Jay Paterno

Since his father's death and his dismissal, Paterno has written several guest columns. He has spoken at several young voters rallies including one sponsored by PSU Votes, a nonpartisan political initiative where both he and Penn State women's basketball coach Coquese Washington spoke.^[7] Paterno sued Penn State University in federal court claiming the university violated state and federal law in dismissing him in January 2012, but the lawsuit was dismissed in 2016^[8].

Jay has four siblings: Diana, Mary Kay, David, and Scott. Unlike his father, who was a staunch Republican, Jay is a Democrat, and supported Barack Obama during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.^[9]

In October 2013, several outlets reported that Paterno was considering running as a Democrat in Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district, which is based in State College.^[10] Instead, Paterno announced in February 2014 that he would be a candidate in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania in the 2014 election.^[11] Ultimately, he withdrew from the race in March 2014, citing the desire to avoid a legal battle over a challenge to his petition to achieve ballot access.^[4] Paterno has five children, including a son named Joseph Vincent Paterno III.^{[citation needed]}