The 1982 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, between incumbent RepublicanDick Thornburgh and DemocraticU.S. CongressmanAllen E. Ertel. Thornburgh was a popular incumbent, who largely was the favorite throughout the race. However, owing to a nationwide recession which hit the state particularly hard, and a backlash to Reaganomics, the final result ended up becoming much closer than what was initially anticipated.[1]