State Sen. Cris Dush drops out of lieutenant governor race, endorses Jason Richey
State Sen. Cris Dush has abandoned his bid for lieutenant governor, the Republican told the Centre Daily Times Thursday.
The senator, who represents a swath of Centre County and Central Pennsylvania, lost out on the endorsement of likely GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity last week.
Dush cited his desire not to politicize his work in the Senate, as well as losing the lieutenant governor endorsement to Allegheny County GOP Chairman Jason Richey, as his reasons for dropping out. Dush’s withdrawal, which he said he decided late last week, has not previously been reported.
“I had an anti-human trafficking event that I was hosting down in Mechanicsburg,” said the senator, and “it really started weighing heavy on me during the event that if I start going around the commonwealth and 10 different regions doing this, it’s going to look like I’m doing it for a campaign.”
Garrity’s endorsement of Richey “made it easy for me,” he added.
Dush’s campaign lasted less than a month. The conservative state senator had signaled before Garrity announced her endorsement that God would keep him in the race, even without the backing of his would-be running mate. He clarified, however, that Garrity “should have some kind of a say” in who should be the nominee for lieutenant governor.
Dush told the CDT he would endorse Richey.
“Oh yeah, 100%,” Dush said. He said he plans to campaign for Garrity in Pennsylvania’s rural counties, especially those north of Interstate 80.
Dush’s exit from the lieutenant governor’s race leaves three candidates: Brian Thomas, a businessman and political neophyte from Bucks County; John Ventre, a former UPS executive from Westmoreland County who ran a failed bid for governor in 2022; and Richey, also a failed 2022 gubernatorial candidate.
On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis is running unopposed with the backing of Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose ticket is widely considered the favorite in the general election.
In Pennsylvania, lieutenant governor candidates must win a primary election to run alongside their party’s gubernatorial candidate in November. The last Republican nominee for lieutenant governor was not endorsed by the top of the ticket.
The primary election will be held Tuesday, May 19, with a registration deadline of Monday, May 4. The state GOP will meet Saturday to endorse a lieutenant governor candidate.
