Tuesday. This is the 127th day of the state budget impasse and the 35th day of the federal government shutdown. And it was time to vote.
In today’s PA Policy Guide. The Supreme Court’s vote to uphold is here. Why November SNAP benefits may not be available for several weeks or months Don’t overlook down-ballot races. Foods that will make you smell better.
Your morning pick-me-up. Vote for me. Chicago
Weather in Pennsylvania
Erie | Sunny, 55 Harrisburg | Sunny, 61 Scranton | Sunny, 58
Sports PA
Sixers (5-1) | Tuesday in Chicago
Penguins (8-4-2) | Toronto 3-4 | Thu vs. Washington Flyers (6-5-1) | Tuesday in Montreal
Beating. Former Vice President Dick Cheney84, died on Monday due to complications of pneumonia and heart and vascular diseases.
What’s happening today. Follow our social networks on Twitter AND Blue to read the latest election results from across the Republic of Poland.
What we hear. Roll call lists Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R-07) as the fourth most vulnerable member of the House entering the 2026 election cycle.
PoliticsPA Guide is compiled 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. Pennsylvania could keep a Democratic majority on the Supreme Court or achieve a partisan gridlock
“Pennsylvania voters will decide Tuesday whether to keep the Democratic majority on the state’s highest court — at the center of key battles over voting rights, redistricting and elections — or plunge the court into gridlock on the most significant presidential battleground.
The outcome will influence how the state Supreme Court may be called upon again to resolve partisan disputes over election laws ahead of next year’s midterm contests.”(AP)
Elsewhere
2025 Election Announcement: PA Supreme Court Retention. “Simply put, this is one of the most closely watched contests in the country in the 2025 election cycle. Will the three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices remain on the bench for another 10 years? Yes or no.” (PolitykaPA)
The New York mayoral race is drawing attention, but Tuesday’s votes in California and Pennsylvania could shape national politics. “U.S. off-year elections cannot compete with the number of November races held in midterm and presidential years. But there is more at stake in 2025 than in the past.” (CBC)
Experts assess Pennsylvania’s critical but overlooked race. “Three Democratic justices on the seven-member court are poised for a retention vote, and the results could impact the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.” (Daily signal)
One year before 2026 final exams, Trump endorses Scott Perry, Rob Bresnahan and other Pennsylvania Republicans. “In a stream of posts sent Sunday evening to Truth Social, the president’s social media platform, Donald Trump endorsed Republican Party candidates for the 2026 U.S. Congressional elections in Pennsylvania and other states. Every Republican in Pennsylvania’s House delegation received an endorsement, except U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Country
2. Why November SNAP benefits may not be available for several weeks or months
“The Trump administration’s plan to partially fund SNAP benefits will not happen quickly.
Why it matters: The Department of Agriculture expects states will need weeks, if not months, to distribute benefits to the millions of Americans covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), filings show.
Message management: In the same filing, the government said USDA would comply with the court’s order to partially pay SNAP benefits by allocating $4.65 billion in emergency funds to cover roughly half of benefits for all eligible households. (Axles)
Elsewhere
2025 election preview: Supreme Court. “In the eighth in our series leading up to the 2025 municipal elections, we focus on the vacancy on the 15-member Supreme Court – one of two intermediate appellate courts in the state – which hears both criminal and civil cases appealed to the Court of Common Pleas.” (PolitykaPA)
The Department of State is releasing significant information ahead of the local elections. “Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt encouraged Pennsylvanians planning to vote in person at the polls to review comprehensive voter information at Vote.pa.gov ahead of today’s election.” (PolitykaPA)
The director describes the provisional voting process. “The Lawrence County Elections Director advises any voter who has requested an absentee ballot that if by any chance they do not receive their ballot in the mail or no longer have it, the voter may still vote using a provisional ballot on Tuesday.” (New news about the castle)
Fiscal decline: Pennsylvania funding increased 64% under the last two governors. “Over the last two Democratic administrations, the Keystone State’s budget has grown three and a half times more than under the previous Republican administration. When a Democrat is governor, state funding increases an average of 6.3% annually. When a Republican is governor, the comparable figure is 1.8%.” (Central Square)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. The Trump effect
“Berks County is one place that has helped Mr. Trump returned to the White House on November 5. That gave him more than 55 percent of the vote, winning the nation’s most populous swing state after losing it four years earlier.
Berks County, home to about 430,000 people and nestled between steep hills and hardwood forests, has long coped with the vagaries of a changing industrial economy – the kind of location the President refers to when talking about restoring American greatness. In recent decades, it has also become a magnet for Latino immigration, a role model for revitalization by those born elsewhere.
A world away from the nation’s centers of power, the confluence of these two currents places this county somewhere near the center of the American experience. (Globe and mail)
Elsewhere
All eyes are on Pittsburgh’s mayor and the Supreme Court stoppage, but lower-vote races shouldn’t be forgotten. “Voters across the country will go to the polls today, and while this is an off-year election, the results of some key races will impact not only local communities, but the national political landscape for years to come.” (THAT’S ALL)
Life after Congress: Ryan Costello’s main memories include stoppages, redistricting. “On former Rep. Ryan Costello’s bookshelf, D-Pennsylvania, there is a book he absolutely wants to read – a 450-page treatise on lawmaking titled “The Congressman: His Work As He Sees” by Charles L. Clapp. Costello, 49, a Republican who served in Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District from 2015 to 2019, sometimes wonders what part two of this book would be like.” (Roll call)
The Bucks County School District says it will have to close schools on January 30 if the PA budget impasse continues. Morrisville Superintendent Andrew Doster on Wednesday will discuss the possible closure of schools with students in grades three through 12 directly “in a developmentally appropriate manner,” he said. (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
- Off-year elections are where democracy really shines Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper
- Obligation does not wait for significant election years | Trib LIVE
- Your vote is significant in every election | Reading the Eagle
- This election matters, especially for non-voters Adriana E. Ramírez
- Why AI’s reckless pursuit of profit threatens Philadelphia | Joa Rojas
- Senator McCormick’s stance on Mifepristone is a step towards greater safety | Ted Meehan
- It’s time to govern responsibly – not spend recklessly U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker and State Rep. Joe D’Orsie
1 item
5. Products that make you smell better
“Each of us has a unique scent profile, like a fingerprint. Everything from our personality type – such as extroversion, dominance and neuroticism – to our mood and health affects the way we smell.
Many of these factors are beyond our control – but not all of them. The food we eat has a significant impact on our sense of smell. As a miniature but growing body of research shows, this affects not only our overall aroma, but also how we are perceived, including how attractive we are to others. (BBC)
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Get out and vote today! We’ll talk more tomorrow.
