😀 Good Thursday morning. Our thoughts are with those in the path of Hurricane Helene. Stay safe and sound.
Weather in Pennsylvania
☁️McKean | Mostly shadowy, 73
☂️ Pine Grove | Showers, 77
🌧️Safe haven | Showers, 77
Sports PA
⚾ Phillies (94-65) | Young 9-6 | Friday-Sunday vs. Washington
⚾ Pirates (74-84) | Milwaukee 2-1 | Thu vs. Milwaukee
🏈 Temple (1-3) | Thu versus the army
📊 PoliticsPA Poll Tracker (average of the last 5 PA polls)
President: Harris +1.2% | Senate: Casey +6.0%
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The most critical story
1. Harris outlines economic plans for Pittsburgh. Here’s why it matters in the race to win PA
“Vice President Kamala Harris during a speech Wednesday at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, she unveiled several new economic proposals aimed at attracting voter support in struggling former industrial centers.
Harris has pledged tax breaks to encourage steel production and investment in other traditional industries, doubled apprenticeships within a year of her election, and committed to reform to accelerate American construction.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Elsewhere
Trump lays out a vision for the economy at NC rally that pushes deeper into populism. “His remarks jumped from topic to topic — a speaking style that he recently, after nine years in politics, called a “plot” — even though he was pushing his economic plan hours before Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her message on economics at the University “Carnegie Mellon.” (Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper)
Why the odds of who wins Pennsylvania on election night are ‘almost zero’. “Four years after covering the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania, CNN’s Sara Murray returns to the Keystone State to find out what has changed as the threat of disinformation spreads around mail-in voting in the state.” (CNN)
Muhlenberg Poll: Harris, Trump in Deadlock; Casey, McCormick On the Side. “The latest Muhlenberg College poll shows what we have all known for a long time – the presidential race in Pennsylvania will be close. How hard? Muhlenberg surveyed 450 likely voters and found there was a 48-48% tie between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. ”(PoliticsPA)
House Republicans press Johnson on farm bill. “More than half of the House Republican Conference wrote a letter to their leaders urging them to put the GOP farm bill on the floor in the upcoming hopeless session. The letter has influential GOP supporters in the House of Representatives, including Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson.” (Punchbowl News)
Country
2. McCormick: Casey’s Leadership ‘Destructive’ Lack of Imagination
“The Republican Senate candidate is on the battleground in Bucks County on Wednesday Dave McCormick focused on the rising cost of living.
“Families and businesses are hurting,” McCormick told several dozen supporters packed into a Bensalem market and deli. “The last three and a half years have been devastating for Pennsylvania.”
He repeated his criticism of incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey as an out-of-touch liberal who will leave Pennsylvania worse off if he wins a fourth term.” (Central Square)
Elsewhere
Campaign fundraising in the Pennsylvania attorney general race has surpassed $4 million. “Democratic and Republican candidates for Pennsylvania attorney general on Wednesday provided insight into the status of their campaign financial accounts.” (PennLive)
AP Democrats and election advocates want a bill that would allow ballot collection to begin earlier. “Democrats and nonpartisan election advocates are calling on the Pennsylvania Senate to pass legislation that would allow for more frequent collection of mail-in votes before Election Day. But nothing will likely change until Election Day” (Penn Capital Star)
Fetterman, who has struggled with depression, introduces ‘Stop the Scroll’ bill, pushing for mental health warnings on social media. “dream. John Fetterman is working with a Republican senator from Alabama to push for a mental health warning label on social media platforms.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage will likely remain frozen for another year. “There is bipartisan support in Harrisburg to raise the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $15, but political observers say that likely won’t happen in the near future.” (WESA)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. Voting rights groups are asking the PA Supreme Court to immediately address the issue of mail-dating
“A coalition of voting rights advocates is again trying to get the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to make a final decision on whether voters must postdate their absentee ballot return envelope to have their vote counted, in what may be the last chance to decide the issue before the November election.
After the court dismissed the challenges on jurisdictional grounds in its decision earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Public Interest Law Center asked the Supreme Court to use its authority to bypass lower courts and deal directly with the pressing legal issues. (Vote for Pennsylvania)
Elsewhere
Westmoreland commissioners say ballots cannot be certified for the November election. “Ballot remediation – a process that allows election officials to contact voters to correct ballot errors such as missing dates and signatures – will not be implemented before the November 5 presidential election.” (Greensburg Tribune Review)
Most Lackawanna County Commissioners Reject Efforts to Eliminate Ballot Drop Boxes. “Democratic-majority commissioners in Lackawanna County on Wednesday rejected an attempt by Republican minority commissioner Chris Chermak to prevent the use of ballot drop boxes in the Nov. 5 general election.” (Scranton Times Tribune)
Gorman is appointed vice president of Homer City Redevelopment LLC and resigns as county commissioner. “Robin A. Gorman told her colleagues on the Indiana County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday that she will resign, effective November 8.” (Indiana newspaper)
The modern charges accuse Suplizio, Shaffer of stealing more than $1.5 million in DuBois city funds. “A federal grand jury in Johnstown returned a superseding indictment charging former DuBois City Manager John “Herma” Suplizio and former city employee Roberta “Bobbie” Shaffer with conspiracy, federal program fraud and money laundering, he announced in Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan. ” (DuBois Courier Express)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- Don’t forget about the PA races, which the 2024 campaign seems to forget about. (John Baer)
- Trump, Laura Loomer, and the very real dangers of courting extremists. (Malcolm Nance)
- Pennsylvania workers cannot afford to lose American steel. (Nathan Benefield)
- Kamala Harris’s empty interview with Oprah Winfrey. (Colin Hanna)
- An idea whose time has come – replace presidential election debates with candidate forums. (David Reel)
1 item
5. Hatboro bakery known for election cookie survey flooded with orders
“A cookie survey of suburban Philadelphia bakeries that began as a joke between owners and their customers during the 2008 presidential campaign has evolved into a much broader scope.
Lochel’s Bakery in Hatboro is flooded with orders. People drive several hours away to buy the cookies in person, and shipping orders come from as far as Alaska.
The bakery sells 4-inch (10-centimeter) round sugar cookies, one with blue and white sprinkles and a Harris 2024 label, and the other with red and white sprinkles and a Trump 2024 label. Sales of each Harris 2024 cookie count as a vote in the poll for Democrat Kamala Harris, as well as Republican Donald Trump.” (AP)
