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🗞️ In today’s PoliticsPA Guide. Why we’re watching Pennsylvania — again — in 2026. Soldiers accuse top leaders of retaliation. O’Connor will be sworn in as the 62nd mayor of Pittsburgh. TV premiere dates 2026
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Weather in Pennsylvania
❄️ Erie | Lake Effect Snow, 25
🌥️ State Higher School | Partly bright, 27
🌤️Allentown | Shrinking clouds, 31
Sports PA
🏈 Eagles (11-5) | Sun vs. Washington
🏈 Steelers (9-7) | Sun vs. Baltimore
🏒 Flyers (20-12-7) | Vancouver 6-3 | Calgary 1-5 | Tuesday vs. Anaheim
🏒 Penguins (18-12-9) | Carolina 5-1 | Detroit 4-3 (OT) | I was sitting in Detroit | Sun in Columbus
🏀 Sixes (18-14) | Memphis 139-136 (OT) | Dallas 123-108 | I was based in New York
🔈 What we hear. Governor Josh Shapiro will launch his 2026 re-election campaign on Thursday in Philadelphia.
📕 PoliticsPA Guide was developed by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser click here. Has this email been sent to you? Subscribe for free.
The most significant story
1. Why we’ll be watching Pennsylvania — again — in 2026
“Few places embody Democrats’ recent challenges – and hopes for 2026 – quite like Pennsylvania. Donald Trump he flipped the state back in 2024, winning more convincingly than even in 2016. And the damage for Democrats went beyond that: They also lost their Senate seat and all of their statewide offices — statewide elected officials who are not governors or lieutenant governors — and failed to make it to the state legislature.
This is the kind of loss that has merited much recrimination from both sides Kamala Harris campaign and state party. Then, like most of the country, 2025 looked very different than 2024.
That’s an energy Democrats hope to carry into 2026, when Pennsylvania will have four competitive House seats with Republicans (enough to potentially swing the chamber), while Governor Josh Shapiro is seeking re-election, and Democrats are seeking to finally wrest control of the state Senate, which has been in Republican hands for thirty years.” | POLICY
Elsewhere
Midterm Elections, Josh Shapiro and Housing Subsidies: The Political Headlines to Watch in 2026. “Political forecasting is a risky business – just ask anyone who assumed Joe Biden would appear on the ballot in 2024. But as 2026 approaches, some political headlines seem set in stone for the coming months.” | LehighValley News
Supreme Court cases that could shape 2026. “The Supreme Court has a number of key cases scheduled for the coming year, many of them involving President Trump’s policies. During his second term, Trump has relied heavily on the court’s emergency acts, using them to block lower court rulings until the cases are concluded.” | Axles
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court says the rule of law stands mighty at a time of growing concern. “Amid growing concerns about the state of the nation’s democracy, Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday expressed confidence that the nation’s founding charters and key principles are proving resilient.” | Washington Post Office
Country
2. PA state troopers accuse top official of retaliating for alleged theft by other troopers
“Two state police supervisors say their bosses retaliated against them for opening an investigation into troopers who falsified work schedules to escalate their pay.
In a federal lawsuit filed Monday Captain Patrick J. Dougherty52, Shickshinny i Lieutenant Derek D. Felsman40-year-old Jefferson Twp. claim that they were right to hire three soldiers who reported that they worked afternoon and evening shifts, for which they were paid 5% more.’ | WVIA
Elsewhere
Q&A with House Republican Leader Jesse Topper. “In a wide-ranging interview, Topper spoke about the divided nature of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the state’s 2025 budget impasse, the importance of removing the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and his top 2026 agenda items.” | City and state
Karen Dalton, who plans to challenge Scott Perry in the GOP primary, has her own definition of a RINO. “If she gets on the ballot, Karen Dalton will be U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s first primary opponent since 2012, the year he first won the seat. Dalton, a retired GOP lawmaker in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, knows the odds are against her as she runs a solo campaign from her living room. But she thinks she has a chance.” | Questioner from Philadelphia
Politics in Pennsylvania continues to fluctuate ahead of finals. “Pennsylvania’s swing state status placed the Commonwealth in the political spotlight in 2025, prompting multiple visits by the president and vice president as both sides worked to position themselves for the 2026 midterms.” | PoliticsPA
Pennsylvania allocated $193 million for rural health care since Trump’s bill that also cut Medicaid. “Pennsylvania’s plan to stabilize struggling rural health care systems will receive a $193 million boost as President Donald Trump’s administration implements a new five-year program that some say will not offset future Medicaid cuts.” | Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper
Around the Republic of Poland
3. O’Connor will be sworn in as Pittsburgh’s 62nd mayor during a ceremony at Carnegie Music Hall
“Corey O’Connor will be sworn in as Pittsburgh’s 62nd mayor on Monday afternoon in a ceremony at Carnegie Music Hall in the Oakland neighborhood.
His inaugural ceremony – which will include speakers, musical performances, the oath of office and an inaugural speech by the recent mayor – is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Monday.’ | Trib LIVE
Elsewhere
The candidate selection process for the PA House of Representatives special election in the Lehigh Valley is leading to frustration and resignations. “After left-wing political supporters accused the Lehigh County Democratic Party of unfairly supporting one candidate in an upcoming special election to fill a House seat, another candidate withdrew from the race.” | Morning call
What Joe Khan, Bucks County’s first Democratic prosecutor, says he will do when he takes office in January. “Khan, 50, is also the first non-district attorney candidate to win the position after decades in which voters routinely replaced departing district attorneys with successors from within the DA’s office.” | Questioner from Philadelphia
USPS says mailed ballots may not be mailed the same day they are posted. “The U.S. Postal Service has adopted a new rule that may raise questions about whether some ballots mailed by voters by Election Day will arrive on time and be counted.” | PoliticsPA
The map shows the growing number of planned data centers across Pennsylvania. “Emilia Doda didn’t want to map data center development. But after reading about the data center proposed across the street from her family home near Scranton, she decided to build a public map showing where data centers are planned in Pennsylvania – a tool for residents to learn more. Now she hopes to open source the tool so others can replicate it across the country.” | Pittsburgh Media Partnership
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
- Can you pass the 2026 Pennsylvania politics quiz? | John Baer
- Preparing for the 2026 policy | Trib LIVE
- Trump claims to have made America great again. With intermediate dates on the horizon, we can decide whether we agree with him | Solomon Jones
- Pennsylvania Term Limit Offer Rare Bipartisan Opportunity | Tanner Willis
- Five years later, a recent attempt to rewrite January 6 | Jonathan D. Salant
- Pennsylvania families want more children, but can’t afford them | Senator Nick Pisciottano
- Why is Pennsylvania’s largest teachers union raking in millions of dollars? | David R. Osborne
1 item
5. TV premiere dates 2026
“Hundreds of scripted TV shows and an equal number or more unscripted shows and specials will hit screens in 2026. Even in the twilight of the Peak TV era, viewers have an overwhelming array of programming to choose from, from reliable network shows to streaming shows ending long breaks and hype-filled newcomers.
The Hollywood Reporter is here to lend a hand you keep track of it all. Below is a comprehensive guide to release dates on all platforms for the next 12 months. | Hollywood reporter
Thank you for your support in 2025.
From all of us to all of you, Happy New Year!
