Mike Fisher was not only born into a Republican family, he was born into politics. On the day he was born -- Election Day, 1944 -- his mother was proud to have given birth to her first son, but disappointed that it kept her from voting against Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt, Fisher told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Fisher's father, a lawyer, was also active in Republican politics, serving as the township solicitor for Upper St. Clair, Penn. His political roots firmly established, Fisher left Pennsylvania for the nation's capital where he studied at Georgetown University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1966 and a law degree in 1969.

After law school, Fisher returned to Pittsburgh, where he worked part-time as a prosecutor for the Allegheny County district attorney. He first ran for elective office in 1974, winning a state House seat. He cruised to re-election in 1976 and again in 1978.

Fisher mounted a successful bid for the state Senate in 1980, holding that position for four terms, despite a failed run for lieutenant governor in 1986. Fisher made his first bid for governor in 1994, but lost the GOP nomination to Tom Ridge, now President Bush's homeland security director, who won that election and the following 1998 gubernatorial election.

In 1996, Fisher attempted another a bid for statewide office, this time mounting a successful run for attorney general. In 2000, he was re-elected by a record 500,000-vote margin -- the same year fellow Republican George W. Bush lost the state to Democrat Al Gore by some 200,000 votes.

During his time as attorney general, Fisher cracked down on the flow of illegal drugs in the state. His office made some 6,000 drug arrests and initiated the public school drug education program, "Team Up Against Drugs."

Fisher gained national recognition in 1999 when he and eight other state attorneys general negotiated a $206 billion settlement with the tobacco industry, which included a $11.3 billion settlement for Pennsylvania.

"I sued the tobacco companies because they conspired to hide the deadly effects of tobacco and used slick advertisements to entice our children to try their products," Fisher said in January 1999.

Now 57 and once again campaigning for governor, Fisher is trailing opponent Ed Rendell, the former mayor of Philadelphia, with a Mason-Dixon poll released Oct. 6 shows Fisher at 33 percent to Rendell's 47. Analysts say Fisher is having a hard time gaining ground against Rendell.

"The Fisher problem is that he's got to win his base of voters," G. Terry Madonna, director of Millersville University's Center for Politics and Public Affairs, told the Lancaster New Era. "There are too many voters -- particularly Republican businessmen and suburban Republican women -- who are saying that Rendell, at the moment, is their candidate."

Rendell has been successful in portraying himself as pro-growth and pro-business, Madonna said, a move "that takes a lot of Fisher's vote away." Fisher has sought to portray his opponent as a big-talking liberal, who waste state money on ineffective social programs and prompt a tax hike.

"In order for him to do all the things he promised in this campaign, Ed Rendell is going to have to raise taxes," the Post-Gazette quotes Fisher as saying. "I want to lower taxes."

He gained additional support from the state's powerful pharmaceutical and health industries by backing President Bush's initiative to curtail "excessive and unwarranted lawsuits" -- especially related to health care providers and insurance companies.

Fisher also supports the president's programs to improve education. He strongly opposes abortion, but would make exceptions for cases concerning the life of the mother, or for incest or rape. The president has backed Fisher, helping to raise over $1 million for the Fisher. Fisher and his wife, Carol, are the parents of two children, Michelle, an attorney in Pittsburgh, and Brett, a recent Penn State graduate.

--By Liz Harper, Online NewsHour