Reverse type and varying fonts don't win elections. Milton Shapp, the two-term governor of Pennsylvania didn't know that, but he learned the hard way.
Shapp was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania, and the first to run for president on a major party ticket. He'd served in World War II as an officer in the Army Signal Corp in Africa and Europe. When he returned home he took a $500 G.I. loan and turned himself into a millionaire by building one of the nation's first cable television companies.
He got his first taste of politics while campaigning for John Kennedy. In working with the Kennedy administration he helped establish the Peace Corps. He ran, and lost, in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1966, but soon after sold his business to concentrate on politics.
In 1970 he won the nomination and the race and won re-election to the governor's mansion in 1974.
In 1976 he took a look around at the other presidential hopefuls and threw his hat into the ring. His was a brief campaign, only 89 days, in which he could only muster one delegate. He blamed his late entry and sparse news coverage on his poor showing.
Shapp was one of those politicians who's administration was often mired in scandal. He managed to maintain a reputation of honesty and being above the controversy.
Milton Shapp died in 1994, in suburban Philadelphia from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 82.
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