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Top Story
1. Toomey Says Fetterman ‘Not Up to the Job’ As Senator
“Flanked by pictures of past Pennsylvania Senate debates, Mehmet Oz and Sen. Pat Toomey on Tuesday pressed Democratic nominee John Fetterman to commit to a debate, while questioning Fetterman’s ability to serve as a senator due to his health.
Fetterman has said he has lingering communication issues stemming from a May 13 stroke that he said nearly killed him. He spent most of the summer recovering and returned to the campaign trail four weeks ago.
Toomey, the retiring Republican senator, said that, based on what he’s seen of Fetterman’s recent public appearances, the Democrat’s communication struggles mean he could not be an effective senator.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Related
Sen. Pat Toomey Says If John Fetterman Is Too Sick to Debate, Then He’s Too Sick to be In The U.S. Senate. “That level of intense engagement and debate and discussion is absolutely fundamental to this job. If he’s not able to do that, then frankly, he’s not going to be able to be an effective senator, and Pennsylvania voters ought to know that,” Toomey told KDKA’s Jon Delano on Tuesday.” (KDKA)
- Oz and Toomey Call on Fetterman to Debate in PA Senate Race. (Associated Press)
- Dr. Oz Press Conference Exposes Rifts Among Republicans in Pennsylvania. (Newsweek)
Oz Backers Launch Ads Attacking Fetterman For Pulling Gun on Black Jogger in 2013. “During Pennsylvania’s Senate primary, Black Democrats worried that the GOP would target voters with ads about the time Democrat John Fetterman pulled a gun on a Black jogger he wrongly suspected of a crime. Now it’s on the air.” (NBC News)
- Gingrich Warns Pennsylvanians of Fetterman’s ‘Dangerous’ Politics Amid Philadelphia Crime Wave. (Fox News)
- Oz Says He Doesn’t Support Criminalizing Abortion For Patients, Doctors. (POLITICO)
Senate Republicans Point Fingers as Majority Hopes Slip. “Republicans are playing the blame game as they watch their chances of winning back control of the Senate shrink two months before Election Day.” (The Hill)
Want to Know Why Washington Is Broken? Look at the Senate Race in Pennsylvania. “It’s no secret that Americans don’t much like what’s happening in Washington right now. A full 41% of voters don’t think their representative deserves another term, Gallup found in July.” (TIME)
Governor
2. FiveThirtyEight: 10 Election Deniers On Pennsylvania Ballot This Fall
“FiveThirtyEight.com has compiled a list of those candidates who support former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
What did it find? There are a lot of election deniers on the ballot.” (PoliticsPA)
Related
Doug Mastriano’s Political Success Happened With a Little Luck, and a Big Pandemic. “Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor, is Exhibit A for how fate and timing can rocket-launch a political career.” (PennLive)
- Two Months Before Election, A Confident Mastriano Says He’s Putting Transition Team to Work. (PennLive)
Outcome of Race for Governor Will Shape Education Policies in PA. “Another issue, and one not exactly lost in the chaos of the election cycle, is the immediate future of public education in Pennsylvania. School choice, student outcomes, local control, content and curriculum and, of course, taxpayer funding are all among the concerns.” (Tribune-Democrat)
Harrisburg
3. State Lawmakers, Experts Discuss Deceptive Practices, Misinformation From Anti-Abortion Centers
“On Tuesday, Democratic state lawmakers heard from a panel of reproductive health activists and experts about the deceptive and misleading practices crisis pregnancy centers use to persuade pregnant individuals to carry a pregnancy to term.
State Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks), called the centers “a serious issue” in post-Roe Pennsylvania, adding that with very little state oversight, anti-abortion centers deprive women of the ability to make an informed decision about whether to keep or terminate a pregnancy.” (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
Related
Allentown City Council Delays Votes on Abortion Rights Ordinances. “The Allentown City Council has pulled four ordinances that would protect the right to abortion in Allentown from Wednesday’s agenda.” (PoliticsPA)
Around the Commonwealth
PA Democrat Uses Tried and True Playbook in Tough Race. “In a year when dozens of Democrats are facing potential losses in November, Cartwright is a model for how to win. His district not only supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, but Cartwright won it in 2016, 2018 and 2020 — the only Democratic lawmaker running this year who can make that claim. While other candidates in purple districts look to Cartwright as an example, he isn’t taking his past success for granted this year.” (Bloomberg)
Councilman Derek Green Resigns, Enters Race For Philly Mayor. “Councilmember Derek Green has become the second member of council to announce his resignation and a run for mayor of Philadelphia.” (WHYY)
Pitt Spent $750K On Lobbying For State Budget Fight – Nine Times Their Usual Amount. “The University of Pittsburgh faced a tough battle this year in Harrisburg for its annual appropriation, and lobbying disclosure reports now show just how tough it was. The school spent more than nine times its usual amount to finally get the state funds it normally receives, according to reports filed with the Department of State.” (WESA)
Candidates Vying to Replace State Sen. Patrick Browne Agree to Debate As Election Season Heats Up. “As election season moves into high gear, the two candidates seeking to replace longtime Lehigh County Sen. Pat Browne are expected to debate at least once and appear in the same venue on at least one other occasion.” (Morning Call)
- Debates Announced For 22nd and 134th House Races. (Armchair Lehigh Valley)
Lycoming County Ballot to Include Question of Keeping Electronic System. “Voters in Lycoming County will have the opportunity in November to decide whether to keep using an electronic system to tabulate votes.” (PennLive)
- Lancaster County Adds More Testing for Mail-In Ballots Ahead of Election. (LNP)
State House Boundaries Shift With The 2022 Election. “Unless they participated in this year’s May primary, voters in many areas of Crawford County will find in the upcoming November election that they’ll be casting ballots for a different state House of Representatives district than they did in the 2020 election.” (Meadville Tribune)
Commentary
- How Christian Nationalism Is Getting Written Out of the Story (Joyce Dalsheim, Gregory Starrett)
- Will PA Elect Soft-On-Crime Fetterman? (Tom Hogan)
- To Curb Student Debt, Reduce College Costs (Ryan Aument)
- Big Media to U.S. Democracy: Drop Dead (Will Bunch)
- How the Scourge of Originalism is Taking Over the Supreme Court (Edwin Cherminsky)
2 Responses
Toomey was not up to the job. Fetterman would be better.
I notice a State Senator has suggested curbing costs as a resolution to student debt. That is an observation been around a long time and misses the point. A cursory examination of costs which involves complications like the ongoing need to replace swiftly outdated technology for students, plant operations, salaries, healthcare and on and on. The real answer goes deeper. Promote technical Ed, highlight the value of less than two year programs for training after high school and use community colleges by providing. Tuition free Ed after high school so students could go to work or on to further college with no debt.