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PA Weather
🌤️ Greensburg | Becoming Mostly Sunny, 33
☀️ Bellefonte | Sunny, 30
🌤️ Media | Mostly Sunny, 35

PA Sports
🏈 Steelers (10-3) | Sun vs. Philadelphia
🏈 Eagles (11-2) | Sun vs. Pittsburgh
🏀 Sixers (7-15) | Fri vs. Indiana
🏒  Flyers (14-12-4) | Detroit 4-1 | Sat vs. Minnesota
🏒  Penguins (13-14-4) | Montreal 9-2 | Sat vs. Ottawa

🔊 What We’re Hearing. PA GOP chair Lawrence Tabas will not seek another term. State Sen. Greg Rothman has received the backing of Sen.-elect Dave McCormick for the state chair position.

📱 Social Media. PoliticsPA has a number of social media outlets for you to get the latest political news from around the Commonwealth: Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook | LinkedIn

Top Story

1. O’Connor’s Mayoral Campaign Against Gainey Is A Referendum on Pittsburgh’s Progressive Movement

“Pittsburgh’s mayoral race had to start some time, obviously, but a lot of Democrats wouldn’t have minded putting it off a little longer.

“I’m dreading next year,” is how one party activist put it to me when it became clear Allegheny County Controller Corey O’Connor would challenge Mayor Ed Gainey next year.

Democrats across the country are still nursing their wounds after Donald Trump’s presidential election win, after all. And the potential for division in next year’s mayoral contest seems especially high.” (WESA Politics)

Elsewhere

Fun With Maps: The Trump-McCormick Path to Victory in Pennsylvania. “Just how did Donald Trump and David McCormick pull it off in Pennsylvania? Strategists and pundits will offer their critiques, while we will offer you the raw numbers from each of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties.” (PoliticsPA)

Pennsylvania Claims Three of U.S. House’s Closest 10 Races in 2024. “According to data compiled by Jacob Rubashkin of Inside Elections, “control of the U.S. House of Representatives ultimately came down to a group of voters smaller than the crowd at a Texas high school football game. And by at least one metric, 2024 was the closest race for control of the House in recent history.”” (PoliticsPA)

State

2. Shapiro Wasn’t On Ballot This Year, But Still Spent Millions Campaigning. Here’s Where the Money Went

“His name wasn’t on the ballot in 2024, but Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro still spent more than $5.5 million campaigning this year. Much of that money, however, didn’t go directly to the Democrats up for election in the commonwealth.

A review of Shapiro’s campaign finance reports for the year shows that he spent almost $1.3 million on pricey consultants, and almost $1 million on a combination of private airfare, hotels, and event planning in 13 states, including Pennsylvania, alongside smaller expenditures on new cameras and online clothing retailers.” (Spotlight PA)

Elsewhere

Commutations a Political Risk, Rarity in Pennsylvania. “In the 1970’s, Governor Milton Shapp commuted 251 life sentences. In the decades since, those numbers have declined dramatically. Critics insist it’s not because more bad people are serving more time. They blame a bad process.” (abc27)

• Under Shapiro, Half of Clemency Recommendations Remain Unsigned. (WPSU)

PA PUC Freezes Winter Utility Shutoffs, Maintains Protections Soon Expiring From State Law. “The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission maintained protections that lawmakers allowed to lapse, adopting a policy statement that will prevent residential service terminations this winter for low-income customers.” (New Castle News)

New Kids In Town

• State Rep.-elect Sean Dougherty Wants to Help Philly Police and Make the 172nd House District Safer. (Penn Capital-Star)
• Lancaster County State Rep.-elect Nikki Rivera Says She’ll Focus on Education Funding. (Penn Capital-Star)
• State Rep.-elect Chad Reichard Says Businesses in His District Need Help to Train Skilled Workers. (Penn Capital-Star)

Shoff Named Commonwealth’s State Archivist. “Executive Director Andrea Lowery of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission announced the appointment of David Shoff as State Archivist and Director of the Pennsylvania State Archives.” (PoliticsPA)

Around The Commonwealth

3. ‘We Don’t Have Much Time’: Elected Leaders Concerned About Fate of CHS Hospitals in NEPA

“It’s a tale of two cities, three hospitals, and an uncertain future.

Community Health Systems’ failure to sell off its Commonwealth Health facilities in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre has elected leaders working furiously to ensure the for-profit company doesn’t opt to close the hospitals instead.” (WVIA)

Elsewhere

‘Alarm Bell’: Delaware County GOP Chairman Pans County Budget, Tax Hike. “The Delaware County Republican chairman had a few words — none too good — about the county budget with its 23% tax increase at Wednesday’s council meeting.” (Delaware County Times)

Council Committee Votes to Advance Sixers Arena Plan With $60M Amended Community Benefits Agreement. “Philadelphia’s City Council advanced legislation for the proposed new arena for the 76ers out of the Committee of the Whole Thursday morning. The 12-4 vote passed eight bills with favorable legislation for the proposed arena.” (Philadelphia Tribune)

Biden Commutes Sentence For Kids-for-Cash Judge. “Former Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan, who gained notoriety for wrongfully imprisoning juveniles in the Kids-for-Cash scandal, is one of nearly 1,500 inmates whose sentences President Joe Biden commuted Thursday as his term in office comes to a close.” (Scranton Times-Tribune)

Dauphin County Agency Yanks Contracts From Political Consultant After Controversies. “The Dauphin County Redevelopment Authority’s board unanimously voted Thursday to end its contracts with Mike Musser II, a well-connected political consultant who recently came under fire for having a series of questionable contracts with county agencies.” (PennLive)

Lancaster County GOP Commissioners Muzzle Budget Director at Public Meeting. “Lancaster County’s two Republican commissioners blocked the county’s budget director from answering questions about the 2025 budget during and after a public meeting Thursday, the day after commissioners approved the budget in a split 2-1 vote.” (LNP | Lancaster Online)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• The Sixers Arena Deal Clears a Major Hurdle, and a Failure of Leadership In City Hall Comes Into Sharper Focus. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Rural Health Care Can’t Rely on the Goodwill of Conglomerates. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Republicans Can Save Women’s Sports. (Gerald Posner)
• Bad News, Democrats: America Is About to Get Even Redder. (Binyamin Appelbaum and Adam Westbrook)
• The Other Side of the Birthright Citizenship Debate. (Howard Lurie)

1 Football Thing

5. Pennsylvania’s Game

“Sunday’s intoxicating pairing of Pennsylvania’s two division-leading NFL teams, the 10-3 Steelers and 11-2 Eagles, is more than a matchup of two of the league’s best teams and most ardent fan bases. It’s also a reminder of football’s historic grip on this commonwealth.

There are other football-mad states — think Ohio, Alabama, and especially Texas — but for a century or so none could match Pennsylvania’s gridiron legacy, its roster of native superstars, the depth of its high school talent, the passion of its supporters.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

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