He left office in 1971 with his popularity waning in the midst of fiscal strain and negative reaction to his tax proposal, though some of his administration's major initiatives have had lasting significance.

In his later career, he chaired what became known as the Shafer Commission at the request of President Richard Nixon, which recommended the decriminalization of personal marijuana possession and use within the home.

[2] After finishing high school, Shafer attended Allegheny College from 1934 to 1938, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and served as class president.

He graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science and was a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship.

[4] The summer after graduating from law school, in June, Shafer sat for the New York State bar exam[5] and, on July 5, he married Jane Harris Davies, whom he had met at Allegheny.

[6][7] Shortly after their marriage, the Shafers settled in New York City and Ray joined the law firm of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts.

His political career began in 1948 when he was elected district attorney of Crawford County, a position Shafer held until 1956, serving two terms.

He defeated five-term state representative Edward M. Young in the Republican primary in May, 55% to 45%, aided significantly by a better than 8-to-1 showing in Crawford County.

[2][13] As lieutenant governor, Shafer took a more active role in state government than his predecessors had and chaired Pennsylvania's delegation to the 1964 Republican National Convention.

[16] Bill Scranton was limited to one term under then-existing state law and the media considered Shafer a potential successor as the Republican nominee.

The same day, Pennsylvania Attorney General Walter Alessandroni, Shafer's running mate, announced his own candidacy for lieutenant governor.

Alessandroni was killed in an aviation accident during the campaign[18] and won the nomination for lieutenant governor posthumously; Ray Broderick was named to replace him on the ticket.

[2] Former governor David L. Lawrence collapsed and fell into a coma during a campaign appearance for the Democratic nominee, wealthy Philadelphia businessman Milton Shapp, and died later that November.

However, a skeptical General Assembly delayed passage of the convention enabling bill such that delegates were not elected until November 1967, to be seated the following month.

[24] Reforms approved by the electorate following this convention, at the primary election in April 1968, included revisions to home rule, audit of state finances, and a new unified judiciary under the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

[2] Shafer emerged as a national figure in the moderate wing of the Republican Party during the 1968 presidential election, giving the nominating speech for New York governor Nelson Rockefeller at the 1968 Republican National Convention, although the delegates instead chose former Vice President Richard Nixon as the party's presidential candidate.

[2] Ultimately, Shafer's successor as governor, Milton Shapp, signed into law a state income tax with bipartisan support.

Shafer's popularity waned towards the end of his administration in the midst of the state's fiscal struggles and members of Republican Party leadership having turned against him.

[28] However, some of these critics conceded the long-term significance of the Shafer administration's accomplishments, particularly with respect to the constitutional reforms and education and other social services.

[41] In February 1972, Shafer became chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the financially troubled TelePrompTer Corporation, which was then the largest cable television company in the United States.

[42] Following the Watergate scandal, Shafer returned to public service upon being named special counsel to new Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, a position he held from 1974 to 1977.