HARRISBURG -- The Republican race for governor saw two major developments today, as state Sen. Jeffrey Piccola dropped out of the race and former Steelers star Lynn Swann won endorsement from a major segment of the state GOP committee.

Piccola, R-Dauphin, announced at a meeting of the Central Caucus of the state committee this morning that he is pulling out of the four-way race for the GOP nomination to run against incumbent Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

He didn't give a specific reason, but many committee members said he did it to avoid the embarrassment of having the Central Caucus -- Mr. Piccola's home turf -- endorse another GOP candidate.

After he pulled out, that left Mr. Swann competing against former Lt. Gov. William Scranton for the Central Caucus's support. Both men spoke for nearly an hour to the group, which consists of 120 members of the 350-member GOP state committee. It's the largest of the six regional caucuses that make up the committee.

Mr. Swann won the group's endorsement by a sizeable margin, 77 to 32. "That is a very significant margin,'' said Cumberland County lawyer Dick Stewart, co-chairman of the caucus. "We're not going to beat Ed Rendell without someone with star power, someone with pizazz, and Lynn Swann has it.''

Many members of the Central Caucus, who have been in politics a long time, went up to the former football star and asked for his autograph. "I've never seen anything like it,'' said Mr. Stewart, who is one of those backing Mr. Swann for the GOP nomination.

The full committee will meet on Feb. 11 to endorse a candidate. Whoever doesn't get the nod has the option of running in the May primary.