Numbers keep looking better and better for incumbent. This is the PoliticsPA Playbook.
Let’s Go Thursday, Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap. 12 days to the midterms.
Your Morning Pick Me Up. Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Tears for Fears
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PA Sports 
Sixers (1-0) | Thu vs. Cleveland
Flyers (2-6-3) | Buffalo 3-1 | Sat vs. Anaheim Penguins (3-6-1) | Thu vs. Florida
What We’re Listening To. Today, we will pull back the curtain on modern election strategies. On this episode of Voices of Reason, Steve Ulrich speaks with Andrew Arenge, Director of Operations for the Penn Opinion Research and Election Studies Department. Arenge has also been a member of the NBC Election Night team since 2016. They will discuss how campaigns spend money online, how data modelling shapes election reporting, and the realities of polling.
Tips. PoliticsPA is Pennsylvania’s premier source for nonpartisan political news and analysis. Tips or press releases can be sent to steve@politicspa.com.
The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. For the web version, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Top Story
“The numbers just keep looking better and better for Gov. Josh Shapiro as he campaigns for a second term in Harrisburg.
In the latest survey from the Center for Public Opinion at Franklin & Marshall College, Shapiro’s lead over Republican challenger Stacy Garrity is 22 points, 52-30%. This makes five consecutive polls that have the governor at least 20 points ahead of the state Treasurer.” | PoliticsPA
Elsewhere
PA-01: Incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick Faces Tough Reelection Fight: “All Hands On Deck.” “Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District, encompassing all of Bucks County and part of Montgomery County, was thought to be Democrats’ longest shot of the four. Now, experts say the race between Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, the incumbent, and Democrat Bob Harvie has tightened.” | CBS Philadelphia
PA-09: Wallace Tests Incumbent Meuser. “Pennsylvania’s deep red 9th Congressional District has elected Republican Rep. Dan Meuser by increasing margins since his first run in 2018. Meuser’s seat is still considered safe, but he’s facing a strong challenger in Democrat Rachel Wallace.” | Penn Capital-Star
PA-12 Features Rematch Between Summer Lee and James Hayes. “Lee believes that if midterm elections are a referendum on the sitting president, President Trump’s economy and the issue of affordability should return her to Congress for the third time. Hayes said he’s forwarding a conservative agenda including strong support of police and things like school choice.” | CBS Pittsburgh
Trump’s Pause on Russia Sanctions Triggers Pushback from Pennsylvania. “Several Pennsylvania lawmakers are criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to pause a bipartisan law that would have expanded sanctions on Russia.” | PoliticsPA
State
“A deal between state lawmakers to legalize and tax skill games is dead, leaders in the Democratic-controlled House said Wednesday.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) said Senate Republicans were unable to muster votes needed to pass a skill games bill in the upper chamber, dashing hope for an agreement before the end of the legislative session next month.
“I think it’s the worst kept secret in this building that over the last couple days we’ve been negotiating, trying to get skill games done,” Harris told the Capital-Star. “But at this juncture, the Senate Republicans have created a problem and have killed the solution, and therefore I don’t see that happening.”” | Penn Capital-Star
Elsewhere
Shapiro Sets His Sights Beyond Governor’s Race. “Gov. Josh Shapiro is running like he’s behind, even though polls show he’s up by wide margins. Shapiro wants to run up the score and aim for a rare Democratic trifecta in the state legislature. A big win could boost his national profile for a possible presidential run.” | Axios Pittsburgh
2026 Election Preview: 36th Senate District. “If Democrats hope to flip majority control of the state Senate, then this race between James Malone and Tom Jones is key.” | PoliticsPA
Judge Blocks Homeland Security From Conducting Election-Related Sweeps in PA and 8 Other States. “Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued a preliminary injunction after voting rights advocates alleged that Homeland Security was sending armed agents to homes to question residents about their voter status.” | Penn Capital-Star
Lawmakers Send Shapiro Bill to Close Meeting Notice Loophole in PA Transparency Law. “The law, known as Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act, requires local and state government bodies, including school boards and municipal councils, to publicize their voting agendas 24 hours in advance of public meetings. The idea is that the more people know about what their government is voting on, the better positioned they are to have a voice in the decision-making process.” | Spotlight PA
Around The Commonwealth
“Pennsylvania is one step closer to banning cell phones in public schools across the state after the Senate voted Wednesday to approve a measure sent over by the House on Monday.
The legislation now awaits Gov. Josh Shapiro’s signature before it can become law. Shapiro is expected to sign the bill. Earlier this year he urged lawmakers to act quickly on the issue and said cellphone restrictions will help both students and children focus on learning in the classroom.” | LNP
Elsewhere
Democrats Are Eyeing a John Fetterman Challenge. Chris Deluzio is Already Laying the Groundwork. “At a packed town hall in a deep-red Pennsylvania county, Tod Marion stood up to ask Democratic Rep. Chris Deluzio about his plans to make Congress an institution that no longer “embarrassed” him — one that might even make him “proud again.”” | Politico
How Data Center Battles in the Philadelphia Suburbs Could Impact Party Control of the PA Legislature. “Data centers are front and center in the battle for control of Pennsylvania’s legislature, which the Democrats have not held since 1994.” | WHYY
How to Vote ‘Over the Counter’ By Mail in Pennsylvania, and Its Burden On Election Officials. “When voters come into an elections office and ask for a ballot in-person, that must be dealt with one-by-one. Counties have worked with the Department of State to streamline the process as much as is possible under Pennsylvania law, but it remains far more time consuming per voter than voting on election day or even compared to real early voting systems in other states.” | WITF
Archbald Council Unanimously Denies Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus. “Council’s unanimous decision was the culmination of nine public hearings and about 26 hours of oftentimes-heated testimony and cross-examination since January surrounding a proposal for 14 two-story data centers, each 80 feet tall with 202,340-square-foot footprints, across 574.2 acres.” | Scranton Times-Tribune
Editorial
1 Thing
“For more than a few Pittsburgh football fans, a Steelers tailgate party comes with all our favorite munchies: nachos, Buffalo chicken dip, kielbasa, pierogi, meat-and-cheese stuffed hoagies.
Not only are they easy to make, transport and eat in any kind of weather, but they speak to tradition. They’re the foods Pittsburgh football families have been making for generations.
Which is fine when games are played at Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore. But what if the Black and Gold are suiting up overseas?” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Thank you for starting your Thursday with us.
Rounding the corner and heading to the weekend. See you tomorrow.
