NEW YORK -- On Don Cunningham's left, Auditor General Jack Wagner's holiday reception on the Cocktail Terrace of the Waldorf Astoria was just beginning to wind down.

Up the low flight of stairs to his right, the first guests were heading into an event hosted by County Executive Dan Onorato. Asked if he was scoping out the competition, Mr. Cunningham laughed and insisted he was simply there to greet friends.

"I'm a great supporter of Jack's," the Lehigh County executive said. "I'm especially a supporter of him being in the governor's race."

The latter was joking reference to the mutually exclusive ambitions of the three Democrats, all of whom are seen as possible candidates for their party's nomination for governor in 2010. If Mr. Wagner throws his hat in the ring, that could conceivably help Mr. Cunningham's chances by splitting the votes of the west.

The early maneuvering in that race -- Mr. Cunningham would sponsor his own reception yesterday afternoon; Pat Meehan, an assumed aspirant for the GOP nomination, greeted his Waldorf guests a few hours later -- were just one of the subplots swirling amid the round of meals and receptions that attracted hundreds of Pennsylvania politicians, lobbyists and fund-raisers to Manhattan over the weekend.

It's all part of Pennsylvania Society weekend, a unique ritual in which much of the state's political and civic leadership goes into a three-day celebratory exile to discuss, among other things, who should govern Pennsylvania.

The official centerpiece of the weekend is the formal Pennsylvania Society Dinner. Steelers owner Dan Rooney was the honored guest this year.

The Waldorf is ground zero for the gilded schmoozing. Across 49th Street and Lexington Avenue, more events and receptions were taking place in the less historic but equally lavish Inter-Continental and W hotels.

A reception honoring Attorney General Tom Corbett took place Friday in a private apartment. Yesterday, the annual PMA Seminar and Luncheon, the showcase event of Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association, was held a few blocks north, under the ornate ceilings of the Metropolitan Club.

It all amounts to a target-rich environment for politicians seeking cash and support, lobbyists cultivating influence, reporters chasing quotes, and connoisseurs of gossip from and about all of those camps.

Mr. Corbett, thought to be among the would-be successors of Gov. Ed Rendell, insists it's also a lot of work. Striding away from the Blank Rome LLP reception at the Inter-Continental, one of the weekend's larger soirees, he estimated that he will have braved the temptations posed by the canapes and booze of upward of 20 or 25 events before the weekend was over.

"If you want to be a serious candidate [for stateside office] in either party, you have to go to Pennsylvania Society," he said.

It's a tradition that, according to the Pennsylvania Society's home page on the Web, dates to 1899, when James Burr Ferree, a historian, invited fellow Pennsylvanians to a dinner at the Waldorf. The event took hold and in the ensuing decades untold thousands of Pennsylvanians would take advantage of the opportunity to network and enjoy Manhattan's Christmas season attractions such as shopping, Rockefeller Center skating, or, this year, posing for a Times Square portrait with Santa and Hellboy.

There seems to be an iron law of politics that every campaign cycle becomes longer than the preceding one. Mr. Corbett, while reticent about his own widely anticipated ambitions, said that the 2010 cycle seemed to be following that pattern.

The attorney general and Mr. Meehan, the former U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, were the two most prominent early names in the GOP speculation for governor. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, who figuratively crossed the aisle to appear as a guest at the Onorato reception Friday, said that Mr. Meehan had been gathering behind-the-scenes momentum but that Mr. Corbett had impressed many Republicans with his strong showing against a Democratic tide in his re-election last month.

That potential race got more complicated on the eve of the event as Rep. James Gerlach, of Chester County, said that he was considering a bid for the governor's mansion.

"I'm just taking a hard look at it," he said Friday. "Pat [Meehan] is a great guy; Tom Corbett is a great guy, but there may be others. I'm just getting my name out there, and talking to people, and this weekend is a great opportunity to do that."

If the GOP race does emerge as a three-person contest, Mr. Gerlach's surprise presence could prove a plus for Mr. Corbett, since he, as a sole westerner, would face two rivals with overlapping geographic bases in the southeast. But, as both Mr. Corbett and Mr. Gerlach emphasized over the weekend, there is still time for other candidates to alter that handicapping.

"I always tell people, 'patience,' Mr. Corbett said. "It's so early ... my message to people is just, 'Keep your powder dry.' "

On the Democratic side, the conventional wisdom includes similar geographic considerations, particularly with reference to Mr. Onorato and Mr. Wagner and the potential for Allegheny County fratricide.

Mr. Wagner was at once expansive and guarded in discussing his political decisions. In response to a question, he noted that he had never ruled out a bid for the Senate seat occupied by Sen. Arlen Specter, but noted pointedly that, "The governor's position has a more immediate impact on people's lives."

Among the other Democrats whose actions suggest that they share that assessment are two wealthy potential candidates, Philadelphia businessman and former mayoral candidate Tom Knox, and former state Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf, who both appear to be actively weighing a bid for the nomination to succeed Mr. Rendell.

The state's 2010 Senate race appears similarly fluid. On the Democratic side, barring a surprise decision by Mr. Wagner, all of the names mentioned as potential contenders, so far, have roots or residences in the southeastern corner of the state. They include several members of Congress as well as Rep. Josh Shapiro, a state legislator from Montgomery County.

But the biggest name mentioned so far is television commentator Chris Matthews. His brother Jim Matthews said Friday that the MSNBC host had told him he would decide in the next three weeks whether to seek the Democratic nomination for the Specter seat. Mr. Matthews said his brother had wanted to attend the weekend's festivities, but stayed home because he didn't want to be, "the NBC peacock at the Pennsylvania Society."

Whether he or any successful Democratic nominee would end up facing Mr. Specter is another question. The veteran Republican barely survived a primary against former U.S. Rep. Pat Toomey in 2000. No one, including Mr. Toomey, has yet announced a GOP challenge to Mr. Specter yet, but given his many conservative opponents within the party, it seems likely that one will emerge.