A Republican state senator will take over.
From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll, 78, the first woman elected to that office in Pennsylvania history, died today after a battle with a rare form of cancer…
She will be replaced as lieutenant governor by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson).
Drew Crompton, a spokesman for Scarnati, said a decision about a swearing-in ceremony will be made tomorrow. He said Scarnati will retain the role as president pro tempore as his predecessor Robert Jubelirer did in 2001 when Lt. Gov. Mark Schweiker became governor after Gov. Tom Ridge left to become Homeland Security director.
She was a Pennsylvania institution.
Small nit to pick: the Inquirer is a respected broadsheet. The Enquirer is a supermarket tabloid.
Holy Cow though! 78?! I saw her interviewed as an HRC surrogate during the Pennsylvania primary and she looked a good 15 years younger.
I seem to recall she won her last race against the brother of MSNBC’s Chris Matthews in 2006.