Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1982

November 2, 1982 (1982-11-02)



Candidate	Dick Thornburgh	Allen Ertel
Party	Republican	Democratic
Running mate	Bill Scranton III	James Lloyd
Popular vote	1,872,784	1,772,353
Percentage	50.8%	48.15

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Governor before election

Dick Thornburgh
Republican

Elected Governor

Dick Thornburgh
Republican

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The Pennsylvania gubernatorial election of 1982 was held on November 2, 1982 between incumbent Republican Dick Thornburgh and Democratic U.S. Congressman Allen E. Ertel.

Primary elections

Incumbent Governor Dick Thornburgh ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Allen Ertel was the consensus Democratic choice. His opponents included Philadelphia political consultant Steve Douglas, Fayette County businessman Earl McDowell, and Northumberland County dentist Eugene Knox.

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1986^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Allen Ertel	436,251	57.64
	Democratic	Steve Douglas	143,762	19.0
	Democratic	Earl McDowell	116,880	15.44
	Democratic	Eugene Knox	59,925	7.92

Major Party Candidates

Democratic

Allen Ertel, US Congressman
- runningmate: James Lloyd, State Senator

Republican

Dick Thornburgh, incumbent Governor
- runningmate: Bill Scranton III, incumbent Lieutenant Governor

Campaign

Thornburgh, who maintained high approval ratings during his first term, was initially considered a shoo-in for reelection, especially after the Democrats' top candidate, Philadelphia District Attorney (and future governor) Ed Rendell, declined to seek the nomination. Ertel struggled early with fundraising and, because of his residence in heavily Republican Central Pennsylvania, lacked a base among the state's strongest Democratic constituents: urban voters and organized labor. However, as a serious recession hit the state, Ertel campaigned hard against the economic policies of President Ronald Reagan, whom Ertel blamed for failing to protect the state's manufacturing sector; Thornburgh was forced to distance himself from his party's executive, as support for Reaganomics waned.^[2]

The state's political environment strongly favored Ertel not only because of national issues, but because the governmental cuts undertaken by Thornburgh during his term as governor had caused him to lose the support of severally traditionally Democratic-leaning organizations that had once stood by his side, such as the NAACP and the state's teachers' union. However, Ertel ran a relatively mediocre campaign and hurt his chances with several gaffes, such as accusing the governor of exploiting his handicapped son's condition for political gain. Ertel's own mistakes were considered to be a crucial component in Thornburgh's win.^[2]

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1982^[3]^[4]
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Dick Thornburgh	Bill Scranton III	1,872,784	50.84%
	Democratic	Allen Ertel	James Lloyd	1,772,353	48.11%
	Socialist Workers	Mark Zola	Wilson Osteen, Jr.	15,495	0.42%
	Consumer	Lee Frissell	Judith Faulkner	13,101	0.36%
	Libertarian	Richard Fuerle	David Walter	10,252	0.28%
Totals				3,683,985	100.00%
Voter turnout (Voting age population)					64.60%

Notes

↑ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=41049.
1 2 Kennedy, John J. (2006). Pennsylvania Elections: Statewide Contests From 1950-2004. University Press of America. ISBN 9780761832799.
↑ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 598.
↑ The Pennsylvania Manual, p. 597.

References

Ackley, Gayle; Avery, Kris, eds. (1983). The Pennsylvania Manual 106. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Department of General Services. ISBN 0-8182-0029-4.

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