The Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election of 1986 was held on November 4, 1986. Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Bob Casey

Robert P. Casey

Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...

 narrowly defeated Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Bill Scranton III, in a race that featured two very high profile candidates.

After being defeated in the Democratic primary for governor on three prior occasions, Casey finally won his party's nod, by beating Philadelphia District Attorney and future governor Ed Rendell

Ed Rendell

Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...

. Casey, a moderate with strong labor ties and pro-life viewpoints, was often to the right of his Republican opponent on social issues; Scranton, whose father was a leading moderate, was pro-choice and attempted to connect with the fiscally conservative but socially progressive suburban voter.http://books.google.com/books?id=1J_9q-lIWRkC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=1998+ridge+itkin&source=bl&ots=AK6b-Ut25d&sig=ln8QefiZodyBTkRiIzEYxTt21Ro&hl=en&ei=cPjETOLTOoOglAenj8EH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=1998%20ridge%20itkin&f=false

The race featured back-and-forth polling in the months preceding the election, with the public demonstrating generally positive views toward both figures, but growing weary of their negative campaigning that dominated the contest. However, it was a one of these many negative ads that helped the sway the election. Then-unknown political consultant James Carville

James Carville

Chester James Carville, Jr. is an American political consultant, commentator, educator, actor, attorney, media personality, and prominent liberal pundit. Carville gained national attention for his work as the lead strategist of the successful presidential campaign of then-Arkansas governor Bill...

 commissioned the creation of commercials that emphasized Scranton's use of recreational drugs as a college student and his open practice of transcendental meditation

Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation refers to the Transcendental Meditation technique, a specific form of mantra meditation, and to the Transcendental Meditation movement, a spiritual movement...

; as a result, Casey appeared as the more socially conservative candidate, which helped him to garner a surprisingly high vote total in rural regions of the state http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/weekinreview/10ferrick.html.

Democratic

• Bob Casey
  Robert P. Casey
  Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...
  
  , former State Auditor General
  • runningmate: Mark Singel
    Mark Singel
    Mark Stephen Singel served as the Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995 under Bob Casey He was acting governor from June 14, 1993, to December 13, 1993, during Casey's lengthy battle with amyloidosis and subsequent multiple organ transplant.A graduate of Pennsylvania...
    
    , State Senator

Republican

• Bill Scranton III, Lieutenant Governor
  • runningmate: Mike Fisher
    D. Michael Fisher
    Dennis Michael Fisher is a United States federal judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was nominated on May 1, 2003 by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S...
    
    , State Senator

Results

Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...	Bob Casey Robert P. Casey Robert Patrick "Bob" Casey, Sr. was an American politician from Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995...	Mark Singel	1,717,484	50.39%
	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	Bill Scranton III	Mike Fisher D. Michael Fisher Dennis Michael Fisher is a United States federal judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was nominated on May 1, 2003 by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S...	1,638,268	48.35%
	Consumer	Heidi Hoover	John Brickhouse	33,523	0.96%
Totals				3,388,275	100.00%
Voter turnout (Voting age population)					59.87%