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👂 What do we hearThe latest House Majority PAC battleground poll shows that in the PA-10, only 12% of those surveyed gave Project 2025 a positive rating. This comes as Rep. Scott Perry has a 91% rating from the creators of Project 2025.
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The most essential story
1. Toomey: I’m not voting for Trump or Harris
“Former Republican Senator from Pennsylvania Pat Toomey he said he wouldn’t vote for any of them Donald Trump or Kamala Harris for president.
Toomey, a Republican who served on the Senate Banking and Finance Committees, appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday and told the hosts, Joe Kernan AND Andrew Ross Sorkin that while the outcome is binary, his choice is not.” (PoliticsPA)
Elsewhere
CNN poll in six key areas shows Georgia, Pennsylvania as key contenders“Vice President Kamala Harris has an advantage over former President Donald Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin and Michigan, while Trump has an advantage in Arizona. The two candidates split likely voters nearly evenly in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, the state with the largest electoral vote prize that is widely seen as winnable.” (CNN)
Harris campaign focuses on Pennsylvania, while Trump heads to a mix of battleground states“Pennsylvania continues to be a focus of the election. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign will continue to focus on the state this week, and former President Donald Trump will be in Harrisburg as his campaign heads to key battleground states across the country.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Macho MAGA? Trump Secures Hypermasculine Votes in America“He praises strong autocrats, hangs out with martial arts stars and has no greater compliment than calling someone a ‘warrior.’ Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to win the macho vote in November — and it’s working.” (CNHI News)
How Kamala Harris Plans to Prepare for Pennsylvania Debate“The vice president and her team will hold nearly a week of around-the-clock debate camp to prepare her for her important meeting with Trump.” (known)
Country
2. It’s Pennsylvania, stupid!
“In 1992, a Democratic strategist James Carville coined a saying that still rings true today.
“It’s the economy, stupid!”
Thirty-two years later, that could just as easily be rephrased for the Harris-Trump campaigns as, “It’s Pennsylvania, stupid.” (PoliticsPA)
Elsewhere
Presidential campaigns return to Pennsylvania on Wednesday“In presidential swing-state politics, it is always best when the talking point of one campaign can be answered by the talking point of another.” (PennLive)
Walz returns to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, a day before Harris“Democratic vice presidential candidate will stop after Lancaster and before Erie.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Battle for PA – Erie potentially sees an influx in visits from presidential and vice presidential candidates“With both vice presidential candidates turning their attention to the Erie campaign, many believe the presidential candidates will be next.” (YourErie.com)
PA-10: Stelson Releases First Two Campaign Ads“A longtime Harrisburg television journalist says the ads shed light on Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-10) efforts to ban abortion nationwide and Stelson’s commitment to making Washington a place for ordinary people to work.” (PoliticsPA)
Poll: Most Pennsylvanians Don’t Want Abortion to Be Decided by States“Most Pennsylvanians Seek Some Middle Ground on Abortion, Findings” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Around the Commonwealth of Nations
3. A quick breakdown of UCLA data shows nearly 580,000 Latino voters in Pennsylvania could influence the 2024 election.
“Considering that Pennsylvania has narrowly won the last two presidential elections — Trump won by 44,000 votes in 2016 and Biden by 81,000 votes in 2020 — the state’s 579,000 eligible Latino voters could be crucial in 2024.”
Investing in Spanish-language outreach will be key to reaching Latino voters in Pennsylvania. About 4 in 10 eligible Latino voters in Pennsylvania are bilingual, and an additional 25% speak only Spanish. More Latinos speak only Spanish in Pennsylvania than in the entire United States.” (UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute)
Elsewhere
Republican-led group launches $11.5M anti-Trump swing-state campaign“Drivers in Pennsylvania may start seeing more billboards featuring everyday people, such as a gray-haired man in a red shirt named “Mike” and a simple message: “I am a former Trump voter. I am a patriot. I am voting for Harris.”” (Penn Capital-Star)
Democrats in lower round of elections want to throw out election deniers“Democrats have a new strategy to attack Republicans who are overturning the 2020 presidential election results: eliminate them at the local level. One key race is in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Brad Chambers, another endorsed candidate, faces state Rep. Brett Miller in a district Democrats see as flippable and key to the party’s broader fight to retain control of the chamber.” (POLITICIAN)
Luzerne County Voter Registration on the Verge of a Republican Majority. “The latest Pennsylvania voter registration statistics released Tuesday show that there are 87,179 Democrats and 86,839 Republicans in the county — a difference of 340. That’s striking compared to the Democratic registration dominance they once held. For example, the difference between the two parties was 47,669 in 2011.” (Leader of the times)
RSLC invests $6.2 million in Pennsylvania state races“The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) released details of the early investments it and its affiliated PACs made ahead of Labor Day in key swing states as part of an ongoing strategy to secure Republican victories in down-ballot elections across the country.” (PoliticsPA)
There is potential for Pittsburgh to become a “modern Silicon Valley”.‘ “A new law aimed at increasing the value of production through engineering firms and universities came under the spotlight Tuesday. Now all it needs is state funding.” (Central Square)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
1 thing
5. Pennsylvania Fall Foliage Forecast
Pennsylvania experts are predicting a beautiful fall despite intense summer heatwaves that could overshadow fall in other parts of the country.
The intrigue: Some communities in western Pennsylvania are already seeing plants changing colors and dropping leaves, which experts say is premature, TribLive reports.
Yes, but: Experts say conditions appear favorable for Pennsylvania to enjoy one of its best fall foliage seasons in recent memory Axial.”
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