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What We’re Hearing
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Political News? Yes, Please
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Top Story

1. Israel Remains Flashpoint In Critical Pennsylvania Senate Race

“The Israel-Hamas war and U.S. policy in the Middle East remain early flashpoints in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, where there are more Jews than all but four other states and where voters are poised to help determine which party controls Congress and the White House in 2025.

David McCormick, the Republican former hedge fund CEO and George W. Bush administration official, used a high-profile visit to Israel earlier this month to emphasize the need for strong support for the Jewish state while slamming President Joe Biden’s foreign policy as “appeasement” of Iran, one of Hamas’ chief financial backers.

(Bob) Casey was one of 49 Democratic senators on Wednesday who said they would move to amend the proposed national security funding package to endorse a two-state solution in the Middle East.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Related

The Looming Contest Between Two Presidents and Two Americas. “The general election matchup that seems likely between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump is about fundamentally disparate visions of the nation.” (New York Times)

Donald Trump Won New Hampshire, But Results Still Signal Potential Problems For General Election. “College-educated voters backed (Nikki) Haley overwhelmingly, while Trump won non-college-educated voters in the state. That’s a warning sign of Trump’s limited appeal among voters in places such as the Philadelphia suburbs.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Reader Poll: Should Nikki Haley Drop Out Before South Carolina? “After Tuesday night’s New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, we want to know what you think? Should Nikki Haley Drop Out of the GOP Presidential Race Before South Carolina?” (PoliticsPA)

Green Party of Philadelphia Hosts Presidential Candidates Forum. “The sounds of the Market-Frankford train above made the Zoom presentations difficult to hear, and the start of the event was delayed by 40 minutes due to a bevy of technical issues. But four Green Party candidates persevered at a forum in Philadelphia on Tuesday, giving their pitches for why they should represent the environmentally conscious political party. ” (Penn Capital-Star)

State

2. McClinton Talks About Goals, Accomplishments and School Choice

“Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Joanna McClinton talked about her 2023 accomplishments and 2024 goals during a panel with state officials from Connecticut, Florida and Tennessee on Wednesday.

We are carrying into 2024 the priorities that I call ‘unfinished business’ that is left from 2023,” said the Speaker. “The first and most important thing we are working on as a caucus is education. We have been tackling and blocking a controversial voucher program from last year’s budget and it certainly is not going away with our upcoming budget cycle.

We have to find and spend about $5 billion to finally have a fair funding system so that all children in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are able to access great education and to get them the opportunities that they want as they grow into their lives.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

School Vouchers On Conservative Group’s Budget Wishlist For Gov. Shapiro. “A conservative Pennsylvania policy group said expanded educational choice should be part of the mix of options to improve access to quality education as Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers respond to a court ruling on educational equality in the next state budget.” (PennLive)

PA Tees Up Another Special Election For Control Of State House Amid Gripes That Include Cost, Disruptiveness. “Pennsylvania spent nearly $1 million holding special elections last year — about half of it in Allegheny County — and while complaints persist about disruptiveness, cost, and candidate-choosing methods, their profile has never been higher.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

PA-12: Summer Lee’s Campaign Raised More Than $1 Million In The Fourth Quarter. “The haul represents the biggest single quarter for the freshman member of Congress from Western Pennsylvania.” (Penn Capital-Star)

PA-10: Anti-Trump Candidate Newman Set to Challenge Perry. “In addition to seeing seven Democrats lining up in a primary to challenge him in November, Rep. Scott Perry (R-10) now finds himself with a Republican primary opponent of his own.” (PoliticsPA)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Here’s How Candidates Make It On Pennsylvania’s 2024 Primary Ballot

“Tuesday marked the beginning of the grueling three-week process where candidates and campaigns for any state or federal race have to brave Pennsylvania’s wintry weather and collect the required amount of signatures to obtain access to the 2024 primary ballot.

Candidates running for the Pennsylvania House or Senate have to collect at least 300 or 500 signatures from registered members of your political party and those requirements become more strenuous as the office becomes larger.” (The Keystone)

Related

What You Need To Know To Vote In Pennsylvania’s April 2024 Primary. “Although Pennsylvania is considered a critical swing state in this year’s presidential election, its voters hold less sway in each party’s primary. That’s because the state holds its primary relatively late in the process, in late April.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Higher 911 Phone Fee, Mail-In Voting Reforms Among Top Priorities For PA Counties. “County commissioners came to the state Capitol on Wednesday to call on Gov. Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly to partner with them in addressing eight issues that they see as having the most potential for positive impact to counties this year.” (PennLive)

Washington County Government, Courthouse Hit By Cyberattack. “It’s not immediately known how long the breach had occurred before being detected or whether any sensitive information was accessed by cyber hackers. However, it was serious enough to prompt agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to come to the county’s campus to investigate.” (Observer-Reporter)

USPS Conducted Investigation On Late Mail-In Ballots. “A United States Postal Service investigation has turned up no information about why 268 mail-in ballots took almost two weeks to arrive at the Lancaster County elections office, after the Nov. 7 general election deadline, a county commissioner said Tuesday. All of the votes on those ballots went uncounted because they arrived late.” (LNP)

Candidate Announcements

• HD-28: Frequent GOP Candidate Shaffer Launches Bid For North Hills House Seat. (Tribune-Review)
• HD-120: Pugh Makes It Official; Enters 120th Legislative District Race. (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader)
• HD-160: Moro Declares Candidacy For District 160. (Chester County Press)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Haley Revealed Trump’s Weaknesses. (Wall Street Journal)
• Trump’s Supreme Court Justices Must Kick Him Off the Ballot. (Bruce Ackerman)
• I-95 Reconstruction Project Must Respect Philly Neighborhoods. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• The Diversity That Matters Is More Than Skin-Deep. (Ruth Ann Dailey)
• This Is Big Media’s Big Challenge In 2024 Election Season. (John Baer)
• Democrats Can’t Cater To The Fringe. (Jeff Robbins)
• The Red-Blue Divide Is Growing Deeper — How Much Does It Affect How Laws Are Made? (Paul H. Robinson)
• RGGI Is A Bad Deal For Pennsylvanians. (Jon O’Brien)
• Beating an Incumbent Politician Is Tough — But It Can Be Done. (Fred Lucas)

1 Thing

5. ACA Enrollment Surged In Red States

“A record 21.3 million people signed up for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces this year, with the largest enrollment increases tallied in red states.

Why it matters: The 30.7% annual increase in ACA sign-ups comes as former President Trump’s renewed calls for repeal have again raised doubts about the law’s future.

Enrollment figures released by federal health officials on Wednesday indicate that Republican-leaning states would be heavily affected by the law’s repeal.” (Axios)

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