The More the Merrier: Crowded ’14 Democratic Primary Likely in Pennsylvania

What is expected to be a crowded Democratic race for the right to challenge embattled Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett next year might get a little more cramped with the possible candidacy of Scott Conklin, a four-term state representative from Centre County.

According to PoliticsPA, the 54-year-old Conklin is taking a serious look at the race.

“He is giving it very serious thought.  He’s weighing it heavily,” a spokesman recently told PoliticsPA, adding that Conklin had been well received on the campaign trail four years ago while running for lieutenant governor.  

“He made wonderful friends throughout the state who have encouraged him to give it a look,” said his spokesman.

Conklin, a former county commissioner, emerged from a three-candidate field to narrowly capture the party’s nomination for lieutenant governor in 2010.  His unexpected victory in the primary was largely due to the fact that the party’s the two leading candidates — ex-City Controller Jonathan Saidel and former Common Pleas Court Judge Doris A. Smith-Ribner — were both from Philadelphia and split the heavily Democratic vote in Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs.  Conklin defeated Saidel by a scant 3,657 votes out of more than 900,000 votes cast.

As Dan Onorato’s running mate, Conklin went down to defeat in November.

If Conklin decides to give it a whirl he’s likely to face a crowded field that could potentially include such political heavyweights as U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, state Treasurer Rob McCord, former Navy Admiral and ex-congressman Joe Sestak, former Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty, State Sen. Mike Stack of Philadelphia and wealthy industrialist Tom Wolf, a former state revenue secretary.

Former Philadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox, a multimillionaire who made his fortune in the insurance industry and seriously considered running for governor in 2010, is also reportedly eyeing a possible candidacy next year.

John Hanger, another former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and Max Myers, a former minister with the Assemblies of God church, have already declared their candidacies for the Democratic nomination.