Onorato, Corbett building steam for Pa. governor race

Chatting near a food court in the King of Prussia mall, lifelong Democrat Darlene Fazio was flustered that she momentarily couldn't recall the names of both major candidates for governor.

"Corbett and the Italian guy," she said.

"I'm embarrassed, because I'm Italian, too."

Twelve weeks before the election, voters have yet to tune in to what promises to be a noisy and expensive battle between Republican Tom Corbett and Democrat Dan Onorato to succeed Gov. Rendell after his two terms in office.

Much about the race is unpredictable - a "knowable unknown," as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld liked to say. But interviews with political analysts on both sides - most conducted in confidence, so that true opinions could be expressed - suggest that some things are pretty clear.

With most of the political winds blowing in his favor, Corbett is the favorite. The two parties have switched control of the governorship every eight years since the 1970s. And, nationally, this looks like an up year for Republicans.

Yet the race is likely to end up being close. Open-seat contests in Pennsylvania almost always are. And Democrats still have 1.3 million more registered voters than the GOP.

Neither candidate has been tested in a campaign quite like a governor's race at full throttle, and the outcome could be determined by how each handles the intense scrutiny that comes with it.

Onorato, as the two-term Allegheny County executive in Pittsburgh, has gained solid experience in managing a multibillion-dollar government. But he has never run for statewide office. At 49, he is still learning how to command an audience. He sometimes seems to talk past voters with a rapid-fire recitation of this achievement or that.

A lawyer and certified public accountant, he is disciplined and organized. He managed to get through a four-man Democratic primary without making a major mistake. He presents himself as the one candidate who has created jobs through economic development.

"I would say I am making solid headway," he commented Thursday while on a tour of the Philadelphia Business and Technology Center. "This race is wide open. People are just starting to focus."