 the republican. 

In 2014, Wagner became the first Republican write-in candidate to win a state Senate seat, defeating party-endorsed opponents Republican Ron Miller and Democrat Linda Small. As a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 2014-18, Wagner consistently pushed the assembly in a fiscally conservative direction.

A Wawa spokesperson said that the PAC isn’t playing favorites, citing that it has also donated to the Democratic Governors Association as part of recent efforts to support Wolf’s campaign, Billy Penn reported. Internal Revenue Service paperwork shows that the PAC made a $10,000 contribution to the DGA in November 2017 — a donation that went toward an event held with Wolf in Philadelphia, according to a DGA spokesperson.

“As a business with headquarters in Pa., we have made modest contributions to both parties, at their requests, for the Pa. Gov. Race,” said Wawa Spokesperson Lori Bruce.

The PAC has also contributed to fundraisers for other Republicans and Democrats. The PAC gave $3,000 to Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), $1,000 to Western Pa. Congressman Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) and $2,000 to State House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Pa.). 

In addition, the PAC donated $2,000 to House Candidate Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) and $3,000 to Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) – whose opponent, Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), received $2,000. 

While it may come as a surprise that Wawa has a PAC, the committee has been registered with the state of Pennsylvania since 1982, roughly 20 years after its first store opened in Delaware County.