Members of the state Republican Party endorsed western Pennsylvania attorney Jason Richey on Saturday in his bid for lieutenant governor.
Richey, 54, entered the race last month and was immediately endorsed by Stacy Garrity, the GOP-backed candidate for governor this year, as her running mate.
“Today is not just another endorsement,” Richey said during his acceptance speech. “Today is the moment the Pennsylvanian Republican Party stands together and resolves to take back our commonwealth.”
Richey added that he’d work with Garrity to make government more efficient, cut regulations for the private sector and protect “traditional family values.”
Committee members present at the Harrisburg Hilton on Saturday voted by voice to support Richey’s candidacy. He was the only Republican nominated candidate.
Other news from the Pennsylvania GOP’s winter meeting: Asked about President Donald Trump calling for Republicans to “nationalize” elections, Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity said, “I would work with the Trump administration, obviously, because we need to turn our state around.” For the full story, click here. |
Richey is chairman of the Allegheny County GOP. In 2022, he led an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign — he dropped out before the primary and did not appear on the ballot.
Before exiting the race, Richey proposed a 12-step policy plan for Pennsylvania. Among those proposals was a 0% income tax that he said would attract new residents and businesses to the commonwealth.
He told WITF after his acceptance speech that, though Garrity “is in charge,” he’d still like to see an elimination of the state’s income tax.
During a GOP candidate debate that he would limit access to abortion “as far as we can — as constitutionally allowed.” Garrity has moved to soften her past anti-abortion stance, telling the Pennsylvania Press Luncheon in January that she is “pro-life” but also “for exceptions,” of which she did not specify.
Though running mates, Pennsylvania Republicans choose their governor and lieutenant governor nominees separately. That means voters will cast individual votes for each office in the primary.
Garrity said though they grew up in different sections of the state — she’s from Bradford County — she and Richey were still raised with the “same Pennsylvania values.”
Richey, a Beaver County native, obtained his law degree from Ohio State after graduating from Allegheny College, where he was an All-American wrestler. He and his wife have three sons.
DUTIES OF THE JOB
The lieutenant governor serves as the presiding officer of the state Senate and may cast tie-breaking votes. This office holder also chairs the Board of Pardons, where they play a key role in reviewing pardons and commutations; are first in line to succeed the governor if the office becomes vacant; and sits on various state boards and commissions.
Asked by WITF how he’d handle overseeing the Board of Pardons, Richey pivoted to discuss how he’d serve as a partner to Garrity on “unleashing our energy potential” by “getting — in an environmentally friendly fashion — as much of the natural gas out of the ground as we can.”
While the office has no independent authority over executive agencies, its influence often depends on how actively the governor involves the lieutenant governor in policy and administration.
Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, a 36-year-old Democrat, for example, has carved out a position in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration as the primary voice in combating gun violence statewide.
Davis did not respond to a request for comment about Richey’s candidacy.