In a crowded Republican field seeking the nomination to run for governor, state Sen. Jake Corman said the way to stand out is hit the road and meet residents and business people throughout Pennsylvania.

He was doing that Wednesday when his bus tour made a stop at the Zippo/Case Museum & Flagship Store in Bradford. Corman spent some time speaking with Zippo/Case executives and then toured the museum.

Corman, from Bellefonte in Centre County, said he has enjoyed the stops he’s made across the state, be it at planned events or impromptu visits to local diners.

“It’s a chance to meet people and shake hands,” he said. “People ask what they can do for me … I ask what I can do for them.”

In an interview with The Era, Corman said one of the reasons there are so many names in the race for governor is that Republicans feel a sense of urgency to move on from Gov. Tom Wolf’s two-term tenure — Wolf cannot run again due to the state’s term limit. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, all but assured the Democratic nomination, is seen as a continuance of a Wolf administration.

“I think there’s a lot of frustration with the governor” and the way his administration handled the pandemic, Corman said, from mask mandates to restrictions on commerce that were devastating for small businesses.

What Corman believes he brings to the table — and what he says sets him apart from the GOP field in the primary — is his experience as Senate president pro tempore in Harrisburg.

“I have produced results in the legislative process,” he said, “and that’s what I’d be bringing as governor.”

Corman also touched on common themes of his campaign: He is pushing for gasoline tax relief while prices are so high and he believes Pennsylvania should take advantage of its energy resources for economic development, not retreating from oil and natural gas production and ceding energy independence during uncertain times in the world.

Corman wants the legislature to institute a 50% gas tax reduction through the end of 2022, saving consumers nearly 30 cents per gallon. He has said he also supports efforts to provide a federal gas tax holiday, which would save consumers another 18 cents per gallon.

He has proposed using federal COVID-19 funding to cover state police payments that are made from the state’s Motor Vehicle Fund, allowing budgetary room for the partial suspension of gasoline taxes.

Pennsylvania has the second highest state gas tax in America, at about 59 cents per gallon. It was last raised in 2014, after lawmakers, including Corman, voted to increase it to fund infrastructure projects and public transit.

Corman told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review earlier this month that he supported raising the tax in 2014 because the state faced an emergency regarding structurally deficient bridges.

On Pennsylvania’s energy resources, Corman said as governor he would strive to leverage them to fuel the state’s own manufacturing resurgence.

“We can take our natural gas and use it to help rebuild industry and the lost population in this state,” he said, noting the development of a petrochemical facility in Beaver County to refine natural gas into ethylene, used in plastics manufacturing to make a range of products.

The senator has also said he envisions facilities that can convert natural gas into gasoline for vehicles.

“We’re not even close” to renewable energy meeting Pennsylvania’s or the nation’s energy needs, Corman said in justifying a renewed embrace of fossil fuels when there is so much opposition from environmentalists due to climate change.

(President) Joe Biden is out there looking for help with oil overseas,” Corman said, “when we can do it cleaner and better here.”

Corman is only the second gubernatorial candidate to make a public stop in Bradford — former congressman Lou Barletta of Hazleton was in Bradford and spoke with The Era last week. Earlier this month, Barletta led a Fox News poll of GOP primary voters asked who they support in the primary.

Jason Richey, a Pittsburgh attorney who dropped out of the GOP primary race for governor earlier this month, met with Republicans privately in Bradford and spoke with The Era in January.

Other top candidates in the GOP primary for governor are former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain; Dave White, a businessman and former Delaware County councilman; and state Sen. Doug Mastriano of Franklin County.

Pennsylvania’s primary election is May 17.