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Lt. Gov. update: Pepper’s still in, who’s Billy McCue?

After the Republican State Committee meeting last month, multiple news reports said that Jean Craige Pepper had withdrawn from the race for Lieutenant Governor.

But it looks like that was just a misunderstanding, and Pepper says she’s in the race to stay. The confusion, Pepper said, came after she withdrew her name from consideration for the party’s endorsement. Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley won that endorsement, but several Republicans are still running.

“I never said to anyone at anytime that I was withdrawing from the race,” Pepper told pa2010.com Thursday.

She’s now circulating petitions to get on the May primary ballot, and that having multiple candidates in the race makes her viable.

“Fractured primaries are an interesting creature,” said the Erie financial executive. “I have great respect for all the people running, and in this environment I think people are interested in candidates not on the endorsed slate.”

And who’s the Billy McCue guy? His name seems to have first been floated on the pa2010.com comment boards, and he also appears to be the first Lt. Gov. hopeful identifying himself as a Tea Party candidate. It’s unclear if he’s running as a Republican or an independent. His campaign manager confirmed that he’s busy racking up signatures to get on the ballot, but he didn’t respond to an e-mail requesting a lengthier interview.

“Pennsylvania is the cradle of liberty, where America’s principles were first forged,” McCue says on his Web site. “We must unite in respect for our freedoms, which are being constantly eroded by expanding government.”

March 4, 2010 at 3:43 pm

--pa2010.com Staff

Tags: Bill McCue, Jean Craige Pepper, Jim Cawley, Lt. Gov.

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