1970 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

Republican primary

Lieutenant Governor Ray Broderick was unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bob Casey Sr., Pennsylvania Auditor General and former State Senator from Scranton
• Harvey F. Johnston, McKees Rocks real estate broker and president of the National Association for the Advancement of White People
• Edward P. Lavalle, Scranton teacher
• Samuel G. Neff, former State Senator from Beaver Falls
• Milton Shapp, Merion businessman and candidate for governor in 1966
• Walter J. Tray, Allentown, Pennsylvania tire dealer

Campaign

The Democratic campaign was a bruising rematch between 1966 nominee Milton Shapp and Auditor General Bob Casey. As in the prior election, Shapp and Casey proved to be disparate personalities. The liberal and business-oriented Shapp ran an aggressive campaign into which he injected much of his own funding, while the affable Casey ran a relatively conservative campaign and appealed to labor and rural voters.

Results

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General election

Candidates

• Ray Broderick, Lieutenant Governor (Republican)
  • Running mate: Ralph Scalera, Beaver County Court of Common Pleas Judge
• Francis McGeever (American Independent)
  • Running mate: Conrad Moore
• Milton Shapp, CEO of Jerrold Electronics and candidate for governor in 1966 (Democratic)
  • Running mate: Ernie Kline, Pennsylvania State Senate Minority Leader
• George Taylor (Socialist Workers)
  • Running mate: Paul Barnes
• A.J. Watson (Constitutional)
  • Running mate: Joe Brewer

Campaign

Although Pennsylvania's Democratic establishment had not been keen on Shapp during his first run for the executive office, the support of Lieutenant Gubernatorial nominee Ernie Kline, a power broker within the party, caused support to much better coalesce behind Shapp than it had in 1966. Shapp, who was Jewish, also dealt with a lower degree of anti-Semitism during this campaign, as moderate voters were put off by the hateful messages that had been transmitted during the prior election cycle. Broderick's campaign faced an uphill battle, as he was forced to deal with the unpopularity of his boss, Governor Ray Shafer. Furthermore, Broderick was portrayed as unrealistic in his promises, as he asserted that he would not raise taxes, despite a massive state deficit. Broderick attempted to present himself as an ally of Richard Nixon and ran on a corresponding law-and-order platform; however, his tough stances often backfired, such as when outrage ensued over a Republican cartoon that depicted Shapp's liberal view as equivalent to the Viet Cong.

Results

Shapp won victory by a huge margin. His liberalism and local base allowed him to nearly win the suburbs of Philadelphia, a GOP stronghold at the time. Furthermore, he not only performed well in conservative Central Pennsylvania, but even defeated Broderick by a considerable margin in those locales.

References

References

1. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Robert P. Casey Sr".
2. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Harvey F. Johnston".
3. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Edward P. Lavelle".
4. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Samuel G. Neff".
5. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Milton J. Shapp".
6. "Our Campaigns - Candidate - Walter J. Tray".
7. "Our Campaigns - PA Governor- D Primary Race - May 19, 1970".
8. Kennedy, John J.. (2006). "Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests From 1950-2004". University Press of America.
9. ''The Pennsylvania Manual'', p. 626.
10. ''The Pennsylvania Manual'', p. 625.