HARRISBURG -- A day after one lawmaker called for House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese to resign from his leadership post, another urged him to bow out of the Legislature completely.

State Rep. David Levdansky, D-Forward, yesterday asked Mr. DeWeese to "make the ultimate personal sacrifice" and cancel his bid for re-election.

Mr. DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, is mired in controversy stemming from an emerging government corruption investigation that, so far, has resulted in 12 arrests. Mr. DeWeese has not been implicated and has insisted he knew nothing of the alleged scheme to illegally divert government funds to political campaigns, in what has become known as Bonusgate.

Mr. Levdansky criticized Mr. DeWeese for leading the caucus into trouble by abdicating and delegating his responsibilities to staffers.

"A true leader does not unnecessarily put his troops directly in harm's way for purely political gain," he said.

Mr. Levdansky, who is House Finance Committee chairman, and others contend that Mr. DeWeese is a political liability to Democrats as they stand for re-election in November.

"Leadership demands the courage to sacrifice for the common good," Mr. Levdansky said. "He needs to put the public interest ahead of his career interests. We are here because we seek to serve, not because we seek to advance our careers."

Mr. DeWeese is running for re-election on Nov. 4 against Republican Greg Hopkins, whom he narrowly defeated two years ago.

Mr. Hopkins declined to say yesterday whether he'd prefer Mr. DeWeese as his opponent or whether he'd like Greene and Fayette county Democrats to name a replacement, which would happen if Mr. DeWeese withdraws. If Mr. DeWeese doesn't end his re-election bid by next week, his name would remain on the Nov. 4 ballot.

"We have tried to keep a positive message in our campaign. We haven't been slinging mud," said Mr. Hopkins. "But it's difficult when a story like Bonusgate hits the front page day after day. It turns people off to know that our government is that corrupt."

Giving up his re-election bid would "demonstrate the type of leadership that [Mr. DeWeese] hasn't shown throughout this crisis," Mr. Levdansky said.

In a statement, Mr. DeWeese, who was in his district campaigning yesterday, said he cannot allow comments like Mr. Levdansky's "to distract me from my work."

On Monday, Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, said Mr. DeWeese should step down as House Democratic leader, but stopped short of saying he should give up his House seat. That should be up to the voters in his district, Mr. Shapiro said.

Rep. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, also has called for Mr. DeWeese to quit as House leader. Mr. Levdansky's latest statement, he said, "is a further indication that others strongly believe that change at the top is a necessary step forward to begin repairing the breach in the public's trust.''

Likely voters polled by Quinnipiac University last week also think it's time for Mr. DeWeese to leave his leadership position. The poll showed that 53 percent said he should step down, while only 11 percent said he should stay, with 35 percent undecided. The sentiment appears strongest in southwestern Pennsylvania, which encompasses Mr. DeWeese's district. There, 61 percent said he should step down, 15 percent said he should not and 24 percent were undecided.

Regarding the poll results, Mr. DeWeese said, "Clearly, we need to do a better job of educating voters about the dozens of meaningful legislative and administrative reforms that we implemented this session."

He cited increased state education funding, promoting the use of domestic and renewable fuels, investing in roads and bridges, banning smoking in most public places and making records more accessible to the public.