10/28: Who Will Decide PA?

☀️ Happy Monday. The final full week of campaigning. The deadline for requesting a mail ballot is Tuesday at 5 PM.

PA Weather
🌤️Pittsburgh | Mostly Sunny, 67
🌤️Harrisburg | Mostly Sunny, 64
☀️Philadelphia | Sunny, 63

PA Sports
🏈 Penn State (7-0) | Wisconsin 28-13 | Sat vs. Ohio State
🏈 Pitt (7-0) | Sat vs. SMU
🏈 Temple (2-6) | East Carolina 34-56 | Nov. 9 vs. Tulane
🏈 Eagles (5-2) | Cincinnati 37-17 | Sun vs. Jacksonville
🏈 Steelers (5-2) | Mon vs. NY Giants
🏀 Sixers (1-2) | Toronto 107-115 | Indiana 118-114 | Wed vs. Detroit
🏒 Penguins (3-6-1) | Edmonton 0-4 | Vancouver 3-4 | Tue vs. Minnesota
🏒 Flyers (2-6-1) | Minnesota 7-5 | Montreal 3-4 | Tue vs. Boston

👂 What We’re Hearing. “President Trump helps me because he helps turn out the vote, and I’m very much in favor of his policy agenda, for the most part. But I’ve got to run my own campaign.” – Dave McCormick

🗞️ Political News From THE Swing State. 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. How Latino Voters in Allentown and Reading Will Decide PA

Latino voters in Pennsylvania: Harris and Trump campaigns fight for crucial group | CNN Politics

“As the 2024 presidential election draws near, Latino voters will play an oversize role in picking the next person to move into the White House. The group has become the largest minority and fastest-growing group of voters in the country.

That’s crystal clear in Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties, which have seen their Latino population boom over the last several decades.

And with the Keystone State set to play a pivotal race in the election, those few thousand votes could decide the future of the United States.” (Allentown Morning Call/Reading Eagle)

Elsewhere

Philadelphia Inquirer Endorses Harris For President. “The Commonwealth’s largest newspaper by circulation has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.” (PoliticsPA)

 

Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen to Rally in Philly on Monday. “Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be in attendance at the rally and concert, which is being held at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in North Philly.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Trump’s Madison Square Garden Event Turns Into a Rally With Crude and Racist Insults. “With just over a week before Election Day, speakers labeled Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” called Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris “the devil,” and said the woman vying to become the first woman and Black woman president had begun her career as a prostitute.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

  • Donald Trump Rallies Thousands of Voters in State College, Speaks in Support of Fracking. (WPSU)

 

State

2. McCormick Looks Beyond Trump Base As PA Race Tightens

David McCormick

“For the next week, the eyes of the world are on Pennsylvania. Its voters have an enormous amount of power this year.

In all likelihood, they’ll determine who wins the presidency. And if that weren’t enough, the outcome of the Senate race here could very well be the difference between an underperformance or a big night for Senate Republicans.

No pressure, Dave McCormick!” (Punchbowl News)

Elsewhere

Fracking In Pennsylvania—The Truth Behind the Politics. “Why is fracking a key? A big majority of oil and gas wells are fracked, and gas wells in Pennsylvania are no exception. If wells aren’t fracked, they don’t make enough gas production to be commercially profitable. If fracking were banned, gas wells would not be drilled in Pa.” (Forbes)

Pennsylvania Democrats Press to Narrow the Gap in the Keystone State’s Rural Trump Country. “Support in deep red counties will likely make or break Kamala Harris’ chances of carrying the state’s 19 electoral votes.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

PA-06: Houlahan, Young Debate Economy, Abortion, Foreign Policy. “U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester/Berks) and Republican challenger Neil Young debated Wednesday. Reading NAACP President Stacy Taylor moderated the discussion on Berks Community TV.  The two candidates discussed war, inflation, immigration, the border, and tax policy.” (DV Journal)

Ralph Reed’s Operation Quietly Looks to Fill the Turnout Gaps in Pennsylvania. “Republicans have been hand-wringing about Donald Trump’s ground game operation. Often left out of those discussions? Ralph Reed’s Faith & Freedom Coalition, which is busy running a $62 million ground game operation.” (Semafor)

 

 

Around The Commonwealth

3. In ‘Swingiest’ Pennsylvania County, Democrats Rely on Anti-Trump Fervor

Doylestown, Chalfont & Warrington

“Here in lower Bucks County, this working-class township’s voters are largely motivated by their feelings about Donald Trump.

Over several hours of knocking on doors in this narrowly divided neighborhood in Bucks County, no other policy issue broke through other than whether the ex-president deserved another term in the Oval Office.” (Washington Post)

Elsewhere

Lancaster Board of Elections Says Suspected Fraudulent Voter Registration Forms Dropped at Offices. “At a Friday news conference, Lancaster County commissioners Josh Parsons, Ray D’Agostino, and Alice Yoder reported that fraudulent voter registration forms were found in a batch of nearly 2,500 that were turned into the county’s election office in the closing days of the registration period.” (PoliticsPA)

  • Lancaster County DA, Commissioners Link Fraudulent Voter Registrations to Paid Canvassing. (LNP | Lancaster Online)
  • York County Investigates Drop-Off of Thousands of Voter Registration Forms as Election Nears. (York Dispatch)

 

Confusion Over Mail Ballots at Bucks County Election Office Leads to Long Lines, Frustrated Voters. “A new fight in the ongoing battle over voting in Bucks County erupted Saturday, after elections officials cut off the line of people at the main county election office who were still waiting to cast their mail ballots in person.” (Penn Capital-Star)

Pennsylvania Voters Are Complicated. We Drove Around the State to Talk to Them. “The Pennsylvanians we met reflect a divided electorate. Some are voting for Harris, inspired by her vision that they say represents stability for them and because they want to see a woman as president. Others are voting for Trump because they believe in his economic policies and promises. And a few weren’t so sure about either candidate.” (WQLN)

‘It’s Almost Like Sign Warfare’: In a Heated Presidential Race, Political Lawn Signs Are a Flash Point in Philadelphia’s Collar Counties. “Democratic and Republican organizers are reporting upticks in campaign sign theft and vandalism as a dumping ground for Harris-Walz signs turns up in Montgomery County.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

 

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

 

1 Thing

5. Swing-State Priest Teaches Ancient Techniques For Surviving Today’s Political Turmoil

From Father David Peck - Saint James Episcopal Church

“The Rev. David Peck knows first-hand how divided communities wracked by violence can be gutted by that repeated devastation.

In his previous work as an Anglican church representative for international development, Peck saw on his trips to Africa how religious groups could be part of the problem — but also part of the solution.

Now, Peck is a pastor in the heartland of Pennsylvania — a state that is the epicenter of a bitterly contested presidential campaign that has stoked deep anxiety, conflicts among families and friends, even fears of election-related violence.” (AP)

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  • Will tonight's U.S. Senate debate affect your decision?


    • No. I've already decided on how to cast my vote. (81%)
    • Yes. Anxious to hear from both candidates (19%)

    Total Voters: 27

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