Primary season is underway, and the contest for the democratic nomination of lieutenant governor got a whole lot more interesting Thursday.
Jay Paterno, the son of the late Penn State Football coach Joe Paterno, announced that he is throwing his hat into the ring for the state's second highest elective position.
Paterno enters the race without much of a political pedigree, but he easily has the most recognizable name in the field, and a crowded field it is.
According to politicsone.com there are now 10 announced candidates on the democratic side.
One person comes from our area. Bradford County Commissioner, Mark Smith has been campaigning for the democrat for lieutenant governor for months.
Maybe the most interesting aspect of Jay Paterno's announcement that he's running for lieutenant governor is his decision to run as a democrat.
His father was a staunch republican, even going so far as to help nominate George H.W. Bush at the 1988 republican convention in New Orleans.
His brother, Scott Paterno, ran as a republican in an unsuccessful bid against then congressman Tim Holden back in 2004.
Jay Paterno said he's not running specifically against incumbent republican Governor Tom Corbett, but it's no secret that tensions between the Paterno family and the governor are pretty strained, following the Sandusky scandal and Joe Paterno's ouster from Penn State in the wake of Sandusky's arrest.
There are a lot of candidates to sort through in the races for governor and lieutenant governor, but there is still time to do so.
Primary election day in Pennsylvania is on Tuesday, May 20th.