Scranton (L) and Oran Henderson (R) at a press conference on the Three Mile Island incident in October 1979.
In 1978, he won the Republican primary for lieutenant governor and later that year became the youngest person ever elected lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania. His dual role as chairman of the Governor's Energy Council and chairman of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Council put him at the center of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Stationcrisis in 1979. At one point during the crisis, Scranton visited the plant's auxiliary building, where he donned protective clothing and walked through corridors flooded with radioactive water.[3]
As lieutenant governor, Scranton hired Nat Goldhaber, a member of the Transcendental Meditation movement, as his top aide in Harrisburg.[4] In 1982, he was unanimously elected as Chairman of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.
During his final term as lieutenant governor, Scranton ran for Governor of Pennsylvania in 1986 against Democratic former Auditor General Bob Casey Sr. The race was virtually tied until five days before election day when Casey's media consultants, led by a young James Carville, launched the now-infamous "guru" ad.[1][5] This television advertisement portrayed Scranton as having been a regular drug user in the 1960s and mocked Scranton's interest in transcendental meditation and his ties to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.[1][5] The image of Scranton as a "long haired, dope-smoking hippie" is seen by political observers as having tipped the scales against Scranton in the socially conservative rural sections of Pennsylvania.[1][5] Casey went on to win the election by a narrow margin of 79,216 out of 3.3 million votes cast.[1]
On October 17, 2005, Scranton formally announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2006. After it became clear that Scranton would not win the Pennsylvania Republican Party endorsement, his campaign called for Pennsylvania change to an "open primary" election.[6] Scranton dismissed his first two prior campaign managers over strategy issues.
In January 2006 Scranton fired his third campaign manager, Jim Seif, after Seif criticized Scranton's African American opponent, Lynn Swann, during a television interview saying, "the rich white guy in this campaign is Lynn Swann."[7] In February 2006, after his request for an open primary was denied, Scranton withdrew from the race.[6]
Private sector
After losing the 1986 election, Scranton exited politics and managed some California companies and start-up firms. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1994 to spend time with his family. [citation needed]
In 1992, Scranton donated $1,000 to the campaign of his friend John Hagelin, the Pittsburgh-born presidential candidate for the Transcendental Meditation-backed Natural Law Party.[2] Scranton says he has always supported Republicans.[2]
He has maintained a presence in the political arena, creating a new political action committee (GrowPAC), speaking at the annual Pennsylvania Leadership Conference and testifying before the State House of Representatives budget hearing. In May 2007, Scranton joined the board of directors for the Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg public policy research center.[8] Scranton was a potential candidate in the 2010 gubernatorial election, but, in August 2009, effectively ended speculation he would enter the race by endorsing 6th districtCongressmanJim Gerlach for governor.[9]
