State Sen. John Wozniak of Johnstown may try to get on the Democratic ticket in 2014. He’s considering a run for Lieutenant Governor.
Capitolwire’s Kevin Zwick reported the news:
“I haven’t ruled it out,” [Wozniak] said. He’d take a crack at running for governor, but said: “I can’t raise $60 million dollars. That’s just the reality.”
Two candidates have already jumped into the race: Harrisburg City Councilman Brad Koplinski and Bradford County Commissioner Matt Smith. Several more are floating their names, including Northampton County DA John Morganelli and State Rep. Brandon Neumann (D-Washington).
Attorney and former state Rep. Shawn Flaherty, son of a former Pittsburgh mayor, is also said to be considering a bid. He has not responded to multiple efforts by PoliticsPA to contact him.
Most interesting is former Rep. Mark Critz, also of Johnstown, who confirmed earlier this month that he was eying a run for LG. It’s highly unlikely that he and Wozniak – who are political allies in the same geographic base – would both contest the office.
The flurry of interest from western Pa. candidates reflects the state of the top of the ticket. Most Democrats who want to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett, announced and yet to be announced, hail from the eastern part of the state.
Wozniak, 57, was elected to the Senate in 1996 after 16 years in the state House. He survived a concerted challenge to his re-election by just 2 points in 2012, 51% to 49% and could run for LG without giving up his seat.
However, if he were to win, Democrats could face an uphill battle to retain his seat in the Senate.
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4 Responses
There are too many DINO “old boys” in PA’s Democratic Party as it is, so I’m not supporting clueless Wozniak OR “pro-life, pro-gun and I still lost” Critz for higher office. We need REAL Democrats on the ticket, not old boys who are so similar to the Republican old boys they are running against that voters can’t tell the difference!
I do not want Wozniak to run for LG because he barely won in the 35th district as it is, I mean clearly another Democrat would have a very hard and very uphill battle to won and contest for his seat. I don’t like it at all. I think its to big of a risk.
John must be running to attend county picnics and banquets. Only if they have an open bar. His “problems” are renowned from Johnstown to Harrisburg.
Just another DINO. Dems need to purge people like Wozniak and Critz. Their 1960s male-dominated point of view does nothing for the party. They are unfit to serve in a statewide capacity.