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By Alex Roarty
PoliticsPA Staff Reporter
roarty@politicspa.com

The unsurprising departure of Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty from the Democratic gubernatorial race on Wednesday likely does little to change the contest’s still uncertain landscape.

Doherty is set to announce Thursday that he will instead seek to replace retiring state Sen. Bob Mellow’s in Harrisburg, a move that been rumored for the past several days. The candidate had declared he was running for governor almost immediately after winning re-election as Scranton’s mayor late last year, but his campaign failed to gain traction in a crowded field.

The mayor had less than $100,000 on hand to end last year and two weeks ago failed to have even one of several hundred state party committee members nominate him for the Democrats’ official endorsement. His base of support, the northeast, is also much smaller than the voter-rich areas around Allegheny County and the southeast.

“To be quite candid with you, I don’t think so,” said Franklin & Marshall College pollster G. Terry Madonna, when asked if Doherty’s departure changes his perception of the gubernatorial primary.

His exit leaves Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Auditor General Jack Wagner, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, and, assuming he officially declares, state Sen. Anthony Williams as the four candidates left.

Onorato, who has more than $6 million on hand, remains the favorite, although Wagner remains popular with many longtime party officials across the state.

Doherty was viewed as a darkhorse by some when he entered the race because of his record turning around once-beleaguered Scranton, a fact he cited continually on the campaign trail. His track record and jobs-centric message seemed well-calibrated for a campaign that would center on the economy, and he enjoyed the quiet support of even some top Democratic officials.

But Doherty suffered a blow when Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox suddenly ended his run for governor. The mayor’s campaign talked openly about quietly watching the wealthy Knox and well-funded Onorato do battle over TV airwaves and then “shooting the gap” if voters, tired of the negativity, looked for a third option.

Knox’s departure, combined with dismal fundraising numbers and a weak showing at the endorsement meeting, sparked speculation Doherty would seek to lieutenant governor’s job instead.

Although the rumors lasted for weeks, the existing candidate in the lieutenant governor’s race, Philadelphia attorney Jonathan Saidel, was adamant he would not end his campaign to make room for Doherty. And the support Saidel received from the party’s Philadelphia power-brokers – not to mention the more than $700,000 he raised – meant Doherty had little chance to beat him.

Although Wednesday’s news doesn’t reshape the race, Doherty’s departure could spark a fight among the remaining candidates to earn support in NEPA. The region’s two largest counties, Luzerne and Lackwanna, have traditionally been Democratic-controlled. Although the number of Democrats there is far smaller than in the southeast or Allegheny County, they could provide a needed edge in the primary becomes a close race.

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