In the GOP race for Pa. lieutenant governor, an underdog is running against his own party

The midterm election season was barely underway when the likely Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, Stacy Garrity, made known her choice for a running mate.

Jason Richey had led the Allegheny County GOP for nearly a year when Garrity, the sitting state treasurer, endorsed him in late January for lieutenant governor.

Richey was an established name in Western Pennsylvania politics. He had run for governor four years earlier. And he leads the largest county Republican Party, with 264,000 of the state's 3.6 million registered GOP voters.

"They said they looked at the polling and believed that I made the ticket as strong as possible," said Richey, 54.

In past races, a public endorsement by the likely nominee for governor could clear the field of potential primary challengers.

But in an era when outsiders in both parties have chosen to buck their leadership - and in some cases run as forceful opponents of those leaders - it wasn't enough.

While other candidates decided to drop out of the race, John Ventre, a retired UPS executive from Washington County, chose to stay in despite Garrity's clear preference for Richey, setting up the only contested statewide race in Pennsylvania this year.

In the months since, Ventre has attacked his party's leadership for rallying behind a candidate for lieutenant governor he says is not conservative enough to carry out the party's agenda in Harrisburg.

He has dubbed his opponent "RINO Richey," adopting the term for "Republican in Name Only."

"He's not a patriot and the people know that," said Ventre, 69. "I'm very Trump-like. I don't manage by chaos … but I'll get everybody on the same page."

President Donald Trump endorsed Garrity earlier this year.

Ventre downplayed Garrity's endorsement of his opponent in the lieutenant governor's race, saying he believes she was pressured into it by state party leaders who only endorse "yes men."

"I see (Garrity) as a patriot like myself," Ventre said, "But right now, she's letting the GOP run the campaign. I think she's got to start showing more of that patriot roots that got her elected."

Ventre said he sees his own party as a bigger obstacle than the Democrats to getting his plans - which include a 27-point agenda to "fix Pennsylvania" - signed into law.

"(The Republicans) are not on the same page," he said. "You have your MAGA patriots that are with Trump, and then you have what we refer to as the swamp RINOS. ... The battle is going to be getting the Republicans to stop compromising with the far left and sticking to their values, their morals."

Ventre's plan includes creating a Department of State Efficiency, modeled after Elon Musk's federal Department of Government Efficiency, to cut state spending - something he said is lacking in Garrity's platform.

"I don't think her plan right now is very strong," he said.

While Garrity's endorsement of Richey didn't deter Ventre, recent elections have shown that the leading candidate's blessing can be a significant boost to whomever receives it.

Four years ago, Josh Shapiro backed then-state Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, who went on to win 63% of the vote in a three-candidate field. The two are running unopposed this year.

Richey dismissed Ventre's attacks on his Republican credentials.

"I am conservative. That man is not competent to run for office, and it's just that simple," said Richey, who has outspent Ventre $77,000 to less than $9,000 on the airwaves, according to the political ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Richey, an attorney for K&L Gates specializing in energy sector law, said his top goal is to "unleash Pennsylvania energy."

"We would drill, drill and drill for natural gas," he said, with the goal of getting European countries "addicted to Pennsylvania natural gas rather than Russian."

He said the state has languished during the last 12 years of Democratic leadership under former Gov. Tom Wolf and his successor, Gov. Josh Shapiro.

"Our kids aren't finding opportunities here," he said. "You can go all up and down Western Pennsylvania and you can visibly see these towns dying. We need to go in another direction."

Despite being the second-highest-ranking executive in the state, the $206,000-a-year position of lieutenant governor has limited powers. Those in the job preside over the Senate, chair the Board of Pardons and are first in the line of succession to the governor.

But some past officeholders have used the position to raise their profiles with voters before seeking higher office.

Most recently, Democrat John Fetterman won his U.S. Senate seat after serving with Wolf in the governor's second term.

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 12:35 PM.