Chuck Pennacchio and Alan Sandals know each other, but unfortunately, nobody in Pittsburgh knows them. And John Featherman isn't going to be recognized at the local bar anytime soon.

So who are these guys?

They are aspiring politicians of the most ambitious order. In a race whose candidates largely have been preordained, each wants to be Pennsylvania's next U.S. senator, replacing Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.

Pennacchio and Sandals plan to run for the Democratic nomination, challenging state treasurer Bob Casey Jr., the party's choice. Featherman is a Republican, campaigning for the GOP nomination against Santorum.

The three Philadelphia-area men will be long shots in what figures to be one of the most widely watched -- and most expensive -- U.S. Senate races next year, yet none seems to care. Two of them, Pennacchio and Sandals, have never even run for political office before -- not city council, school board or state representative.

Why not start small, then work your way up?

"I'm not looking for a new career," said Pennacchio, 45. "I'm looking to make a difference, fast."

Sandals, on the same topic, noted hopefully that plenty of U.S. senators had been elected without having run for office before, rattling off names such as Harris Wofford, Jon Corzine, Patrick Leahy and Hillary Clinton.

"Of course, Hillary Clinton is not Alan Sandals," he said.

Featherman, who made up his mind to run just last month, ran against Santorum in the 2000 general election as the Libertarian candidate, finishing far behind Santorum and Democrat Ron Klink. That experience, and another losing bid for the U.S. House in 1998, hasn't discouraged him.

"Rick Santorum should not get an automatic bye into the primary," Featherman said. Pennsylvanians deserve a senator "who doesn't really offend other groups."

Pennacchio, a college professor, Sandals, a pension attorney, and Featherman, a real estate broker, say they hope to connect with the leftist Democrats and moderate Republicans who tend to favor abortion rights and increased federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Just as Democratic Sen. John Kerry couldn't beat President Bush by being "Bush Lite," Casey is just a watered down version of Santorum, a candidate who doesn't offer much of an alternative when it comes to views on social issues, the threesome said.

"He's exactly in line with Santorum," said Pennacchio, who teaches at the University of the Arts in downtown Philadelphia.

Of the three, Pennacchio is the only one with any money -- about $75,000 so far, he said. To put that in perspective, the Santorum and Casey campaigns could each spend $20 million or more.

Pennacchio has been holding fund-raisers at dinner parties, both in Philadelphia and in Pittsburgh, and he plans to raise more via the Howard Dean method -- small donations from serial contributors, collected over the Web.

Sandals, 51, has been trying to build his name recognition creatively, by hiring a pilot to fly a plane up and down the Jersey shore, towing a banner that says "Alan Sandals for All of Us."

"It's a very inexpensive way to put your name in front of a lot of people," he said. Sandals tried to find a pilot to do the same in Pittsburgh, but so far, no luck.

Sandals, who has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission but has yet to put together a fund-raising committee, is preaching what he knows. He says his campaign will focus on shoring up Social Security and securing pensions for retirees.

"I'm extremely disturbed about the [financial] world that's being built for us," he said.

Featherman, 41, has been telling anyone who will listen that he's the Republican candidate to vote for if you want Congress to "get out of our bedrooms and our pocketbooks." He, like the Democratic underdogs, broadly favors gay rights and gay unions.

His job as real estate broker is one of many. He also works as a self-styled privacy consultant and has worked as a TV correspondent and, for a few years, dabbled in stand-up comedy.

So which is harder, comedy or politics?

"There's very little difference."