Catherine Baker Knoll (September 3, 1930 – November 12, 2008) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. She was the 30th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, serving under Governor Ed Rendell from 2003 to 2008, when she died in office. Prior to that, she served as the 72nd Pennsylvania treasurer from 1989 to 1997. She was the first woman to be lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania.
Background
Catherine Baker was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks, the daughter of Nick Baker, a successful man who later served as mayor of McKees Rocks
Catherine Baker Knoll ran for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1994, having surprised Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel, by first withdrawing from the race and then hinting that she would consider running if the Democratic State Committee did not endorse anyone for the race. In the end, Hafer won the election by less than 100,000 votes. Knoll won the primary with 25% of the vote, winning 54 of the state's 67 counties.
She was paired with Democratic nominee for governor Ed Rendell, who also defeated the establishment favorite in his primary (Bob Casey Jr.). Her campaign was memorable for her traveling from small town to small town (logging over 40,000 miles on her car), and her meeting thousands of voters, by visiting church basements, PTA meetings, fashion shows and construction sites. The Rendell/ Knoll ticket won the general election 53% to 44% over Republicans Mike Fisher and his running mate Jane Earll. Knoll was sworn in as Pennsylvania's first-ever female Lieutenant Governor on January 21, 2003.
Knoll's old rival Barbara Hafer, after failing to secure the Republican nomination for governor, actually endorsed Rendell and later switched to the Democratic party. This led to speculation that she was maneuvering to challenge Knoll for the lieutenant governor spot in the 2006 primary. Hafer, however, stated that she and Knoll had buried the hatchet long ago, and did not enter the race.
Congressman Joe Hoeffel announced that he would challenge Knoll in the primary, but dropped out of the race a day later, after Ed Rendell reiterated his support for Knoll as his running-mate. This left only token opposition against Knoll, and she won the Democratic nomination by a large margin. She and Governor Rendell defeated Republican challengers Lynn Swann and Jim Matthews to win reelection.
Knoll endorsed and campaigned with Hillary Clinton in the lead-up to the 2008 Pennsylvania Democratic primary for president. Along with several other prominent Pennsylvania Democrats, Knoll's endorsement was seen as a key to Clinton's win.
As lieutenant governor, she presided over every Pennsylvania Senate session. Governor Rendell noted that she was "instrumental in issues such as emergency management, domestic preparedness and economic development."
Death
In August 2008, Knoll revealed that she had been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer and was in treatment for the disease. She was treated in Hershey, Pennsylvania at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and attempted a return to her duties in September 2008 but fatigue forced her to return home. In October 2008, she entered Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland for treatment of a viral infection.