📊 Free the polls, Wednesday. Here are three statewide polls you can view.
Pennsylvania Weather
☔ Landscape Hill | Showers, 76
☂️ Mont Alto | Showers, 70
🌧️ Montrose | Cloudy, Showers, 61
Sports PA
⚾ Phillies (93-65) | Cubs 4-10 | Wed. vs. Chicago Cubs
⚾ Pirates (73-84) | Milwaukee 2-7 | Wed-Thu vs. Milwaukee
⚾ Erie Seawolves | Eastern League Champions
📊 PoliticsPA Polling Tracker (average of last 5 PA polls)
President: Harris +1.8% | Senate: Casey +5.2%
👂 What do we hear. Democrats are watching with growing concern as GOP super PACs pour money into Senate races that will decide control of Congress next year. More than $60 million has been invested Dave McCormick Pennsylvania campaign.
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The most crucial story
1. New Pennsylvania Poll Shows Trump, Harris Tie; Casey Leads
“Presidential candidates Donald Trump AND Kamala Harris Pennsylvania voters are tied, according to the latest Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll.
The poll, conducted at the beginning of the mail-in voting period in Pennsylvania and less than two months before Election Day, found that 48% of voters surveyed planned or were likely to vote for Harris, while 48% were likely or strongly favored Trump.
Democratic US Senator Bob Caseywho is running for a fourth term, leads among Republican candidates Dave McCormick by 5 points, which is a significant advantage but still within the statistical error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.” (Morning call from Allentown)
Elsewhere
In a duel of speeches, Harris is expected to present her capitalist viewpoint while Trump delves deeper into populism“Derided by Donald Trump as a ‘commie,’ Kamala Harris is capitalizing on her street cred as a capitalist. Attacked by Harris as a rich kid who got $400 million on a silver platter from her father, Trump is leaning into his raw populism.” (AP)
Harris heads to Pittsburgh (again) to pitch manufacturing to voters“Vice President Kamala Harris is set to unveil her manufacturing policy Wednesday in Pittsburgh, a city known for its steel industry in a state seen as crucial to the upcoming presidential election.” (WVIA)
China, Pennsylvania Teachers, and a ‘Cult’ Culture: Why Dave McCormick’s Time at Bridgewater, the World’s Largest Hedge Fund, Matters to His Senate Run. “Dave McCormick’s 13 years as leader of the world’s largest hedge fund is a significant addition to the résumé of a Republican running for Senate.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Dave McCormick Wins Support Among Pennsylvania Jewish Voters“A Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Senate attacked Sen. Bob Casey for failing to force the Senate to vote on anti-Semitism awareness legislation.” (Jewish Insider)
Ad Watch: Senate Majority PAC, McCormick Unveil New Venues“Senate PAC Majority has unveiled a pair of ads attacking GOP candidate Dave McCormick, following the Republican’s recent ad purchase of its own.” (PoliticsPA)
Five debates scheduled for October. “As the calendar turns from summer to autumn, the days until the 2024 general election are drawing to a close. Here are five debates scheduled for this month that you can’t miss.” (PoliticsPA)
Country
2. Preparing for November: What is Logic and Accuracy Testing?
“Voting Machines. What Do You Know About Them?
You know, you go into your precinct… you fill out a ballot… and you put it into an optical scanner to be counted. When you’re done… you get a sticker that says “I voted.”
But how do you know your vote is counted? And more importantly, is it counted accurately?
“This is called pre-election logic and accuracy testing (L&A testing).” (PoliticsPA)
- Video from Lebanon County shows how safe and secure Pennsylvania elections are. (Daily news from Lebanon)
Elsewhere
Commonwealth Court upholds decision ordering counties to notify voters of mail-in voting errors“A three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has upheld a Washington County judge’s decision to order the county to notify voters of errors in their absentee ballots.” (PoliticsPA)
Barletta, Schweiker lead group of Republicans aiming to restore faith in Pennsylvania elections“A Republican-led effort has recently launched to boost confidence in key state elections in Pennsylvania, a hotbed of election denial in 2020 and where officials say new rules could help restore trust among skeptical GOP voters as Election Day approaches.” (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
On the eve of a vote on key spending, Rep. Perry’s opponents attack him for playing with budget politics“On the eve of the final vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to avert a partial shutdown of the federal government, a political group campaigning against U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s reelection bid in Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district has launched an ad campaign accusing Perry of putting his conservative policies above the interests of federal workers in his district.” (PennLive)
Republicans narrow Democrats’ voter registration advantage in Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley“With four weeks to go before Pennsylvania’s voter registration deadline, Democrats maintain a numerical advantage in Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley — at least on paper. But state data shows the party gap has narrowed statewide and regionally.” (News)
Around the Commonwealth of Nations
3. Which way will the PA lean in the 2024 election? Northampton may have the answer
“Everyone wants to know where the state will go in November, and one place may have some answers: Northampton County.
“I’m not a political expert, but history is what it is” Lamont McCluresaid the Northampton County executive. “And we usually tell the truth here.” (CBS News)
Elsewhere
3 Former GOP Officials Urge GOP Voters to Support Harris in Lancaster County“Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, former Virginia congresswoman Barbara Comstock and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh all said Kamala Harris’ Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, is too dangerous to be given another term.” (LNP | Lancaster Online)
TikTok influencers recruited for Mainline ‘Content House’ to strategize ahead of 2024 election“TikTok and Instagram content creators from across the country converged on Montgomery County to collaborate on election videos.” (“Philadelphia Inquirer”)
Dillon Blames His Basketball Academy Players for ‘N-Word’ Tweets“After the Delaware Valley Journal broke a story about state Sen. Jimmy Dillon’s basketball academy Twitter account that featured posts that included the N-word, were offensive to LGBTQ people and were offensive to Asians, Dillon blamed his players for the offensive posts.” (DV Journal)
Suspicious news site continues to promote lower-tier candidates via Facebook ads“The less-than-year-old news site Potemkin is promoting nearly a dozen Democratic candidates running for the Pennsylvania General Assembly using paid social media posts apparently designed to give viewers the impression the message is coming from a credible news source rather than a partisan political action committee.” (Wide + Freedom)
Editorial
4. What do you mean
1 thing
5. Happy birthday, Bad Joe!
Happy (belated) 78th birthday to a Pittsburgh Steelers legend Bad Joe Greene!
Known for his footballing achievements, Greene is also remembered for one of best commercials of all time“Hey Kid, Catch!”, a 1979 Coca-Cola commercial. It is one of the most recognizable commercials in television history.
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