Huge PA Governor, U.S. Senate Fields Finalized For May Primary

PENNSYLVANIA — The upcoming election season is a unique opportunity for Pennsylvania voters, as it is the first time in decades that no incumbents are running for both the state's chief executive seat and the U.S. Senate.

Pennsylvania voters will be choosing a new governor next year as well as a replacement for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican who is not seeking reelection.

The state's current governor, Tom Wolf, a Democrat in his second and final term, cannot seek reelection since he is constitutionally term-limited.

And with the U.S. Senate seats in Pennsylvania long being split between having a member of each of the two major parties at any given time, voters will be choosing whether or not to elect a second Democrat to sit alongside Sen. Bob Casey or another GOP member to replace retiring Toomey.

The race is also being eyed on the national stage since a Democratic win in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race couple possibly help determine which party wins control of Congress.

This past Tuesday was the filing deadline for candidates to have their names on the May 17 primary ballot, and media reports stated that candidates came in droves to meet this week's deadline.

The Democrats who filed for the U.S. Senate race are Kevin Baumlin, Kael Dougherty, John Fetterman, Larry Johnson, Malcolm Kenyatta, Alexandria Khalil, Conor Lamb, John McGuigan, Kyle Norton, Alan Shank, Walter Sluzynsky and Lew Tapera, according to information found on the website Ballotpedia.

The Republican candidates seeking the U.S. Senate seat are Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, George Bochetto, John Debellis, John Eichenberg, Vince Fusca, Sean Gale, Bobby Jeffries, Ronald Johnson, David McCormick, Richard Mulholland, Mehmet Oz, Max Richardson, Martin Rosenfeld, Carla Sands, Everett Stern and David Xu.

Oz, who is also known as television's celebrity physician, Dr. Oz, has some name recognition due to his Hollywood status. But some also questioned his legitimacy in this race given that he has been a longtime resident of both New York and New Jersey, although he says he now maintains residence in the Keystone State.

As for the governor seat, two candidates have declared candidacy by the filing date deadline: Josh Shapiro, the state's current attorney general, and Tega Swann, a resident of Aliquippa in Beaver County.

Shapiro declared his candidacy early and was framed to be the party-backed favorite in the race, while Swann doesn't have as much name recognition statewide.

Swann is an immigrant American citizen from Nigeria who works with underprivileged populations in Beaver County, which is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region, according to an article in The Times newspaper.

More about the candidate can be found her on her campaign website.

Shapiro is a former Pennsylvania state representative and Montgomery County commissioner who is now in his second term as the state's elected attorney general.

Many more Republicans are seeking to become Pennsylvania's next governor, which was to be expected after eight years of one-party rule by the Democrats.

The GOP candidates seeking the nomination are Lou Barletta, Jake Corman, III, Joe Gale, Charlie, Gerow, Melissa Hart, Doug Mastriano, Bill McSwain, Jason Richey, John Ventre, David White and Nche Zama, according to Ballotpedia.

More information on each of the candidates for the U.S. Senate and governor races can be found on links contained under each individuals' name on the Ballotpedia article.

Additional information as well as information about those running for Congress and for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania can be found on this 6 ABC story.