Shafer wins race for governor
Local editorials from 50 years ago are being reprinted every Monday and Tuesday in this column. This editorial appeared in the Evening Standard, a predecessor of the Herald-Standard, on Nov. 14, 1966.
The success of the Republican in Pennsylvania — winning all five state offices — brought out one major consensus from several Pennsylvania editors gathered last week for the Sigma Delta Chi (journalism society) convention in Pittsburgh.
“It’s safer with Shafer” seemed to be the major theme that won the governorship for Lt. Gov. Raymond P. Shafer.
Pennsylvania has been forging forward in the past four years under the Republican administration in Harrisburg.
True the national picture economically has blossomed f o r w a r d also. In the state, however, there is not the national problems of Viet Nam confronting the administration.
The editors believed that resentment against the war in Viet Nam was the major reason for the defeat of many Democrats in congressional, senatorial and gubernatorial positions across the land. The voters j u s t wanted to show they want the Viet Nam war cleaned up one way or the other — escalation mostly, to get it over with.
Milton Shapp, the Democratic candidate, scored a personal triumph. He whipped the machine in the primary. He held the Republicans to a 340,000 plurality despite strong adverse national tides.
Four years ago Gov. Scranton won by 486,000 against a tried office holder, Richardson Dllworth, of Philadelphia.
Mr. S h a p p advanced some proposals that should be studied by Gov.-elect Shafer and his administration.
The next four years can be good years for Pennsylvania and when we say Pennsylvania we mean this little section of southwestern Pennsylvania also. We need those new highways, we want to he tied in with the interstate system, we need more industry, we want jobs for everyone who can work, we want a speed-up on those Project 70 programs. We don’t want the Republican administration to forget us here in Fayette County.
Mr. Shafer lost Fayette by 8.460 votes unofficially. Many Democrats split their tickets to vote for him. His Republican running mate for lieutenant governor, Raymond Broderick, lost by 11,225 votes.
When he starts looking around the state, we trust the new governor, will think about Fayette.
We still need help.