Swann Receives Help!

Swann gets fundraising help from former Steelers teammate
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)

-- Republican Lynn Swann's gubernatorial campaign is getting a fundraising hand from fellow Hall of Fame wide receiver John Stallworth, his Pittsburgh Steelers teammate.
In an e-mail sent Friday to several thousand Swann supporters, Stallworth said he hopes to raise at least $50,000 for Swann before the next campaign-finance reporting deadline on Sept. 18.
"Lynn is going to bring the leadership to the commonwealth that he showed on the field for the Steelers," Stallworth wrote. "Your donation, no matter how large or small, will help us reach that goal."
Stallworth and Swann, both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, were drafted by the Steelers in 1974. They were teammates throughout Swann's nine-year career, which included four Super Bowl victories. Stallworth played five more seasons with the Steelers, retiring in 1987.
Swann, a political rookie who would be Pennsylvania's first black governor, badly needs cash to finance the TV advertising that will be increasingly important in the eight weeks left in his campaign against Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.
Rendell, a career politician and prolific fundraiser, was leading Swann by 20 percentage points in August, according to independent polls. Rendell had raised nearly $20 million when the last reports were filed in June - four times as much as Swann.
Rendell aired a 10-week statewide TV blitz in the spring, touting his first-term record. Swann aired an introductory ad just before Labor Day and followed up last week with an ad raising questions about the administration's track record on putting welfare recipients to work.