😁 Good Monday Morning. The General Assembly is back. LFG!

PA Weather
☀️Pittsburgh | Sunny, 58
☀️Harrisburg | Sunny, 56
☀️Philadelphia | Sunny, 51

PA Sports
🏈 Penn State (8-2) | Michigan 15-24 | Sat vs. Rutgers
🏈 Pitt (2-8) | Syracuse 13-28 | Thu vs. Boston College
🏈 Temple (3-7) | South Florida 23-27 | Sat vs. UAB
🏈 Steelers (6-3) | Green Bay 23-19 | Sun vs. Cleveland
🏀 Sixers (8-1) | Indiana 137-126 | Tue vs. Indiana
🏒 Penguins (7-6-0) | Buffalo 4-0 | Tue vs. Columbus
🏒 Flyers (7-7-1) | Los Angeles 4-2 | Wed vs. Carolina

What We’re Hearing
“In the state that’s the most consequential state in the country, the state that will decide the presidency, the state where the country was born, the state that’s the fifth largest economy in the country, you have the most inconsequential senator in Bob Casey.” – Dave McCormick

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Ryan Bizzarro.

Start Your Day Smart
Subscribe to the PoliticsPA Playbook. It’s free and gives you all today’s PA political headlines in an easy-to-read format. All by 8 AM.

Top Story

1. Manchin’s Retirement Makes PA Senate Race Even Bigger

“Mere hours after Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced his retirement, Sen. Bob Casey’s campaign emailed supporters

“Re-electing Bob Casey has never been more important,” the campaign wrote, calling it “mission-critical.”

Democrats can lose just one net seat next fall and still keep their Senate majority if President Joe Biden is re-elected. With Manchin, a centrist and local household name, not on the ballot next year, that seat is virtually assured to be in Republican in West Virginia, whose voters backed Donald Trump by almost 40 percentage points in 2020..” (TNS)

Related

In Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick Takes on ‘The Most Inconsequential Senator’. “In three Senate races, Bob Casey, who has a vaunted name in the state thanks to his father’s two-term governorship, has never had a competitive race. McCormick hopes to give him one.” (Washington Free Beacon)

Trump’s Plans If He Returns To The White House Include Deportation Raids, Tariffs And Mass Firings. “His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden’s proposals. If implemented, Mr. Trump’s plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term.” (AP)

Democrats’ Strong Election Night Will Likely Shield Ballot Access in Pennsylvania. “The next presidential election may still be a year away, but voters in the nation’s biggest swing state just selected the public officials who will be in charge of running it.” (Bolts)

Crunching The Numbers: Comparing The PA Supreme Court Elections Of 2023 and 2021. “Increased voter turnout, gains made in the densely populated Philadelphia suburbs, Lehigh Valley, and sections of south-central Pennsylvania helped propel McCaffery to victory.” (Penn Capital-Star)

State

2. Democrats Pulled Off Decisive Victories Across PA And The Lehigh Valley Tuesday. Can They Do It Again In 2024?

“For the second year in a row, Democrats in Pennsylvania beat popular expectations and won several decisive victories in 2023 local and statewide elections.

The question is, can Democrats replicate their success in the Pennsylvania presidential, senate and congressional elections in 2024?” (Allentown Morning Call)

Related

As Partisan Tensions Thaw, PA Lawmakers Eye Unfunded Housing, School Priorities. “Pennsylvania lawmakers are signaling a willingness to move legislation after a year that’s seen a prolonged dispute over spending and few bills cross the finish line.” (Spotlight PA)

SD-29: Candidate Announces Primary Bid To Challenge Longtime Schuylkill County Lawmaker. “A former AT&T store manager is announcing his intention to challenge incumbent lawmaker David Argall for the Republican nomination for the 29th state senatorial district seat in next spring’s primary.” (PennLive)

Is A Tuition Freeze Coming To Big PA Colleges? Senate To Review Education Spending Hikes. “Measures to freeze tuition, increase transparency and unleash annual funding to state-related universities are at the Pennsylvania Senate’s doorstep.” (PA Pressroom)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Innamorato’s Close Victory Showed The Complexities Of Allegheny County Party Politics

“There were about 30 minutes of uncertainty during Sara Innamorato’s election night gathering.

The Associated Press called the Allegheny County executive race for the progressive Democrat just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, but an announcement was not immediately made to the crowd of more than 200 supporters at Mr. Small’s Theatre in Millvale.” (Tribune-Review)

Related

Engaged Allegheny County Voters Delivered A Nuanced Verdict — With 2024 Warning Signs For Both Parties. “Voters proved willing to set aside party loyalty to stay true to deeply held beliefs.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Allegheny And Philadelphia Counties Spurred Higher-Than-Usual Turnout For An Off-Year Election. “One issue motivating voters that wasn’t as urgent in 2021 as it was this year? Abortion.” (Penn Capital-Star)

Meet The Staffers Who Ran Cherelle Parker’s Historic Campaign And Will Lead Her Mayoral Administration. “Together, Aren Harris and Sinceré Platt were the architects of a campaign that culminated in Parker’s history-making victory last week. And come January, they will be two of the most important officials in the administration of Philadelphia’s first female mayor.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

This PA School Board Made News For Banning Books. Voters Flipped It To Majority Democrat. “Meghan Budden’s family was considering moving if their Pennsylvania school district didn’t change course.” (WHYY)

In Lehigh Valley School Board Races, Voters Choose Moderates Over ‘Culture War’ Politics. “Democratic tickets swept local school board elections in some of the most hotly contested district races, including East Penn, Parkland and Southern Lehigh, where cultural issues were debated by community members, if not directly by all candidates themselves.” (Allentown Morning Call)

Democrats Have Widened Their Majority On Erie County Council. What Will This Mean In 2024? “Erie County Democrats say the verdict from Tuesday’s municipal election, which will give them a commanding 5-2 majority on Erie County Council, was clear: Voters want accountability.” (Erie-Times-News)

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

• Here’s How Biden Can Turn It Around. (Jonathan Martin)
• The Philly GOP Is Dead. Long Live The Philly GOP. (Kyle Sammin)
• The In­namor­ato-Zap­pala voter. (Adriana E. Ramírez)
• Time For The Establishment To Strike Back (If It Dares). (Brandon McGinley)
• Pittsburgh Voters Stop a Soros-Backed Prosecutor Candidate. (Maggie Hroncich)
• Hey, Joe Manchin! There’s No ‘Middle’ In A Right-Wing GOP. (E.J. Dionne Jr.)
• Overwhelmed? Confused? Here’s What To Make Of All Those Presidential Polls. (Mark Z. Barabak)
• Tuesday’s Results Show How Electorate Can Change Over Time. (Washington Observer-Reporter)

1 Thing

5. Move Over Thanksgiving, Christmas Music Is Here

“Face it: Once the last kid leaves your porch with Halloween candy, it’s Christmas season.

Oh, you can try to cover yourself in all things Thanksgiving until after turkey day. But we all know the truth. And streaming music stations know it too.

They’re already playing it.” (Tribune-Review)

Thanks for starting your morning with us.
Please invite your friends
to subscribe to the PoliticsPA Playbook