Ridge Adds a Twist to Race for Pa. Governor

HARRISBURG, Pa. —  By taking a new Cabinet post, Gov. Thomas J. Ridge may have changed the dynamics of Pennsylvania’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

Just weeks after he endorsed state Atty. Gen. Mike Fisher for the Republican nomination, Ridge’s appointment as head of President Bush’s new Office of Homeland Security has placed Lt. Gov. Mark S. Schweiker in line to become governor Oct. 5.

He also may have caused Schweiker to reconsider his decision not to enter the race.

Instead of running as an obscure member of the popular Ridge administration, Schweiker would enjoy the visibility, financial and political support and other advantages of an incumbent.

“He is an answer to the Republicans’ prayer” for a stronger alternative to the two current candidates for the GOP nomination, said political science professor Michael Young at Penn State University in Harrisburg. Besides Fisher, state Treasurer Barbara Hafer is a candidate.

As of Sunday, Schweiker had not retracted the pledge that he made last October to leave state government when Ridge’s term ends in January 2003. But he did not reaffirm it, either.

“Politics and election issues just aren’t being discussed,” Schweiker insisted Friday, the day after Ridge’s appointment.

A month ago, Schweiker and Ridge together endorsed Fisher in hopes of uniting the party behind one candidate. Ridge was barred by term limits from running again.

Political activists and analysts say Schweiker must decide whether to run within a couple of months to avoid undermining efforts to unify the party.

Spokesmen for the Fisher and Hafer camps had little reaction.

Said Hafer spokesman Tim Ireland: “We have to take [Schweiker] at his word: The guy said he wasn’t going to run. He hasn’t said anything to contradict that.”

On the Democratic side, where former Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell is running against state Auditor-General Robert P. Casey Jr., a spokesman for Casey’s campaign said Schweiker’s status is low among concerns.

“We are, quite honestly, singularly focused on winning the Democratic nomination,” said Matt Casey, the candidate’s brother. “Regardless of what happens on the Republican side, we’re not going to take our eye off the ball.”