Thread: Lynn Swann expected to run for governor

Tuesday, January 3, 2006 · Last updated 9:51 p.m. PT

Lynn Swann expected to run for governor
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By PETER JACKSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Lynn Swann, the former Pittsburgh Steelers star and veteran football commentator for ABC Sports, is expected to declare his candidacy for Pennsylvania governor Wednesday.

Swann planned to open a three-day tour of the state at a rally in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, before flying to similar events in six other cities - Erie, Altoona and Scranton on Thursday, and Philadelphia, Allentown and Lancaster on Friday.

Aides declined to confirm the purpose of the tour, but Swann's political committee - Team 88, named after the number on the former wide receiver's football jersey - has been raising money for 11 months. Swann also has billed himself as a prospective candidate as he has courted GOP activists across the state.

"It might be easy to assume" the subject of Swann's announcement, acknowledged his campaign spokeswoman, Melissa Walters, who also referred to the upcoming flyover as an "announcement tour."

Swann, 53, will be the latest Republican hopeful to make his candidacy official. Already declared are former Lt. Gov. William Scranton III, state Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola and retired business advocate Jim Panyard.

For Swann, Scranton and Piccola, the next milestone along the road to the primary is the Republican State Committee's Feb. 11 meeting to consider endorsing a candidate - a trophy that could be crucial in deciding a contested primary. Spokesmen for all three camps professed optimism about their efforts to line up support among state committee members.

Piccola's campaign spokesman, Dean Ouellette, said the competition is fierce.

Any candidate who claims to have a majority sewn up is "either lying to you or they're lying to themselves," he said.

Panyard, a former director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, said he is not competing for the committee's endorsement.

Independent polls have consistently shown Scranton, lieutenant governor in former Gov. Dick Thornburgh's administration, and Swann running ahead of the other two Republican candidates. The same polls show Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, who is expected to seek a second four-year term, leading Scranton and Swann by more than 10 percentage points.

Swann, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001, lives outside of Pittsburgh in Sewickley with his wife and two sons.

F Lynn Swann...that ***!