Election day is Tuesday and it looks like it could bring an end to one of the nation's longest and most unique trends in American electoral politics.
It all started with Milton Shapp. In 1974, after a change in the state constitution, Shapp--a Democrat--became the first governor in modern Pennsylvania history to run for re-election.
He won.
Eight years later, Republican Dick Thornburgh ran for re-election and despite a bad economy, Thornburgh beat back a challenge from Lycoming County D.A. Alan Ertel.
Eight years later, Democrat Bob Casey ran for re-election, and crushed Republican Barbara Hafer.
Eight years after that, Republican Tom Ridge easily won re-election.
And eight years after that, Democrat Ed Rendell dispatched former football star Lynn Swann.
If you're counting, that's eight years of Democratic governors followed by eight years of Republican governors for the past four decades.
And it goes back further than even Milton Shapp. Pennsylvania has elected Democratic governors for eight years and then Republican governors for eight years, back and forth, again and again, without fail ever since the election of George Leader in 1954.
But this year that streak is in jeopardy.
Polls show incumbent Republican Tom Corbett trailing Democrat Tom Wolf.
If those numbers pan out to a Wolf victory on Tuesday, Tom Corbett will be the first Pennsylvania governor in modern times to lose his bid for re-election and be the first one-term governor since Raymond Shafer left office in 1971.
