PA Primary Election 2026: Your Complete Guide To The Candidates For Lieutenant Governor
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In this year’s lieutenant governor primary, incumbent Democrat Austin Davis is running unopposed while the party-endorsed Republican, attorney Jason Richey, has a long-shot challenger in former UPS executive John Ventre.
The lieutenant governor must formally run in the primary separately from the governor in Pennsylvania, unlike in the majority of other states. A proposed amendment to change that rule in the state’s constitution gained momentum a few years ago, but hasn’t been considered since Democrats took control of the House in 2023.
In practice, gubernatorial candidates can pair up early to campaign with whomever would be their ideal running mate. That was the case with Davis and incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro during their first run in 2022, and is also the case this year with Richey and assumed GOP nominee Stacy Garrity the state treasurer.
Lieutenant governors frequently serve as additional layers of support, echoing the chief executive’s policy priorities back to constituents, lawmakers, and news outlets.
Davis and Richey, both from the Pittsburgh region, fill a geographic gap for Shapiro and Garrity, who are respectively from Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia and Bradford County in northeast Pennsylvania.
Westmoreland County’s Ventre, who is perhaps best known as a UFO enthusiast and has made several unsuccessful bids for office, is running a self-described anti-establishment campaign in spite of Richey receiving the endorsement of the state GOP.