🎆 Good Morning. Here’s hoping you have a wonderful holiday weekend. We’re taking the Fourth and Fifth off so we’ll see you again on Monday.

PA Weather
☀️ Presque Isle | Mostly Sunny, 86
☀️ Raystown | Mostly Sunny, 87
☀️ Lake Harmony | Mostly Sunny, 80

PA Sports
⚾ Phillies (56-29) | Cubs 6-4 | Wed-Thu vs. Cubs | Fri-Sun vs. Atlanta
⚾ Pirates (40-44) | St. Louis 4-7 | Wed-Thu vs. St. Louis | Fri-Mon vs. Mets
⚽ Union (4-8-8) | Wed vs. Chicago | Sat vs. NY Red Bulls

🗓️ What’s Happening Today. The State Senate convenes at 10 AM, while the House gavels in at 11 AM.

🎂 Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Reps. Valerie Gaydos and George Dunbar. Early returns for Reps. Justin Fleming (Fri.), Rich Irvin (Sun.) and Martina White (Sun.).

🗞️ Today’s Headlines >> Your Inbox. Where can you find all the latest news on what’s happening in Keystone State politics? Sign up for the PoliticsPA Playbook. We’ll deliver all the latest headlines in an easy-to-read format every weekday at 8 AM. And it’s free. Add your name to the list and subscribe now.

Top Story

1. Inside the GOP Effort to Make Sure Biden Is The Democratic Nominee

“President Joe Biden’s Democratic allies could get a boost to keep him on the ticket from some unlikely partners: Republicans.

Led by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, Republicans are currently looking to guarantee that Biden will be the Democratic nominee — and to make it so that, if Biden withdraws, it won’t be easy to replace him on ballots.

While Biden’s campaign insists he has no plans to drop out, Republicans are gearing up for any and all possibilities. They’ve been preparing for this moment for quite some time.” (NOTUS)

Related

VP Harris Top Choice to Replace Biden In Election Race If He Steps Aside, Sources Say. “Vice President Kamala Harris is the top alternative to replace U.S. President Joe Biden if he decides not to continue his reelection campaign, according to seven senior sources at the Biden campaign, the White House and the Democratic National Committee with knowledge of current discussions on the topic.” (Reuters)

Jill Biden, The President’s Closest Adviser, Is Facing Mounting Criticism. She’s Not Cracking. “In the wake of a debate performance that inflamed worries about president Biden’s age, the first lady is facing renewed scrutiny over her role as her husband’s chief defender.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• First Lady Jill Biden Visits Allentown To Tout Education And Workforce Investments, As Questions About Biden Campaign Loom. (Allentown Morning Call)

Efforts Underway to Bolster Confidence In Pennsylvania Elections This Fall. “With the two candidates in a virtual dead heat in the fight for the Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes, new efforts are underway to reinforce voting procedures and avoid the allegations that made Pennsylvania Ground Zero for Trump-led efforts to overturn the 2020 election.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Constellation Talking To Pennsylvania On Three Mile Island Restart, Sources Say. “The conversations, which two sources described as “beyond preliminary,” signal that Constellation is advancing plans to revive part of the southern Pennsylvania nuclear generation site, which operated from 1974 to 2019. The nuclear unit Constellation is considering restarting is separate from the one that melted down.” (Reuters)

State

2. Survey Says Casey With Double-Digit Lead on McCormick

“In a poll of 800 registered Pennsylvania voters released Tuesday by the Commonwealth Foundation, Sen. Bob Casey Jr. holds a 12 percentage-point lead over Republican challenger Dave McCormick in the chase for the state’s open seat in the U.S. Senate.

Casey, the three-term Democratic incumbent, received 48 percent support among those who were asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, while McCormick polled at 36%. Five percent of those surveyed said they would vote for another candidate, while 10% indicated “none of the above.”” (PoliticsPA)

Related

“Common Ground” Poll Finds Pennsylvanians Have Concerns on Direction of State, Country. “The Commonwealth Foundation released its quarterly ‘Common Ground in the Commonwealth’ survey of 800 registered voters in the Keystone State on Tuesday and found that Pennsylvania voter sentiment has not changed much over the last three months.” (PoliticsPA)

Voices of Reason S1E7 at the Capitol Rotunda. “The PoliticsPA podcast, “Voices of Reason,” went on the road to the State Capitol Rotunda for a jam-packed episode.” (PoliticsPA)

Campaign Finance Bill Passes PA House, Takes On Citizens United Contradiction. “A bill banning corporations with foreign influence from political spending in Pennsylvania is headed to the Senate.” (WITF)

PA Senate Confirms Bogen For Health Secretary. “The Pennsylvania State Senate confirmed Governor Josh Shapiro’s nomination of Dr. Debra L. Bogen as Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday.” (PoliticsPA)

Bill Taking PA Same-Sex Marriage Ban Off The Books Clears State House. “A bill that would repeal Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban passed the state House of Representatives Tuesday on a bipartisan vote, with proponents saying the change was necessary to protect marriage equality if federal case law was overturned.” (PennLive)

Around The Commonwealth

3. HD-117: Cabell Loses Appeal Over Write-In Votes; Still Trails Walsh By Three

“Rep. Mike Cabell lost his appeal to cumulate 22 write-in votes cast in the April 23 primary election in the 117th Legislative District on Tuesday.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the decision of the Court of Common Pleas of Luzerne County from May 15 that rejected Cabell’s appeal of its ruling.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

More Happy Hours Could Be Coming To Pennsylvania After Bill’s Passage In State Senate. “Known as House Bill 829, the bill would allow bars and restaurants in Pennsylvania to hold 24 hours of happy hours per week. Under the state’s current liquor laws, those establishments are limited to just 14 hours of happy hour time per week.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Allegheny County’s Financial Outlook Is Murky, Innamorato Says During Quarterly Address. “County executive focuses on housing, public safety, climate issues in discussing her first 6 months in office. ” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Philadelphia City Commissioners’ Office To Spend $1.4 Million To Combat Election Misinformation. “Wary of potential misinformation infecting the November election, the Philadelphia City Commissioners’ office plans to hire an outside marketing firm for $1.4 million to battle voter deception.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

York County Considering GPS-Monitoring Units For Its Elections Office, But Why?. “York County wants to see if GPS units would help its elections department, but exactly how the tracking devices could do that is unclear.” (York Dispatch)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• The Supreme Court Fails Again. (Rolling Stone)
• The Supreme Court Is Supremely Comfortable — In Trump’s Pocket. (Gene Collier)
• Democrats May Need the Courage of a Hugh Scott Moment. (Salena Zito)
• The Most Important Takeaway From Presidential Debates? It’s Time To End Them. (Harold Jackson)
• Our Democracy Is Much More Frail Than Biden. (Will Bunch)
• It’s Not Too Late to Replace Biden and Defeat Trump. (Gregory B. Craig)
• America Is Derived From The Consent Of The Governed. (Tribune-Review)
• Casey Vows to Vanquish GOP Voodoo. (Chris Kelly)
• We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident, 248 Years Later. (LNP)

1 Thing

5. Happy Birthday, Rubik’s Cube

“The Rubik’s Cube has been with us for 50 years.

Erno Rubik, a Hungarian architect, created the cube and solved it for the first time in July 1974, The New York Times writes in an appreciation for the classic puzzle.

🟥 🟨 🟦 By the numbers: The cube’s 26 pieces can be twisted into 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible positions, per the Times.

And every one of them can be solved in 20 moves or fewer.”

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