Jay Paterno, son of late Penn State coach, says he's running for Pa. lieutenant governor

Jay Paterno told party officials Thursday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Jay Paterno, son of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, says he’s seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania.

Paterno told The Associated Press on Thursday that he’s beginning to circulate petitions to get on the May 20 primary ballot.

Party officials had expected Paterno might run for Congress, but Paterno says he believes he can serve Pennsylvanians better by staying in the state.

The six-person field of Democratic lieutenant governor candidates is big, but no candidate has Paterno’s name recognition.

Candidates for lieutenant governor and governor run separately in the primary, but party nominees run together in the general election.

The elder Paterno died in January 2012, two months after being fired by university trustees as the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal exploded.