Pa.’s Toomey, Shapiro and others set their sights on 2022 elections and the governorship

While the rest of the nation is ramping up for the 2020 presidential election, politicians in the Keystone State have their eyes set beyond 2020 – to 2022 and the governorship.

Toomey & Casey

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Morning Call, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey, a Republican from Lehigh County, is mulling over the decision to seek a third term in the Senate or to hone in on the governorship in 2022.

Term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf won’t be eligible to run again in 2022, leaving the door wide open for myriad contenders to vie for the coveted title.

On the other side of the aisle,  Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., of Scranton,  is not up for reelection until 2024. And he has not discussed any other possibilities so far. 

Mike Turzai

Another Republican considering a run for the governorship is state House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, who briefly ran in the 2018 Republican primary for governor, has expressed strong interest in running for the office again in 2022, telling the Inquirer, “I’m very positive on the idea of running for governor.” 

Fetterman

On the Democratic side, 2022 could see Lt. Gov. John Fetterman take a shot at the top seat, but it’s also possible that Fetterman could renew his push for a U.S. Senate seat.

In 2016, Fetterman lost the Democratic primary for Senate to Katie McGinty. McGinty lost to Toomey in the general election.

Fetterman has been vague about his future political intentions, telling the Inquirer, “Whatever happens in ‘22 is wide open.”

The Row Officers: 

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Montgomery County Democrat, is seeking reelection next year, but that hasn’t stopped rumors about the AG’s intent for 2022. Shapiro is largely considered the top contender for the Democratic nominee to replace Wolf.

Like Shapiro, state Treasurer Joe Torsella is also running for reelection in 2020. While Torsella said that he’s strictly focused on 2020, murmurs continue that the other Democrat from Montgomery County might be a potential candidate for governor or U.S. Senate in 2022.

The Philadelphians:

The fervor for the governorship has even spread to Philadelphia with people close to Philly Mayor Jim Kenney saying that he might run for governor, but no word from Kenney himself.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-2nd District, has previously said that discussing the 2022 elections was too “premature” to discuss whether he might have interest in Toomey’s Senate seat.

While these potential contenders have yet to declare anything publicly, they all emphasized the wait-and-see nature of the 2020 elections before moving forward with any declarations one way or the other.