Lt. Governor Stack To Face Growing Number Of Challengers In 2018 Primary

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) -- The field of candidates running for Lieutenant Governor in Pennsylvania is growing, and could get larger, by next May's primary.

Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone formally announced her intentions on the steps of the Courthouse in West Chester.

"I believe the Governor needs a new partner," said Cozzone.

Governor Wolf, from York County, and Lt. Governor Mike Stack, from Northeast Philadelphia, were elected on the same Democratic ticket in 2014, but candidates for those offices run independently in the primaries.

They have never been close, to put it mildly, according to Franklin & Marshall College political science professor Terry Madonna.

"This was not a match made in heaven, as they say. Right from the start, Governor Wolf did not assign a major work project, or assignment, to the Lt. Governor." said Madonna.

Not only is their arranged marriage strained, Wolf stripped Stack and his wife of their security detail, because of rude behavior.

Madonna expects a crowded field of Lt. Governor candidates for the May 15, 2018 primary.

"The more candidates that get in to carve up the votes regionally in the state, the better it is for Stack," said Madonna.

Another potential candidate for Lt. Governor, State Senator David Argall, a Republican from Schuylkill County, has introduced a bill that would replace the current system, by allowing future nominees for Governor to pick their running mates.

"We will have an endorsement convention at the beginning of February, which requires a two-thirds vote," said State Democratic Party Chairman Marcel Groen.

Groen says state party leaders may forgo making an endorsement.

A political activist who lives near Pittsburgh, Aryanna Berringer, previously announced her run for Lt. Governor.

Mike Stack has said he would seek re-election.