and Vladimir Putin, later apologizing for the "unfortunate analogy." Wagner resigned from the Senate in June 2018 after winning the Republican nomination for governor. 2018 gubernatorial campaign Wagner ran as a Republican candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2018 election, challenging Democratic incumbent Governor Tom Wolf; Wagner became the Republican nominee after winning the primary on May 15, 2018. Wagner contracted Red Mavericks, a media, strategy and fundraising firm led by Harrisburg political operative and lobbyist Ray Zaborney, after having previously decried the use of political consultants. Wagner resigned from the State Senate on June 4, 2018, to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. Prior to the 2018 gubernatorial election, Wagner declined to release his tax returns, suggesting that labor unions will use it to try to organize workers at his company. Wagner's company Penn Waste, which reported $75 million in revenue in 2017, is non-unionized. Wagner and Wolf had a televised debate moderated by Alex Trebek. Wagner originally called for debates in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania. He called Wolf a "chicken" for not having more debates. In a campaign video, Wagner threatened to "stomp all over" his opponent's face, saying: "Gov. Wolf, let me tell you 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. Because I'm going to win for the state of Pennsylvania, and we are throwing you out of office because, you know what, I'm sick and tired of your negative ads." In a later video, Wagner said, "I may have chosen a poor metaphor. I may have had poor choice of words. I shouldn't have said what I said." During the campaign, Wagner was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, which had given him an "A" rating in the past. Wagner said that he would roll back Wolf's Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (in 2015, Wolf expanded Medicaid to 700,000 Pennsylvanians). After initially suggesting that he might support a bill that would end recognition of same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania, Wagner issued a clarification saying that, if governor, he would veto any bill that restricts marriage rights for same-sex couples. Wagner pledged to eliminating property taxes, including school taxes, statewide, and adopting zero-based budgeting. During his campaign, Wagner said he favored a tougher stance on school bullying, supported school uniforms for all students, and spoke out