Third-party candidates file to run for Pa. governor, Senate

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania third-party candidates for governor and U.S. Senate have filed paperwork ahead of a Monday deadline to get on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, potentially making a crucial difference in the high-stakes races.

Three parties — the Keystone Party, the Libertarian Party and the Green Party — all have candidates who filed voter signatures for governor and U.S. Senate, according to the state’s online candidate list.

Pennsylvania’s threshold for third-party candidates to qualify for the ballot is 5,000 signatures of registered voters.

A Fox News poll conducted in late July showed Democrats polling higher than Republicans in the two races.

For governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro was outpolling Republican Doug Mastriano, 50 to 40 percent. For U.S. Senate, Democrat John Fetterman was outpolling the Republican nominee, Dr. Mehmet Oz, 47 to 36 percent.

The Senate race in Pennsylvania could help determine political control of the closely divided Senate as the parties vie for the seat being vacated by the retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. The race for governor has major implications for the future of abortion rights in Pennsylvania and how the election is administered in 2024 in the presidential battleground state.

A third-party candidate’s draw in a general election, while usually very small, could help tilt a close race between the major party candidates.

As a result, Democrats in Pennsylvania have a history of going to court to challenge the paperwork of Green Party candidates to get them off the ballot.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Pennsylvania have a history of going to court to challenge the paperwork of Libertarian Party candidates for the same reason.