In Pa., ticket toppers' hands tied on No. 2

When Ed Rendell was nominated for the first of his two terms as governor, he had little choice in a running mate.

His team never said it aloud, but it clearly wasn't happy when Democratic primary voters picked Catherine Baker Knoll. Knoll had been a force in state politics. But in 2002, at 72, she seemed to have little interest in the issues and even less energy.

This May, Republican and Democratic voters again will choose nominees for governor. Separately, they will pick nominees for lieutenant governor.

On each side, leaders are trying to sort out their candidates in hope of avoiding a mismatch. But the electorate again will have the final say.

States have several ways of choosing lieutenant governors. Nine others do it the way Pennsylvania does - with candidates for the top jobs running independently in primaries, and the winners teaming up in fall elections.

Julia Hurst, director of the National Lieutenant Governors Association, calls it the "arranged-marriage system."

Attorney General Tom Corbett, odds-on favorite to win the GOP nomination for governor, has been urged by some fellow Republicans to pair up with one of the candidates seeking the second spot and then hope that party voters go along.

But with the Republican endorsement meeting coming up Feb. 13 in Harrisburg, Corbett has yet to signal a choice.

A straw vote among party leaders in the five-county Philadelphia region favored Jim Cawley, a Bucks County commissioner. A similar ballot in the central part of the state favored Chet Beiler of Lancaster County, the 2008 GOP nominee for auditor general.

Among the other GOP candidates seeking party leaders' endorsement are Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele, conservative-media commentator Joe Watkins of Philadelphia, Dauphin County Commissioner Nick DiFrancesco, former state treasurer nominee Jean Craige Pepper of Erie County, small-business owner Steve Johnson of York County, taxpayer activist Russ Diamond of Lebanon County, and City Councilman Frank Rizzo.

Jim Roddey, GOP chairman of Allegheny County, said: "I think the governor candidate really ought to assert himself and let people know what he wants. If you don't, you might get a result you don't want."

On the Democratic side, the main battle is at the top of the ticket. Four candidates are running for governor. Leaders say none appears strong enough to win the two-thirds majority required for endorsement when the party meets Feb. 6 in Lancaster.

So far, there's one main candidate for lieutenant governor - Jonathan Saidel, former Philadelphia controller.

Former Commonwealth Court Judge Doris Smith-Ribner also said recently that she intended to run.

Saidel's fear, allies say, is that one of the governor candidates may drop down and seek the second spot. He got squeezed out of the 2007 race for mayor when U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, who shared his base of support, belatedly decided to run.

David Sweet, Rendell's former campaign manager, said the method of pairing a governor and lieutenant governor should change. "I think it is a bad system," he said.

He said that Pennsylvania, like 14 states, should adopt the federal model. Each party selects a presidential nominee first. It then customarily goes along with the nominee's choice for a running mate.

New Jersey amended its constitution in 2005 to use such a system. This month, Republican Kim Guadagno became the first lieutenant governor after being handpicked by Gov. Christie.

Hurst said about half the states separately choose their top officials, even in fall elections. This sometimes results in a governor of one party and a No. 2 from another.

The benefit of having the gubernatorial nominee pick a running mate is that they will see eye-to-eye. But Hurst said there's also logic in having them run separately; the lieutenant governor can provide "check and balance."

If need be, Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor can take over for the governor.

Democrat Mark Singel became acting governor in 1993 when Robert P. Casey underwent heart-and-liver transplant surgery.

Republican Mark S. Schweiker stepped up in 2001 when Tom Ridge became director of the U.S. Office of Homeland Security.

Knoll, elected in 2002 and 2006, died in 2008 and was succeeded by the president of the Senate, Joseph B. Scarnati.

Lieutenant governors preside over the Senate, but whether they have real power depends on their relationship with the governor.

Schweiker said he and Ridge thought of themselves as a team.

Still, he favors a system in which voters pick both nominees. Having lieutenant governor candidates vie with one another requires them to demonstrate the skills that would make them strong general-election candidates, he said.

"You've got to earn your backing," he said. "Either you pass or you do not."