Pennsylvania, which for years has ranked near the bottom of states in the number of women in positions of political power, just got a crack in the glass ceiling with the November election of Kathleen Kane as attorney general.
Might the state be on its way to shattering it with a female governor?
State politicos, now relocating to New York for the annual Pennsylvania Society weekend, are buzzing about Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz's consideration of a challenge to Gov. Tom Corbett. Just elected to her fifth term in the U.S. house from suburban Philadelphia, Schwartz has often been mentioned as a likely candidate for the next step.

Here is my Inquirer story today on Schwartz hiring away the finance director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, a step that would be a considerable asset in a statement race for governor.

Schwartz has also flirted with a challenge to Sen. Pat Toomey (R.,Pa.) when his term is up in the 2016 election. Lately her focus has turned to the gubernatorial possibility.
Schwartz, as a state senator in 2000, ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and performed well, but a surfeit of candidates from eastern Pennsylvania split the regional vote, allowing then-Rep. Ron Klink of suburban Pittsburgh to win the nomination. Klink lost to Rick Santorum that November.