🏆 Congrats to the two newest members of the PA State House. Yes, there were two special elections yesterday.

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🌂 Meyersdale | Chance of rain, 66
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🌂 West Norriton | Chance of showers, 74

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⚾ Phillies (91-60) | Milwaukee 5-1 | Wed vs. Milwaukee
⚾ Pirates (71-80) | St. Louis 1-3 | Wed-Thu vs. St. Louis
⚽ Union (7-9-12) | Wed vs. NYC FC

🗓️ What’s Happening Today. The PA Senate convenes at 11 a.m.

👂 What We’re Hearing. “Bucks County is the most crucial county in the most important state this election cycle,” said Bonnie Chang, founder and chairperson of Turn Bucks Blue. “We’re using comedy to break through the noise and catch voters’ attention. We want everyone to know how easy and secure it is to vote by mail.”

🎂 Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Sen. Marty Flynn.

🗞️ You Asked for PA News. We Deliver. 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. Previewing the Casey-McCormick Race for U.S. Senate

“U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is widely considered a key to the ultra-slim Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.

As a swing-state incumbent, his efforts to secure a fourth term could be critical to his party’s control of the upper chamber. He’s facing, however, what may be his most difficult challenge to date.

The Republican nominee in this race is 58-year-old Army veteran and former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick, who enjoys Super PAC campaign support in addition to his substantial personal wealth.” (Erie Times-News)

Elsewhere

Senate Ad Watch: $130 Million of Ads Reserved in Keystone State. “With seven weeks remaining until the general election, the race for the U.S. Senate seat between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr. and Republican challenger Dave McCormick is heating up across the Commonwealth and on the airwaves.” (PoliticsPA)

Kamala Harris Says She Is ‘Working to Earn’ Votes of Black Men During Wide-Ranging NABJ Interview in Philly. “Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday in Philadelphia that she isn’t treating Black male voters as a monolith amid signs that former President Donald Trump has made inroads with the demographic.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Fact Check: Kamala Harris’ Jobs Remarks Lack Context. (FactCheck.org)

Trump to Appear With Poland’s President at Polish-American Shrine in Pennsylvania. “Sunday’s campaign stop with Andrzej Duda will be at a site revered by Polish-Americans, who represent about 5% of the state’s population.” (Wall Street Journal)

• Donald Trump Campaign Confirms Our Lady of Czestochowa Visit in Bucks County. (Bucks County Courier Times)
• Trump to Return to Western Pennsylvania With Rally Next Week. (WESA)
• Tim Walz to Visit Allentown In Campaign Rally This Weekend. (LehighValleyNews.com)

Voices of Reason, S1 E9: Reaction to Harris-Trump Debate. “As the dust settles, Pennsylvania reacts to the Trump-Harris debate. How might the debate affect either candidate’s chances of winning undecided voters in the Keystone State? We discussed this and more on this latest installment of Voices of Reason.” (PoliticsPA)

State

2. Pennsylvania Democrats Approach 2024 Election With Slimmest Voter Registration Advantage in Decades

“Despite a bump following Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race, Democrats in Pennsylvania are entering the home stretch of the 2024 election with their weakest voter registration advantage compared with Republicans in recent decades.

The party’s raw registration numbers began to rise after Biden dropped out in late July, and that trend is continuing. But simultaneously, the number of Republicans has increased even more quickly.” (Votebeat Pennsylvania)

Elsewhere

Here Is How Each Campaign Is Trying to Woo Crucial PA Voters. “With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is considered a must-win state. And with about seven weeks until the election, the Trump and Harris campaigns must scramble to get as many voters on their side as possible.” (WITF)

Harris, Carroll Win Special Elections. Keith Harris and Andre Carroll were the winners of special elections in the 195th and 201st Legislative Districts for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The wins restored the Democrats’ majority in the lower chamber, 102-101. (Philadelphia City Commissioners)

Canned Cocktail Sales ‘A Responsible Step,’ Shapiro Says; Legalizing Weed ‘Makes Sense’ Too. “After celebrating a new law making canned cocktails available in supermarkets and convenience stores, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday he believes that legalizing recreational use of cannabis makes sense from an economic perspective.” (Penn Capital-Star)

PA Senate Passes RGGI Repeal as State Energy Execs Complain About Permitting Delays. “Pennsylvania is a step closer to exiting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). A bill repealing the carbon tax portion of RGGI passed the state Senate by a 27 to 22 vote on Tuesday.” (DV Journal)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Pennsylvania Ballots Are Almost Ready. Here’s Why They Look Different This Year

“Voters in the key battleground of Pennsylvania may notice their ballots look different this year, as the state prepares to deploy a new design in the general election for the first time this year that aims to reduce the number of rejected votes.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt officially certified the state’s ballot for this fall’s presidential election Monday after the state Supreme Court upheld a ruling that rejected third-party candidate Cornel West’s effort to appear on it, which was the final outstanding legal issue for the ballot.

That cleared the way for counties to start preparing, printing and distributing mail ballots to those who request them.” (NBC News)

Elsewhere

Montco Is Getting An Early Start on Mail Voting For Nov. Election After Delays During the Primary. “After slow delivery of mail ballots during April’s primary election, Montgomery County is one of the first counties in Pennsylvania to print and mail ballots for November’s general election.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Allegheny County Expects Mail-In Ballots to Start Reaching Voters In 2 Weeks. (Greensburg Tribune-Review)

Group Encourages Bucks County Residents to ‘Vote Naked.’ We Uncover What’s Behind Campaign. “The campaign, developed by Blue Nation Strategies, includes a 15- and 30-second video that includes Bucks County residents in the buff as they remind voters to sign and date their mail ballots before returning them to the county’s Board of Elections offices by 8 p.m. on Election Day.” (Bucks County Courier Times)

Watch Wild-Mackenzie Debate in PA-07. “The candidates for the 7th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives participated in a debate held by Blue Ridge Cable last Sunday evening.” (PoliticsPA)

Living in the Center of the 2024 Political Hurricane. “I have the odd privilege and burden of happening to live in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Not only is this city in a swing state, but it’s in one of its swingiest regions. Barack Obama won Luzerne County by about five points in 2012, then Donald Trump won it by almost 20 points in 2016, and then Joe Biden narrowed that margin to about 14 points.” (The American Prospect)

Luzerne County Is Ground Zero in Pennsylvania’s Rightward Shift. “Luzerne County, where Wilkes Barre Township sits, has been forever a Democratic stronghold — Democrats running statewide always won here until 2016, but the signs of change that year were here for those who visited repeatedly.” (Washington Examiner)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• What If Harris and Trump Could Ignore Pennsylvania? (Matthew Yglesias)
• VP Harris’ Interview With the National Association of Black Journalists Was Subdued — A Sharp Contrast to the Crazy of Trump’s Session. (Jenice Armstrong)
• The Big PA Issue Candidates Won’t Talk About. (Will Bunch)
• The Constitution’s Answer to Billionaire Money in Politics. (Jeff Clements)
• The Constitution’s Answer to Failing Democracy. (Jonathan Skrmetti)
• Harris Makes the Most of Her Chances, While Trump Phones It In. (Clarence Page)
• Over 470 Pennsylvania School Districts Call On the General Assembly to Finish the Job On Cyber Charter Reform. (Lawrence A. Feinberg and Rob Gleason)
• ​​The U.S. Steel Merger Is Good For Workers, Good For Pennsylvania. (Kyle Sammin)
• Election Officials Focused on System Integrity. (Sharon Herald)
• How Can Millions of Voters Still Be Undecided Between Trump and Harris? Here Are Their Reasons. (Doyle McManus)

1 Thing

5. Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes Underscore Dividing Lines: Can Democrats and Republicans Be Friends?

“When Brittany Mahomes, the co-owner of a professional soccer team and the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, liked an Instagram post from former President Trump last month, a debate quickly picked up on social media about her game day-pal, Taylor Swift.

How could Swift — who had endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 — be friends with someone who backs Trump?” (The Hill)

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