🥂 Weekend work. I hope it will be good for you.
Pennsylvania Weather
🌥️ Wampum | More and more clouds, 83
☀️ Dickinson | Mostly Sunny, 79
☁️Narberth | Mostly shadowy, 78
Sports PA
⚾ Phillies (84-56) | Miami 5-2 | Fri-Sun vs. Miami
⚾ Pirates (66-74) | Washington 9-4 | Fri-Sun vs. Washington
🏈 Eagles (0-0) | Friday vs. Green Bay
🏈 Penn State (1-0) | Saturday vs. Bowling Green
🏈 Pitt (1-0) | Saturday vs. Cincinnati
🏈 Temple (0-1) | Saturday vs. Navy
🏈 Steelers (0-0) | Sun vs. Atlanta
👂 What do we hear“Like a first date, a voter needs to ‘feel the thrill’ before they start to care about reducing inflation or stories about your awkward brother.”
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The most critical story
1. Pennsylvania is slipping out of Trump’s control. Race will be decided by vibes, not politics
“David Urban is worried — and he should be. The Pennsylvania native knows the Keystone State. As a senior adviser Donald Trump in 2016, he helped deliver Pennsylvania, and thus the White House, to his boss. But the seasoned politician, who is now a senior strategist at BGR Group, can smell a losing campaign.
Urban senses that Pennsylvania, a tipping point state in the country, is slipping away. He fumed to me: “Trump had important positions, vibes and themes. But with Harris, there are no themes beyond: We are not Trump and abortion.”
Flipping the script, Harris now leads Trump in Pennsylvania and a number of key swing states. But some knew that before they saw the polls.” (UnHerd)
Elsewhere
Harris faces ‘toughest’ battleground fight against Trump in Pennsylvania. “The entire presidential election could come down to one state: Pennsylvania. And it’s shaping up to be the toughest battleground for Vice President Kamala Harris to win.” (NBC News)
Trump Tells Jewish Republicans ‘Israel Will Disappear’ If Harris Wins“Former President Donald Trump told a crowd of Jewish Republicans that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election this fall, “Israel is doomed” and said Jewish Democrats who support Biden should “get their heads examined.”” (POLITICIAN)
Hurt Pennsylvania workers to get Pennsylvania votes? “Have populist politics gotten so out of hand that politicians feel they have to hurt Pennsylvania workers in order to win Pennsylvania’s electoral votes?” (National Review)
Erie Ending: Walz Ends Two-Day Solo Vice Presidential Campaign in Pennsylvania“Gov. Tim Walz wrapped up his solo two-day trip to Pennsylvania with a rally in Erie, hitting three of the four corners of the state that hold monumental significance for both presidential candidates in November.” (Minnesota Stars Stand)
How Senator Bob Casey Became Democrats’ Messenger on ‘Greedflation’ — One of the Party’s Biggest Issues Ahead of November“Casey’s plan to combat price gouging has been hailed by Kamala Harris and other top Democrats, but it has also drawn criticism ahead of his high-profile re-election fight against Dave McCormick.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
McCormick Unveils Pennsylvania Playbook: Can the Republican Party Adopt It Nationally? “Many Republicans say they want to focus on policy, not vibes, complaining that Democrats have been given an early pass on substance since Harris replaced President Biden as the nominee. Many have been fighting all summer to reframe the conversation. But while the GOP has lost ground nationally this summer, McCormick is gaining ground in Pennsylvania.” (RealClear Policy)
Country
2. Why Pennsylvania voters without college degrees are increasingly hostile to Democrats
“In 2020 President Joe Biden won in Pennsylvania, improving his result Hillary Clinton The 2016 voting results among nearly every voting group in the state.
But there were exceptions.
More than two in five precincts statewide went worse for Biden than for Clinton. And while those precincts included rural, suburban, and densely populated urban areas, nearly all had one thing in common: On average, they had significantly lower rates of college education than the rest of the state.“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Elsewhere
Pennsylvania voters can cast provisional ballot if their mail-in ballot is rejected, court rules“A court ruled Thursday that voters in a Pennsylvania presidential battleground state can cast conditional ballots instead of absentee ballots that were rejected because they made a simple error in returning the ballot.” (AP)
Battleground Voting: How Pennsylvania’s 2020 Problems Could Drag Counting into 2024 by Days“Pennsylvania is poised to face many of the same challenges in 2024 that it experienced in the 2020 election, which resulted in the state not being called for President Joe Biden until days after Election Day.” (Washington Examiner)
What You Need to Know About the Alleged Russian Election Scheme Targeting Pennsylvania Voters“The United States is accusing Russian conspirators of again interfering in the presidential election, with Pennsylvania among the alleged targets.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Questions, political finger-pointing after crash involving Pennsylvania Senate candidate Ruscitto“Saturday’s car crash in Clairton involving Democratic state Senate candidate Nicole Ruscitto has sparked questions and recrimination after the leader of the county’s Republican committee publicly asked “why a breathalyzer test wasn’t administered” following the crash.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Action unlikely on abuse relief and other proposed constitutional amendments before deadline“Six far-reaching proposals to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution are unlikely to receive the final legislative votes they need to reach voters in the near future.” (PA reflector)
Around the Commonwealth of Nations
3. Fact Check: Is there illegal noncitizen voting in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania law is detailed.
Only registered voters can vote and their vote will be officially counted in Pennsylvania elections.
Yet many unregistered voters go to the polls on Election Day, especially in presidential election cycles. What happens when they do?” (PoliticsPA)
Elsewhere
It’s not an exaggeration that Pennsylvania could decide the 2024 presidential election. It’s math.“And whether Pennsylvania turns red or blue in November — Harris is leading Trump by 3 percentage points, according to the latest Washington Post polling data — may ultimately hinge on voting in the Philadelphia suburbs, which proved to be a major driver of partisan shifts in the state from 2016 to 2020.” (Voice of Philadelphia)
Shapiro steps up talks as Biden’s potential bloc on U.S. steel deal shakes region“Following reports that President Joe Biden will block the Japanese company’s $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel, Pennsylvania’s governor said he is in talks with “workers, the private sector and the Biden administration” to save thousands of jobs in the state.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Ratings Changes: Seven House Races Change on a Divided Battlefield“Public and private polls show Harris matching or surpassing Biden’s 2020 performance, moving closer to the presidential race and improving Democrats’ chances of picking up four needed seats.” (Appeal)
Nouri promotes authenticity in bid to oust Kelly in ‘gerrymandered’ 16th District“Preston Nouri knows he faces a big challenge in November, but believes he can reach out to young voters and those who feel left out of party politics in 2024.” (News from New Castle)
School Choice: Vouchers ‘On the Ballot’ for Republican Party as Election Approaches“It is common in political discourse to identify individual issues as ‘on the ballot,’ based on candidates’ support for those issues. As the 2024 presidential election approaches, school choice is a ballot issue.” (CNHI News)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
1 thing
5. Why Cuddling a Pig Might Be Good for You
“First there were cafes that allowed pets. Then there were cat cafes where you could buy a latte. Now the latest craze in Japan is a cafe where you can eat a slice of heaven with pigs.” (AP)
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