Gov. Ridge easily wins second term

Many believe the popular incumbent is eyeing a GOP vice-presidential bid in 2000. Tom Ridge coasted to a second term as Pennsylvania's governor yesterday in a victory expected to boost the well-liked incumbent's credibility as a Republican vice-presidential candidate in 2000. Ridge, 53, defeated several weak challengers. The closest, State Rep. Ivan Itkin (D-Pittsburgh) polled 31 percent of the vote to Ridge's 57 percent with 98 percent of precincts reporting. Ridge, speaking before a crowd of 1,300 gathered at the Avalon Hotel in his hometown of Erie, called the vote "an endorsement of our vision, satisfaction with our work and the trust to lead Pennsylvania for four more years." The popular governor and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Mark Schweiker, pulled in four of every 10 Democratic voters. As the votes piled up in Ridge's favor, Itkin, 62, conceded the race before about a dozen supporters gathered at a Pittsburgh hotel. "[Ridge] was like someone who was playing poker, and he had all four aces," Itkin said. Ridge entered office on the cusp of an unprecedented economic boom and has presided over the state's lowest level of unemployment this decade. And incumbents are rarely voted out of office during periods of prosperity. "I think the governor has done a great job for the entire commonwealth," said one voter, 55-year old Dennis Wint of Montgomery County. "He deserves another term." Peg Luksik, the Constitutional Party candidate, had 10 percent of the vote, down from her 13 percent in the 1994 gubernatorial race. Much of her support came from conservative voters. On a night when Democrats racked up surprising gains nationwide, Ridge was never seriously challenged by his opponent. Indeed, the race was considered a non-starter. Several of the state's more prominent Democrats -- including Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and state Auditor Bob Casey, Jr. -- declined to run. And Itkin received little financial support from traditional Democratic sources. Ridge raised $15.5 million toward his reelection bid, dwarfing Itkin's efforts, which fell well short of $1 million. That cash shortage kept Itkin from airing television ads in the eastern portion of the state and led to low name-recognition numbers for the nine-term state representative. And Itkin -- who was left arguing that Ridge could have done better for the state's workers -- never found a hot-button issue to rally support. The 26-point spread was widely seen as a blow to the future credibility of Democratic candidates in statewide elections, but not the disaster many had predicted if Itkin dropped below 30 percent of the vote. For Ridge, the landslide result is likely to serve as more than a mandate for his legislative agenda. Many believe Ridge will use the victory as a stepping stone to a vice presidential bid in 2000. Ridge is close to Texas Gov. George W. Bush, an early front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. But last night Ridge bypassed the question, saying that "I fully intend to spend all four years here." "Time will tell if [a vice-presidential bid] becomes an opportunity. It could happen--it might not." Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Ben Geldon and the Associated Press contributed to this article.