Don Cunningham

Of course it is way too early to start openly campaigning for Governor, but no doubt Democratic wanna-bes are thinking about it.  The names you hear most seem to be Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, Auditor General Jack Wagner, former head of DEP Kathleen McGinty and millionaire Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox.

The name missing from most short lists may be the biggest name of them all.  U.S. Senator Bob Casey may be the one to come in and unite the forces behind one front-runner.  It is no secret that Casey has a love for Pennsylvania and has long dreamed of filling the same shoes his father once did in Harrisburg. 

Casey was convinced by Democratic leaders to seek the U.S. Senate seat, but it was no secret that was not where his heart was.  While sources close to Casey say he has grown to like the office, his true ambitions seem to still be in Harrisburg.  Casey is in perfect position to seek the seat in 2010.  His senate seat does not come up until 2012 and would not need to step down from his current office to run for the governor’s office.

So while the chances of Casey admitting he would be interested in the seat this far from the election are none, don’t forget to include his name in your short list. 

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke): Getty Images PhotoDENVER--With U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) locked in a tight reelection battle with Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, a county executive just outside his 11th Congressional District says the longtime incumbent needs to make sure voters know and understand his record.

"I think Congressman Kanjorski has a strong record of helping that part of Pennsylvania," Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham told PolitickerPa.com this morning. "It's critical that he reinforce that record.

"Paul has been a good Congressman, but it's going to take him telling people what he's done," Cunningham added.

DENVER--Soaking in his first convention as a delegate, Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham this morning told his fellow delegates that it was time to make history.

"If we go back to our boroughs, our cities, our townships and our jobs, we will be a part of history," Cunningham said during the delegation breakfast.

Saying U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) election would be a "seminal event" in the country's history, Cunningham, a 2010 gubernatorial hopeful, praised Obama's message of hope over fear.

"Within Barack  Obama, there is vision, there is direction, there is greatness," Cunningham said.

This article is by Dan Hirschhorn in Philadelphia and Alex Roarty in Harrisburg.

Even while they insist their energies are fully focused on electing their prospective party's nominees for president, members of the state's political establishment are quietly eyeing the next big elections in Pennsylvania: the race for governor and the race for senator in 2010.

With a bevy of political insiders set to convene over the next two weeks for their annual political conventions-Democrats in Denver next week and Republicans in St. Paul the following week-it's certain that prospective candidates for the two offices will be putting out feelers for support, though they'll be doing so quietly.

Prospective candidates for both offices will be present at both conventions, and though they assured PolitickerPa.com they were more focused on November's presidential election, most acknowledged it would be nice to have a who's who of state politicians in one room.

"I would say that next week in Denver I'll spend a lot of time talking to other ... Democrats from across the state about intentions and gauging their reaction and support," said Don Cunningham, the Lehigh County Executive who is considering a run for the Democratic nomination to succeed Gov. Ed Rendell.

"I'm not hosting any formal receptions or anything like that," Cunningham was quick to add. "I'm just going to be an active, regular part of the delegation. I know a lot of folks already, and I'm hoping to get to know more."

A few hours after PolitickerPA.com reported on the crowded early field for the 2010 governor's race, the man who still has 2 1/2 years left in the governor's mansion said that anything and everything could change between now and that distant election day.

In an interview with PolitickerPA.com, Gov. Ed Rendell said all of the potential candidates to succeed him have their political upsides, as well as their downsides.

"It's far too early to discuss who is a serious candidate and who isn't, because between now and 2010, in politics that's like years," Rendell said. "Good things can happen to people, bad things can happen to people. Some outside event can make someone's candidacy; some outside event can break someone's candidacy."

Rendell, a two-term Democrat, said his party has a "very good" field so far, but cautioned that each potential Democratic candidate could make trouble for another.

Gov. Ed RendellPennsylvanians won't cast their general election ballots for the next governor for more than two years. But with attention squarely focused on this year's presidential race, a large field of potential contenders are already lining up, each one sizing up his chances to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

It's a surprisingly crowded field for how far away the election is, a field political watchers and analysts describe as impressive on both sides of the aisle. And with neither an incumbent nor a state household name in yet in play, most are forecasting a race that will be difficult to predict, one in which almost anyone could come out on top.

"It's an election that could go any way at the moment," said G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. "I don't see a clear favorite or even a clear party."

Longtime political consultant Larry Ceisler said: "I think you're going to have a lot of people running, and I think whatever I'm saying today, I will probably refute in 2010."

If there are any favorites at this early stage, there's also disagreements on who they are.

The presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), is coordinating a statewide grand opening of its campaign field offices, now numbering 29, with prominent Democratic politicians schedule to speak on Obama's behalf throughout the state tonight.

Most of the offices have already been open for some time, but with U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spending significantly more time in Pennsylvania than Obama has to date, Obama's campaign is looking to increase its visibility.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is among those stumping for Obama tonight. The junior Senator is scheduled to speak at office openings in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, the campaign said today.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Philadelphia) and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter will speak at different office openings in Philadelphia. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Bristol) will speak in Doylestown, along with Bucks County Democratic Committee Chairman John Cordisco.

Other speakers across the state include Auditor General Jack Wagner in Pittsburgh and Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham in Allentown, along with numerous mayors, state Senators, county commissioners and party chairs from across the state

Some Pennsylvania Hillary Clinton supporters are are still not ready to to back Barack Obama, The Morning Call reports.

"They really almost split it, and as a Clinton supporter, that acknowledgement of how close it is makes it hard," U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz told the Call. "I am with Hillary Clinton until she is not in this race. I will be for Barack Obama if he is the nominee. I thnk the party will come together quickly. It will take a few weeks for people's emotions to catch up with their declarations, mine included."