Sen. Arlen Specter received the Allegheny County Labor Council endorsement Saturday in his Democratic primary race against Rep. Joe Sestak, President Jack Shea said.

But no candidate for governor -- including Dan Onorato, the county chief executive, and state Auditor General Jack Wagner, both Democrats, or Republican state Attorney General Tom Corbett -- garnered enough support for an endorsement from the labor council, which represents about 100,000 union members. A candidate must get support from at least two-thirds of the 34 voting members for the endorsement.

The endorsements are technically recommendations to the state AFL-CIO, but the county labor council will work for the candidates it voted for yesterday regardless of whether the state organization gets involved in the primaries, Shea said.

In local U.S. House races, the council gave Mark Critz, district director for the late Rep. John Murtha, his second endorsement of the day, hours after Democrats in the district voted to back him. Other House candidates who received endorsements were incumbents Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, and Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, as well as attorney Dan Connolly, a Democrat challenging Republican Rep. Tim Murphy.

In contested state House races, the union picked Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, over Tonya Payne. It did not endorse anyone for the open North Side seat being vacated by Common Pleas Judge Don Walko.