Welcome to a Tuesday. And here we go, Phillies.

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Erie | Sunny, 68
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Phillies | TUE vs. Atlanta (game 1, best of 5)

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Christopher Quinn.

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Top Story

1. Rep. Tony DeLuca Passes Away at 85

“State Rep. Anthony M. “Tony” DeLuca (D-Penn Hills), the senior member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, died on Sunday, Oct. 9 at home after a brief battle with lymphoma, a disease he twice previously beat. He was 85.

For 39 years DeLuca represented the 32nd Legislative District, comprised of Penn Hills, Verona, the majority of Plum Borough and now, in the most recent legislative redistricting, the Borough of Oakmont.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca , the Longest-Serving Member of PA House, Has Died After Lymphoma Fight. “DeLuca, 85, was fighting lymphoma, a disease he had previously defeated, when he died at his home in Penn Hills outside Pittsburgh.” (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

Anthony DeLuca, a Fixture of Allegheny County Politics, Dies at 85. “Anthony DeLuca, who served Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs in Pennsylvania’s House for nearly four decades and was the House’s longest-serving active member, has died from lymphoma. He was 85.” (WESA)

Governor

2. Mastriano’s Attacks on Jewish School Set Off Outcry

“Four years after the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue, believed to be the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history, Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, has rattled a diverse swath of the state’s Jewish community, alarming liberal Jews with his remarks and far-right associations, and giving pause to more conservative ones.

Some of those voters have recoiled from Mr. Mastriano’s opposition to abortion rights under any circumstance, or from his strident election denialism. But the race between Mr. Mastriano, a state senator, and his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro — a Jewish day school alum who features challah in his advertising and routinely borrows from Pirkei Avot, a collection of Jewish ethics — has also centered to an extraordinary degree on Mr. Shapiro’s religion.” (NY Times)

Related

Republicans Are Chasing Key Governorships. There’s One Big Thing Missing. “TV watchers in most battlegrounds are getting bombarded with political ads. But one key group of candidates is missing from the airwaves in many states: Republican gubernatorial hopefuls.” (POLITICO)

Are Election Deniers On The Ballot in PA? Yes. “The Washington Post reports that nearly 300 GOP incumbents and candidates have denied the outcome of the last presidential election – including 10 in Pennsylvania.” (PoliticsPA)

Maybe Not Every Free Thought Is a Good One. “Over the past week, Free Thinkers like Kanye West and Doug Mastriano were free-thinking their way into some very dark places.” (Esquire)

Billboards Touting Republican Supporting Shapiro For Governor Going Up Around Pittsburgh Area. “The Republican Accountability PAC — a group that exists in a network of messengers and activist organizations that sprouted after Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 — will go up with more than 30 billboards on Tuesday as part of its overall $2 million spend in Pennsylvania hitting Republican Doug Mastriano.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Senate

3. Fight For Black Voters Intensifies

“Black voters are at the center of an increasingly competitive battle in a race that could tilt control of the Senate, as Democrats try to harness outrage over the Supreme Court’s abortion decision and Republicans tap the national playbook to focus on crime in cities.

They are perhaps the Democratic Party’s most loyal supporters. About 9 in 10 Black voters nationally went for Joe Biden in 2020, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. In Pennsylvania, the support was similar, at 94%.” (AP)

Related

Senate Races Reach New Heights of Nastiness In Final Campaign Stretch. “The battle for the Senate majority is turning nasty, especially in the three battle ground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nevada, where candidates are facing a barrage of negative ads and social media attacks on their character and fitness for office.” (The Hill)

Key Senate Races Tighten With a Flood of GOP Ad Spending. “The field has moved slightly back in Republicans’ direction, in part, because of a natural tightening closer to November as the races come into focus for more people, but also because of a deluge of television advertising in key races supporting GOP candidates.” (NPR)

Fetterman’s I-95 Billboards Calling Oz a Cowboys Fan Are The Latest Barbs in a Senate Race That’s Hit Peak Absurdity. “Can we all take a minute to acknowledge how utterly insane the campaign ads have been in the U.S. Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz?” (PhillyVoice)

Democrats Put Spin On Local News. “Writers for a D.C.-based media operation run by prominent Democratic operatives are behind a sprawling network of seeming local media news outlets in battleground states such as Pennsylvania.” (PoliticsPA)

Around The Commonwealth

PA Senate Preview: South Central. “We continue our series on the Pennsylvania state Senate races with a look at the south central region. A reminder that only even-numbered Districts are up for election this season.” (PoliticsPA)

• SD 22: Flynn, Bassett Face Off in District. (Times-Tribune)
• HD 22: Siegel and Smith Go Head-to-Head In Debate. (Morning Call)
• HD 53: Malagari, Sodha Seeking House Seat. (Lansdale Reporter)
• HD 99: Democrat Wants Change in GOP-Dominated District (LNP | Lancaster Online)
• HD 127: Guzman Faces Off Against Gagliardo (Reading Eagle)
• HD 137: Emrick Faces Thomas In Northampton District That Has Shifted. (Morning Call)
• HD 160: Craig Williams Looks to Fend Off Challenger Cathy Spahr. (WHYY)
• HD 161: Candidates Lay Out Their Cases. (DelcoTimes)

The 5 Bellwethers of a GOP Wave Election. “Here are five of the most hotly contested congressional races that political insiders are watching closely to determine whether Democrats will beat expectations on Nov. 8, or whether a red wave could reemerge just before Election Day.” (Axios)

Centre County Officials Speak Out Against Proposed Constitutional Amendments. “A trio of bipartisan Centre County elected officials on Monday voiced their opposition to a bill in the Pennsylvania General Assembly that could put a series of divisive state constitutional amendments related to elections and abortion on the ballot next spring.” (StateCollege.com)

Opinion

• Pundits Should Drop Their Pretense About Political Omniscience. (Jennifer Rubin)
• With Herschel Walker, The Left Finally Found An Abortion It Opposes. (Christine Flowers)
• Herschel Walker and Abortion Hypocrisy. (Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman)
• Republicans Have a Lot to Fear in November. (Ramesh Ponnuru)
• In The Herschel Walker Scandal, Echoes of the Hypocrisy Among Some Anti-Abortion Candidates. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• This Is What Happens When Election Deniers Let Their Freak Flag Fly. (New York Times)