By John L. Micek | Call Harrisburg Bureau 4:54 PM EDT, August 7, 2007

HARRISBURG - There's still nearly three years to go before Pennsylvanians voters start thinking about picking their next governor, but several prominent Democrats are already laying the groundwork to try to replace Gov. Ed Rendell in 2010.

Further breaking open one of the worst-kept secrets in state politics, Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham said Tuesday that he's seriously mulling a run for the top spot.

Ditto for state Senate Minority Leader Robert J. Mellow, D-Lackawanna, who's hoping to become the first legislator since former Gov. George Leader in 1954 to make the leap from the General Assembly to the big chair.

In western Pennsylvania, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato has been frequently mentioned as a possible successor to Rendell, who will be term-limited out of office. State Auditor General Jack Wagner, also of Pittsburgh, has also been mooted as a potential candidate.

In a brief interview on Tuesday, Cunningham, the one-time mayor of Bethlehem and secretary of the state Department of General Services, said a run for the governor's office is "something I'm clearly exploring, and I'm going to spend the next two years seeing if a campaign is feasible.

For now, Cunningham said he's focusing on preparing the next county budget, which is due to become public in September, and focusing on his own re-election campaign in 2009.

Cunningham has been actively raising money and estimated that he has about $100,000 on hand. He's scheduled fund-raisers for the fall and hopes to have about $500,000 in the bank by year's end.

For Cunningham, the biggest problem could be building the name-recognition that's critical to a statewide candidacy.

Though well-known in the Lehigh Valley and considered a rising star in Democratic circles, he is unknown to the majority of Pennsylvanians.

"He is seen as someone that the Democrats have targeted as a prominent candidate in the future," said Christopher Borick, a pollster and political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown. "He's amassed enough of a record of success that he can bring something to the table."

Mellow is looking to parlay more than three decades of leadership experience in the Senate into winning the Democratic nomination.

"He's definitely thinking about it," spokesman Ed Mitchell said. "He's been holding planning meetings for several months. He's been raising funds. And he's established an exploratory committee."

Mellow also faces the more significant hurdle of widespread public disdain for the General Assembly. A May 30 Quinnipiac University poll showed that 47 percent of state voters believed the Legislature is doing a poor job.

Mitchell dismissed suggestions of a legislative jinx: "I don't know if those myths mean anything anymore. They said someone from Philadelphia could never be governor. They elected Rendell. And then they re-elected him."

Though it might be early for voters to start thinking about potential successors to Rendell, the meter is already running for the candidates.

"The problem, from a political standpoint, is that the races cost so much money that people have to be out there create awareness in the political giving community," Democratic consultant Larry Ceisler of Philadelphia said. "That's just the way it works."

john.micek@mcall.com
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