Two forces influenced Pennsylvania politics in the first decade of the 21st century more than anything else _ the Legislature's ill-fated, midnight pay grab and the irrepressible Ed Rendell.

Voter anger over lawmakers' clandestine 2005 vote to fatten their salaries became the catalyst for much of what followed, including the ouster of two dozen incumbents and an ongoing corruption probe that has resulted in the arrests of 25 people connected to the House of Representatives.

Terry Madonna, a professor and pollster at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, said the pay-raise fallout, the criminal prosecutions of legislators and the annual state budget gridlock have produced a "demonstrable decline in the confidence level that voters have in state government."

Rendell, a nationally prominent political figure who served as governor throughout most of the decade, built his reputation on a combination of cash, charm and chutzpah.

The Democrat shattered state fundraising records, raising tens of millions of dollars in each of his campaigns. Rendell has governed as a progressive pragmatist, driving hard bargains with legislative Republicans on initiatives from increased education spending to the expansion of legalized gambling.

Overall, the past 10 years have been kind to Democrats. To Republicans, who now lag Democrats in statewide voter registration by 1.2 million, not so much.

"I'm kind of glad to see this decade go," said Rob Gleason, the state GOP chairman since 2006.

In 2000, as Texas Gov. George W. Bush prepared to accept the presidential nomination in Philadelphia at the Republican National Convention, the political grapevine hummed with speculation that he would pick then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge as the vice presidential nominee.

It never happened. Bush and running mate Dick Cheney went on to win an election that hinged on a hotly contested ballot recount in Florida. Democrat Al Gore, then the vice president, carried Pennsylvania.

Also in Washington, Pennsylvania's junior senator, Rick Santorum, was elected to a second term and elevated to the No. 3 leadership position, reflecting the GOP's increasingly conservative streak.

In Philadelphia, Rendell rode a wave of popularity out of the mayor's office after two terms and took a high-profile job as general chairman of the Democratic National Committee.