State Rep. Jason Ortitay considering a run for governor
Could state Rep. Jason Ortitay become Gov. Jason Ortitay when January 2023 rolls around?
Although the Cecil Republican has not been prominently mentioned among potential GOP contenders for the open governor’s seat in the 2022 election cycle, Ortitay confirmed Thursday he is thinking about running, and will make a decision sometime after the primary in May.
“I’m considering the possibility of running,” Ortitay said.
He added that he has always wanted to vie for the commonwealth’s top job, and the time might be right since it will be open seat. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has served two terms and is ineligible to run again.
Ortitay has represented the 46th Legislative District, which includes parts of northern Washington County and southern Allegheny County, since 2015. He will turn 37 on Sunday, so, if he runs, Ortitay will be younger than all the other potential candidates that have been mentioned so far, but he countered that “a younger approach is what is needed.”
“Isn’t it time for the next generation to take the lead in Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg?” Ortitay said.
Chatter about Ortitay possibly running for governor was prompted by social media reports Thursday that the internet domain name ortitayforgovernor.com had been registered. While it is not uncommon for third parties to snap up domain names for celebrities or politicians, Ortitay said that he did purchase the domain name.
Other Republicans who have been mentioned as possible gubernatorial candidates include state Sen. Jake Corman; Mike Turzai, the former speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who ran for governor in 2018; former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley; and Paul Mango, a businessman who would also be making his second bid.
On the Democratic side, it is widely expected that Josh Shapiro, the current Pennsylvania attorney general, will dominate – and perhaps clear – the field.
If Ortitay would become governor at age 38, he would be younger than Pennsylvania governors in recent history, but not the youngest – Democrat George Leader was sworn in the day after his 37th birthday in 1955. He served a single term and lived until 2013, when he died at age 95.