Pennsylvania voters will have an unusual opportunity in 2022: It is the first time since 1974 that both the governor and U.S. Senate races will be on the same ballot as open seats.

With no incumbents running, both parties are salivating at the possibility of making a clean sweep. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf of York County can’t run again because he will be completing his second four-year term, the limit for Pennsylvania governors. Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey of Lehigh County is not running for a third six-year term.

Getting elected in a diverse geographical state such as Pennsylvania takes an alignment of the stars. It requires name recognition or a quick way to get it, lots of money, a timely message and a little bit of luck.

Although no sitting Pennsylvania governor or U.S. senator ever went on to become president of the United States, those in other states have. In fact, two of the last three presidents - Barack Obama and Joe Biden - were U.S. senators, Obama from Illinois and Biden, a native of Pennsylvania, from Delaware.

You may recall that in 2015 when Wolf announced his candidacy, he was a virtual unknown, but an intense and early statewide television campaign, some of it with quirky advertising featuring the Jeep he rode around in, and spirited and amusing endorsements from his daughters, gave Wolf a big head start over a much more experienced and well-known field of Democrats. He went on to make Republican Tom Corbett a one-term governor.

With no incumbent in the picture next year, you’ll need a score card to keep track of the possible cast of characters seeking the coveted seats.

Getting an early start is Republican Jeff Bartos of Montgomery County, who announced he is a Senate candidate. Bartos was an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018.

There are 18 members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation, and about half of them are being mentioned as candidates for either office. Among them is U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, whose district includes Carbon and Schuylkill counties. To lose the 9th Congressional District seat that he holds, Meuser would have to commit the most unpardonable of sins, an unlikely scenario.

He and many of his House Republican colleagues may be called on to answer for their unsuccessful effort to overturn the results of the 2020 general election in Pennsylvania and Arizona when the Electoral College vote was being certified by the 535 members of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6.

The deadly assault on the Capitol while Congress was in session and its aftermath sent shock waves around the world. Despite this, when Congress reconvened later in the day, Meuser and seven other members of the nine-member Pennsylvania Republican delegation persisted in challenging the election results and continue to do so even until this very day. Despite this stand, Meuser is unlikely to pay the ultimate price, especially in his heavily Republican district where many of his constituents are of a like mind.

Just as they were in 2020, Democratic U.S. Reps. Susan Wild, whose district includes Northampton, Lehigh and part of southern Monroe counties, and Matt Cartwright, whose district includes the rest of Monroe County, have been targeted by Republicans as vulnerable. Neither Wild nor Cartwright has expressed any interest in either of the two plum jobs.

Understand that this early in the process names have been mentioned by party members or political publications, or, in some cases, leaked by potential candidates themselves as trial balloons to see which way popular support is blowing.

One of the most interesting speculative scenarios to emerge is the idea of Donald Trump Jr. moving to Northeastern Pennsylvania where he has often gone to hunt to establish the required residency then run for one of the offices.

The ex-president’s son has neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of such a move, but my Republican sources throughout this part of the state said they find this to be “really low” in the realm of probability.

One of the strongest possible Democratic candidates for governor is Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who was re-elected in 2020.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Allegheny County and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia have announced they are running for the Senate seat. With the prominence of the Philadelphia suburbs in turning out Democratic voters, political analysts see second-term Rep. Madeleine Dean of Montgomery County as a strong possibility.

Other Democrats in the state’s congressional delegation considered as possible 2022 candidates include Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County, Brendan Boyle of Philadelphia and Conor Lamb of Allegheny and Beaver counties. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney also is being mentioned.

Aside from Meuser, other Republicans mentioned for either seat are former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta of Hazleton, former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley of Bucks County, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney William McSwain of Philadelphia, U.S. Reps. Scott Perry of York County, Guy Reschenthaler of Allegheny County, Glenn Thompson of Centre County and former speaker of the state House Mike Turzai of Allegheny County.

In the state Senate, GOP candidates might include Camera Bartoletta of Fayette County, Jake Corman, of Centre County, Scott Martin of Lancaster County, Doug Mastriano of Franklin County and Mike Regan of York County; in the state House, Tarah Toohil of Luzerne County.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.