Scott Conklin

HARRISBURG — Scott Conklin, a state representative from Centre County, emerged Wednesday as the apparent Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor after his closest rival ruled out the possibility of an automatic recount.

Runner-up Jonathan Saidel, a former Philadelphia city controller, made his decision Wednesday afternoon.

Don Jones, Saidel's campaign manager, said Saidel was waiving the recount because he was convinced the last few hundred votes would not change the outcome of the May 18 primary.

Saidel "has spent a lifetime saving taxpayers money and has determined that the estimated $500,000 a recount will cost the state is not justifiable given the significant odds against a successful conclusion," Jones said in a statement.

In a telephone interview, Conklin said he was looking forward to campaigning with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dan Onorato as "the Onorato-Conklin team."

Conklin also is seeking a third term in the state House of Representatives.

If he wins both elections, he could be sworn in to only one office, said State Department spokesman K. Kevin Murphy.

"He's going to have to make a choice," Murphy said.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Conklin had 318,489 votes and Saidel had 314,643, according to the State Department. Doris A. Smith-Ribner, a retired Commonwealth Court judge from Philadelphia, finished third with 268,834 votes.

In the Republican primary, Tom Corbett, the state attorney general, won the gubernatorial nomination and Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley won a nine-way race to become his running mate.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-12th, finished third in the GOP race for the lieutenant governor nomination.