📖 Today’s #PoliticsPA Guide. Midterm congressional races to watch in Pennsylvania. Garrity supports Jason Richey’s candidacy for lieutenant governor. What fate awaits approximately two dozen ice-related bills before Pennsylvania legislators? Conestoga is Pennsylvania’s river of the year
🎶 Your morning, pick me up. It’s five o’clock somewhere. Alan Jackson
💬 Tips. There is no tax here. PoliticsPA is Pennsylvania’s leading source of unbiased political news and analysis. Send tips or press releases to [email protected].
Weather in Pennsylvania
☀️ Sewickley | Mostly clear, 14
☀️ Shrewsbury | Mostly clear, 15
☀️ Avoca | Mostly clear, 12
Sports PA
🏀 Sixes (26-21) | Sacramento 113-111 | Saturday vs. New Orleans
🏒 Flyers (24-20-9) | Boston 3-6 | Saturday vs. Los Angeles
🏒 Penguins (27/14/11) | Chicago 6-2 | Saturday vs. NY Rangers
🔈 What we hear. It’s support day at PA-07. Pete Buttigieg approved Bob Brooks for the Democratic nomination, while Representative Danielo BurgosMayor of Reading Eddie Moranand member of the Allentown City Council Christian Pungo they support Carol Obando-Derstine.
🔢 By the numbers. “In the last quarter of 2025, the House Republican campaign earned $24.3 million, ended the year with amassing $117.2 million. The National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee’s (NRCC) fundraising numbers exceed all recent years except 2021, when Democrats had full control of Washington.
📕 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 crucial story
1. Midterm congressional races to watch in Pennsylvania
“The Commonwealth will be ground zero for a hotly contested midterm election cycle that will determine whether Republicans continue to control both houses of Congress, or whether Democrats can regain control of the House and gain control of President Donald Trump administration.
The path to either outcome will run through Pennsylvania, a state that forecasters, politicians and commentators see as a key battleground in the 2026 midterm elections.” | City and state
Elsewhere
Shapiro says he’s preparing for a potential wave of deportations in Pennsylvania. “There has been no indication that President Donald Trump intends to target Pennsylvania by stepping up immigration enforcement. But the Democratic governor said that given how many other states have been targeted by the Trump administration’s deportation campaign, he is not leaving anything to chance.” | known
House Republicans are proposing voting changes as the Trump administration looks at the midterms. “The package released Thursday reflects a number of the party’s most anticipated electoral changes, including requirements for photo ID to vote and proof of citizenship, which are expected to be introduced in 2027. Others, including a ban on universal mail-in voting and ranked-choice voting — two voting methods that have proven popular in some states — would be introduced immediately.” | Related press
Trump is losing the white working class. “The latest poll from Fox News shows that President Donald Trump’s job approval among non-college-educated white voters is weak: 49 percent approve and 51 percent disapprove. That’s just one pollster, and the subgroup data has a high margin of error. But working-class whites are a solid pillar of the MAGA-era Republican Party.” | Washington Monthly
Country
2. Garrity supports Jason Richey’s candidacy for lieutenant governor
“As soon as he throws his hat into the ring, he will be backed at the top of the list.
Today is a good day for the Allegheny County GOP chairman Jason Richeywho not only announced that he was the Republican candidate for the lieutenant governor nomination, but also received the support of the only Republican candidate for governor, Stacy Garrity” | PoliticsPA
Elsewhere
Shapiro says “of course” he still likes Fetterman. “Gov. Josh Shapiro told national reporters Thursday that he likes U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and continues to talk to him — citing a meeting several months ago.” | Questioner from Philadelphia
Shapiro is calling for a ban on cell phones in Pennsylvania schools. “Governor Josh Shapiro (D-State) urged state lawmakers to pass a cell phone ban in Pennsylvania schools. Bipartisan lawmakers introduced legislation in October that would require K-12 schools to implement a no-bell-to-bell policy for the 2026-27 school year. Bell-to-bell bans generally prohibit students from using cell phones on public and parochial school property, including during classes, lunch and recess. | abc27
Around the Republic of Poland
3. What is the fate of about two dozen ice-related bills before AP state legislators?
“About two dozen immigration enforcement-related proposals are before the state legislature in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown and tactics – including increased reliance on county jails and local police departments.
Lawmakers admit that introducing reforms in an arena governed at the federal level and with each chamber of parliament controlled by a different party is a distant prospect. Even the Democratic House committee chairmen are not saying whether they will put these bills – almost exclusively sponsored by Democrats – to a vote.” | Penn Capital Star
Elsewhere
Shapiro condemns ICE’s inflammatory rhetoric from prosecutor Larry Krasner as ‘disgusting’. “This type of rhetoric is unacceptable, it’s disgusting and it’s wrong — period, period, end of sentence,” the governor told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier. | Fox News
Veteran prosecutor who led the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting case named U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania. “U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has appointed longtime prosecutor Troy Rivetti as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, overseeing federal prosecutors with offices in Pittsburgh, Erie and Johnstown.” | TribLive
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
1 item
5. Conestoga is the river of the year in Pennsylvania
“The Conestoga River won Pennsylvania River of the Year for the first time in the 43-year history of the award.
In a month-long online poll conducted by the Pennsylvania Watersheds and Rivers Authority, Conestoga received 2,510 votes, or 44.8% of the total votes. The Lower Schuylkill River in Chester and Philadelphia counties led Conestoga by less than 200 votes, while Chillisquaque Creek in Northumberland and Montour counties received less than 14% of the vote.
The $15,000 winner’s grant, awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, is intended to fund River of the Year celebrations, including outdoor and community events. In its nomination application, the Conestoga River Club said the grant would assist fund an annual calendar of events, including river cleanups, floats, Lancaster Water Week events and river mapping initiatives.
Thank you for starting your day with us.
Enjoy your weekend. See you again on Monday
