🥺 Just Another Manic Monday. Well, not really. Down to the final hours.

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🌤️ Pittsburgh | Partly Sunny, 70
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🌤️ Scranton | Partly Sunny, 60
🌤️ Philadelphia | Partly Sunny, 64

PA Sports
🏈 Penn State (7-1) | Ohio State 13-20 | Sat vs. Washington
🏈 Pitt (7-1) | SMU 25-48 | Sat vs. Virginia
🏈 Eagles (6-2) | Jacksonville 28-23 | Sun vs. Dallas
🏀 Sixers (1-4) | Memphis 107-124 | Mon vs. Phoenix
🏒 Penguins (5-7-1) | Montreal 3-1 | Tue vs. NY Islanders
🏒 Flyers (4-7-1) | Boston 0-3 | Tue vs. Carolina

👀 What We’re Seeing. PoliticsPA average of last 5 statewide polls.
President: Harris +1.2% | Senate: Casey +4.1%

🔉 What We’re Listening To. Talking Battleground PA on Washington Journal.

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Top Story

1. Trump Talks About Reporters Being Shot and Says He Shouldn’t Have Left White House After 2020 Loss

“In remarks Sunday that bore little resemblance to the speech he’s been delivering at his recent rallies, the former president repeatedly cast doubt on the integrity of the vote and resurrected old grievances after trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Donald Trump intensified his verbal attacks on what he cast as a “demonic” Democratic Party and the American media, steering his rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at one point to the topic of violence against members of the press.” (AP)

• Trump Misleads About Voter Fraud, Jokes About Press Being Shot at Lancaster Airport Rally. (LNP | Lancaster Online)

Elsewhere

Harris, Trump a Study in Vivid Contrasts in Campaign’s Grueling Final Days. “It was the final Sunday of the campaign for president, and Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump were continuing to race across battleground states in their search for support. But in message and demeanor, Ms. Harris, the Democrat, and Trump, the Republican, could not have been more different.” (New York Times)

An Unprecedented Election Nears Its Uncertain End in Battleground Pennsylvania. “An election year unlike any other is just days from culminating in a vote that will shape the country for a generation or more, and nowhere are the ballots more crucial than Pennsylvania.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Megaphones, TV Ads and Canvassers Running Into Each Other: How The Race In PA Is Barreling to a Close. “Voters in Pennsylvania are used to the spotlight during presidential elections. But this year, to many, the glare feels blinding.” (POLITICO)

Pennsylvania Voters Are Anxious and Wary — and Resolved: ‘Our Democracy Is At Stake.’ “For months, the 2024 presidential election has been a referendum on the starkly different directions in which the country might go, with Pennsylvania being the likely decider.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

State

2. Election 2024 Preview: U.S. Senate

“It is one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country as the majority hangs in the balance.

Three-time Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr. faces his most significant challenge from Republican Dave McCormick. The two campaigns have already spent north of $344 million on ads, touting their positives and attempting to point out their opponent’s negatives.” (PoliticsPA)

Elsewhere

‘Losing by Less’: Can Democrats Really Make Inroads in This Pennsylvania GOP Stronghold? “Trump is set to win traditionally conservative Lancaster County, an area essential to his path to victory in Pennsylvania. But the shift in population represents a much greater battle over the county’s identity and future.” (NOTUS)

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, Janelle Stelson Work Through Weekend For PA 10th District Voters. “Campaigning didn’t stop this weekend in one of the most interesting races on Pennsylvania’s political undercard.” (PennLive)

Reschenthaler, Dziados Running in 14th Congressional District. “A pair of military veterans who spent time in Iraq are competing to represent Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District in the next Congress.” (Johnstown Tribune-Democrat)

She Was the First PA State Senator to Give Birth While In Office. Now She Is Grieving a Pregnancy Loss. “Just days before voters go to the polls with abortion access a decisive issue for voters, State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, a Democrat, is coming forward about her family’s latest heartbreaking loss.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

New Challenges to PA Voters’ Mail Ballot Applications Target Overseas Voters. “Thousands of challenges have been filed in 14 counties, many by right-wing activists, trying to get ballots disqualified, falsely claiming Pennsylvanians living abroad aren’t eligible.” (Votebeat)

• A Simple Truth is at the Root of Many False Election Claims: Voter Rolls Are Imperfect. (WHYY)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Top 5 False or Misleading Claims Being Pushed Ahead of PA’s 2024 Election

“Since 2020, when former President Donald Trump and his allies spread conspiracy theories that the presidential election had been stolen, such falsehoods have become a prevalent feature of U.S. elections.

That’s especially true in swing states like Pennsylvania. And this year, with Trump on the ballot once again, disinformation, misconceptions, and simple confusion about the commonwealth’s election processes are once again circulating widely.” (Spotlight PA)

Elsewhere

Beyond the Lehigh Valley: The 13 Pennsylvania Counties That Could Decide The 2024 Presidential Election. “These counties display a clear, but unusual trend across the commonwealth. The News Lab refers to this as the “seesaw effect” to emphasize how the margins in voter registration have changed over the last eight years and could affect the results of the election.” (LehighValleyNews.com)

• What to Know About National, State Races, Issues in Erie County. (Erie Times-News)
• Luzerne County Finds Itself at the Center of An Election Denial Storm. (Washington Post)
• Congressional, Row Office Contests on Area Ballots Along With National Races. (Indiana Gazette)
• The Philly Area Has Played a Key Role In Delivering Pennsylvania. Here Are Trends to Watch For On Election Day. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• ‘The Fear is Gone’: Democrats Think They Can Make Inroads in Rural Pennsylvania. (NBC News)

This Pennsylvania County Built America, and May Decide the Next President. “Nestled in the heart of eastern Pennsylvania is one of two state counties that has been a bellwether in the last four presidential elections, and may decide who controls the White House next year.” (NTD)

Meet the Conservative Women Who Are Keeping Their Votes For Kamala Harris a Secret. “In political ads and campaign speeches, supporters of Vice President Harris have a message for Republican women: your vote is private, and no one will know if you secretly vote for Harris.” (NPR)

Democrats, Once Supreme in Pittsburgh Region, Now Overtaken by GOP. “The Southwestern Pennsylvania pendulum has shifted.” (Greensburg Tribune-Review)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Behind the Blue Wall: Trump’s Giveaways, Harris’ Balancing Act. (Jonathan Martin)
• If Trump Loses Pennsylvania, He’ll Have Nobody to Blame But Himself. (E.J. Dionne)
• 2024’s Biggest Gaffe? GOP Telling the Truth About What It Will Do to America. (Will Bunch)
• Democracy Works Better Than It Seems — Unless Leaders Don’t Leave. (Daniel Oppenheimer)
• One Young Voter Can Make the Difference This Election. (Aarushi Dedhiya)
• The Senate Stakes Can’t Get Much Higher. (Wall Street Journal)
• Anti-Trump Conservatives Should Consider the Past and the Future. (Kyle Sammin)
• What Republicans and Democrats Must Agree On. (Jim Gerlach and Tim Roemer)

1 Thing

5. Banking the Vote

“More than 75 million Americans have already cast their ballots as of the Sunday before Election Day.

Why it matters: That’s over 48% of the total number who voted in 2020 (154.6 million), indicating that early and mail-in voting has become increasingly popular methods to vote and become a new normal in American politics.” (Axios)

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