Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1994

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1994

←  1990 November 8, 1994 (1994-11-08) 1998  →

Nominee Tom Ridge Mark Singel Peg Luksik Party Republican Democratic Constitution Running mate Mark Schweiker Tom Foley Jim Clymer Popular vote 1,627,976 1,430,099 460,269 Percentage 45.4% 39.9% 12.8%

County Results Ridge:     30-40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70% Singel:     40-50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election Robert P. Casey Democratic Elected Governor Tom Ridge Republican

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v t e

The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1994 was held on November 8, 1994. The incumbent governor, Bob Casey, Sr. (Democrat), was barred from seeking a third term by the state constitution. The Republican Party nominated Congressman Tom Ridge, while the Democrats nominated Mark Singel, Casey's lieutenant governor. Ridge went on to win the race with 45% of the vote. Singel finished with 39%, and Constitution Party candidate Peg Luksik finished third, garnering 12% of the vote.

Primary elections

Candidates

Democratic

• Catherine Baker Knoll, treasurer (from Allegheny County)
• Dwight Evans, state representative (from Philadelphia)
• Bob O'Donnell, State representative and former Speaker of the House (from Philadelphia)
• Mark Singel, lieutenent governor (from Cambria County)
• Phillip Valenti, Larouche activist (from Chester County)
• Chuck Volpe, insurance executive (from Allegheny County)
• Lynn Yeakel, philanthropist and 1992 senate nominee (from Montgomery County)

Republican

• Sam Katz, political consultant (from Philadelphia)
• Mike Fisher, state senator and 1986 lieutenant governor nominee (from Allegheny County)
• Jack Perry
• Ernie Preate, attorney general (from Lackawanna County)
• Tom Ridge, US Representative (from Erie County)

Campaign

Lt. Governor Singel was a well-known figure in the state and was a clear early frontrunner after serving six months as acting governor as Bob Casey underwent cancer treatments. However, his 1992 defeat by Lynn Yeakel in the 1992 Democratic primary for senate left the party feeling that Singel was vulnerable in a statewide election. Treasurer Catherine Baker Knoll, who was popular with older voters and siphoned the support of some labor groups from Singel, was viewed as his biggest threat, but state representative Dwight Evans, who mobilized urban minority voters, finished a somewhat surprising second. Former state Speaker of the House Bob O'Donnell and Yeakel, who was criticized for campaigning poorly in the close 1992 senate race, both saw their campaigns fail to get traction.

Attorney General Ernie Preate, who was known for both being a tough prosecutor and working to reform the mental health system, was seen as the initial frontrunner, but his attempt was marred by a corruption controversy. Mike Fisher, a state senator and former candidate for lieutenant governor, sought to take advantage of Preate's missteps but was unable gain a majority of establishment support. Tom Ridge, who Republicans had initially tried to court to run in the 1990 election, slowly built name recognition and gained political backing due to his relatively moderate track record.

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary (Democratic), 1994 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Singel	346,344	31.19
	Democratic	Dwight Evans	234,285	21.10
	Democratic	Catherine Baker Knoll	217,267	19.57
	Democratic	Lynn Yeakel	153,966	13.87
	Democratic	Chuck Volpe	122,627	11.04
	Democratic	Bob O'Donnell	23,113	2.08
	Democratic	Phillip Valenti	12,854	1.16

Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary (Republican), 1994 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Ridge	344,708	34.58
	Republican	Ernie Preate	287,400	28.83
	Republican	Sam Katz	156,895	15.74
	Republican	Mike Fisher	139,712	14.02
	Republican	Jack Perry	68,069	6.83

Candidates

Constitution

• Peg Luksik, director of a pro-life organization
  • running mate: Jim Clymer, attorney

Democratic

• Mark Singel, Lt. Governor
  • running mate: Tom Foley, Secretary of Labor and Industry

Republican

• Tom Ridge, U.S. Representative
  • running mate: Mark Schweiker, Bucks County Commissioner

Campaign

Prior to the election, Singel appeared to be a candidate who would be difficult to beat; he had gained wide name recognition and a positive job appraisal for his service as acting governor during Bob Casey's battle with serious illness. In contrast, Ridge had been a relatively obscure US Congressman who was mostly unknown outside of his Erie base. Ridge proved to be a successful fundraiser and undercut support from Democrats in the socially liberal but fiscally conservative suburbs of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. ^[3]

Abortion became a key issue in the campaign. Peg Luksik ran a strong third party campaign in opposition to the Republican nominations of the pro-choice Ridge and Barbara Hafer in their most recent two gubernatorial campaigns. Singel, who is also pro-choice, gained only lukewarm support from his former boss Casey, a vocal critic of abortion policy. ^[3]

The tide began to turn against Singel after the revelation that he had voted to parole an individual named Reginald McFadden, who would later be charged for a series of murders in New York City. Ridge, whose campaign emphasized his "tough on crime" stance, took advantage of this situation, much in the manner that George H. W. Bush had used the Willie Horton incident against Michael Dukakis. Singel was further undercut by a lack of Democratic enthusiasm; turnout was particularly low in strongholds such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. ^[3]

Polling

Source	Date	Ridge (R)	Singel (D)	Luksik (C)
Greensburg Tribune-Review	Nov. 7, 1994	37%	36%	17%
KDKA-TV	Nov. 6, 1994	42%	39%	6%
Philadelphia Daily News	Nov. 2, 1994	38%	30%	10%
Greensburg Tribune-Review	Oct. 30, 1994	33%	31%	9%
KDKA-TV	Oct. 23, 1994	39%	40%	5%
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette	Oct. 16, 1994	31%	38%	7%
Political Media Research	Oct. 2, 1994	37%	43%	-

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1994 [4]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Tom Ridge	Mark Schweiker	1,627,976	45.40%
	Democratic	Mark Singel	Tom Foley	1,430,099	39.88%
	Constitution	Peg Luksik	Jim Clymer	460,269	12.84%
	Libertarian	Patrick Fallon	Vince Hatton	33,602	0.94%
	Reform	Tom Holloway	Mark Freeman	33,235	0.93%
	Write-ins	Write-ins		345	0.01%
Totals				3,585,526	100.00%
Voter turnout (Voting age population)					60.98%

References

1. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=187872.
2. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=41000.
3. Kennedy, John J. (2006). Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests From 1950-2004. University Press of America. ISBN   9780761832799.
4. The Pennsylvania Manual, volume 112, pp. 7-18 & 7-19

• McQuown, Lynn S, ed. (1995). The Pennsylvania Manual . 112. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN   0-8182-0213-0.