Good Wednesday morning. Abney, Covington, Schnee win special House elections. The pros and cons of private elections funding. Fetterman has a strong fundraising quarter. Here is the Playbook.

PA Weather
Coraopolis | Mostly Cloudy, 66
Camp Hill | Rain, then Mostly Cloudy, 59
Chester | Rain decreasing, 59

PA Sports
76ers | d. Indiana, 131-122; THU at Toronto
Flyers | lost to Columbus, 4-2; THU at Columbus
Penguins | lost to Colorado, 6-4; THU at NY Rangers

News

Abney, Covington, Schnee Win Special Elections: Democrats Aerion Abney and Martell Covington and Republican Robert Schnee won special House elections on Tuesday night.

PA 5th Senate: Shawn Dillon Withdraws; Younger Brother Fills Spot: Rules are not made to be broken after all. Shawn Dillon missed a step along the road required to be a candidate for the state senate. Now one Dillon’s campaign is done and another is beginning.

PA Senate Race: Oz, McCormick Top Dueling Internal Polls: No sooner does Mehmet Oz release an internal poll showing that he leads the chase for the GOP Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, then David McCormick turns one out from Honor Pennsylvania indicating that he, in fact, leads.

• Post-Gazette: John Fetterman has strong quarter, passes $15 million mark in amount raised in Pa. U.S. Senate race
• Bloomberg: The Bridgewater CEO Who Went Full MAGA
• York Daily Record: Why Democrat John Fetterman is campaigning in Republican counties.
• City & State PA: Endorsements in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race keep stacking up.

PA Governor Race: ‘Here’s how Charlie Gerow is standing out in the GOP race for governor’: The York Daily Record reports that “in a crowded GOP primary for Pennsylvania governor, Gerow thinks he has found a way to stand out without attacking the other competitors in his party.”

• Reading Eagle: Dave White brings campaign for governor to Berks
• WFMZ: Pa. gubernatorial candidate visits Schuylkill County

‘Pennsylvania court blocks governor’s carbon emissions plan’: The Associated Press reports that “a Pennsylvania court on Tuesday blocked the centerpiece of Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight climate change, the latest challenge to the Democrat’s effort to make Pennsylvania the first major fossil fuel state to adopt a carbon pricing policy.”

‘State, local officials at odds over banning private election grants’: City & State PA reports that “with one eye looking back at the 2020 presidential election and the other looking toward future contests, state and local officials sparred Tuesday over the motive behind private election grants received by counties in 2020 – and whether those grants were provided with an intent to influence the 2020 presidential election.”

‘Sen. Bob Casey ‘grateful’ for Ketanji Brown Jackson’s expected Supreme Court confirmation this week’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “Sen. Bob Casey said Tuesday that he was “grateful” for the opportunity to meet with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as she is poised to become the first Black woman to be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

‘After Mark Zuckerberg’s 2020 election grants, Pa. GOP aims to block all outside funding’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “following an influx of $25 million to Pennsylvania counties from a Mark Zuckerberg-funded nonprofit to help administer the 2020 election, GOP lawmakers are looking to ban outside funding in the state’s election.”

‘Bill uses auto repair shops to help identify drivers involved in hit-and-run crashes’: PennLive reports that “the bill, sponsored by Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, calls for the creation of an alert system to notify repair shops to be on the lookout for vehicles involved in a hit and run crash involving a serious injury or death within a certain time period after the incident occurred.”

‘Beaver County native elected president of PA AFL-CIO’: The Beaver County Times reports that “Beaver County native Frank Snyder has been elected as the next president of the PA AFL-CIO.”

‘Smucker eschews funds for district projects in federal spending bill’: LNP | LancasterOnline reports that “Pennsylvania’s 18 members of the U.S. House secured nearly $140 million for projects in their districts under the $1.5 trillion spending bill enacted last month. But none of that money is headed to Lancaster County or the southern portion of York County represented by Republican Lloyd Smucker.”

‘Lehigh County DA, lawmakers speak out after investigation finds some people dropped more than 1 ballot at drop boxes’: WFMZ reports that “Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin says investigators spent more than eight days watching video surveillance of Lehigh County’s drop boxes to determine if people had broken the law by dropping off more than just their own ballot.”

Legislative Election Updates

‘Abney, Covington cruise to easy victories in special election races’: WESA reports that “two special elections for state House took place in Pittsburgh yesterday. Tuesday’s results will send two new faces — those of Martell Covington and Aerion Abney — to Harrisburg. There they will represent two majority-Black districts: the 24th, vacated by Ed Gainey after he became mayor, and the 19th, left by Jake Wheatley when he became Gainey’s chief of staff.”

‘Luzerne County Councilman Schnee declares victory in 116th state rep race’: The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reports that “Luzerne County Councilman Robert Schnee declared his victory Tuesday night in the special election for state representative in the 116th Legislative District, which means his council seat will become vacant.”

‘Rep. Peter Schweyer challenges nomination petitions filed by Enid Santiago ahead of Democratic primary for Lehigh House seat’: The Allentown Morning Call reports that “in a reboot of a political battle waged two years ago between the same two candidates, Rep. Peter Schweyer has filed a court challenge to nomination petitions filed by Enid Santiago ahead of the May 17 primary election for the 134th House District seat.”

‘Objections filed against Republican candidate questions Centre County residency’: The Centre Daily Times reports that “an objection filed Monday by Kathryn Jeziorski, of State College, states Justin Behrens, a Republican running for the newly created House District 82, has not lived in the district long enough to run for office.” 

Regional Spotlight: Southwest
Beaver County Times: Beaver County May 2022 primary election preview
WESA: A move to expand affordable housing in Pittsburgh is almost sure to advance 
WESA: Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg residents push back against annexation at public hearing
WESA: Health department signs off on plans to avoid the worst air pollution days in the Mon Valley
Post-Gazette: Recent spate of Pittsburgh homicides has Mayor Ed Gainey raising alarm
Post-Gazette: At another anti-violence rally amid spike in Pittsburgh, advocates call on Harrisburg for funding and gun laws 
Post-Gazette: Possible ban on plastic bags in Pittsburgh up for City Council discussion 
Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Council, just days after rejecting Fitzgerald nominees, seeks more input on county hires, budget
Post-Gazette: Doyle, Kelly welcome Pennsylvanians back to the U.S. Capitol for limited reopening  
Post-Gazette: Only one of two proposed hyperloop systems involving Pittsburgh remains in active development
Post-Gazette: On Transgender Day of Visibility, celebration paired with caution at Pittsburgh rally as anti-trans legislation gains support
Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh public health advocates attend White House ceremony on Affordable Care Act
Tribune Review: Pittsburgh region’s economy remains slow to recover from pandemic downturn
Pittsburgh Business Times: Unemployment rate almost at prepandemic level, PNC expects it to limbo even lower
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Homer City power plant will remain at full operation
KDKA: Elected Officials And Advocates Discuss Furthering Fair Housing Initiatives
KDKA: Civil Lawsuit Filed Against City Of Pittsburgh Over Death Of Jim Rogers
City Paper: Let’s not! McCormick’s “Let’s Go, Brandon” Super Bowl appearance 
City Paper: Local HIV advocates celebrate Biden’s move to expand PrEP access
Observer-Reporter: PennDOT benefits from infrastructure bill as construction projects go forward
Altoona Mirror: GOP women to meet
Altoona Mirror: Trans sports bill part of national surge
Tribune Review: 2022 Allegheny County homicide victims
Post-Gazette: Penn Hills considers dropping Indians nickname, will host town hall on issue
Post-Gazette: Former reporter withdraws discrimination suit against Post-Gazette
Post-Gazette: Capitol rioter from Westmoreland who boasted ‘I’d do it again, fight me’ gets probation, house arrest

Opinion  
Dan Frankel: Republicans are waging war against an imaginary problem, but real trans children will be hurt 
Joanne Kilgour: Hydrogen hubs are not good for Pennsylvania 
Victoria E. Elliott and Rick Seipp: Without action, Pennsylvanians could lose access to pharmacy vaccination care
Tom Hogan: Prosecutor Wanted – No Experience Necessary in Pennsylvania?
John L. Micek: Report: Stigma against people living with addiction entrenched in Pa. | Tuesday Morning Coffee
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: U.S. banks are shirking responsibility for Russian money laundering
LNP | LancasterOnline Editorial Board: Hate groups are not good for business in Lancaster County. Let’s make it clear that their presence isn’t welcome here.  
LNP | LancasterOnline Editorial Board: Manheim Township commissioners are oddly reluctant to weigh in on proposed Oregon Village development
Gene Collier: Wake me when you’re sure what ‘woke’ means
Michael Coard: Happy 107th birthday Cecil B. Moore: The perfect role model for Black attorneys 
Jenice Armstrong: Advice for Philly’s new superintendent: Don’t underestimate our students 
Paul Muschick: When tragedy strikes, the Lehigh Valley responds. The Hellertown fire is the latest example
Lydia Kulina-Washburn: ‘Abbott Elementary’ should shine more light on the real challenges facing Philly’s schools 
Alexa Klepper: World Cup and other mega events hurt the planet
Abraham Gutman: Stigma failed Kurt Cobain nearly 30 years ago and continues to fail people in addiction now 
Trudy Rubin: My Ukrainian translator survived the Russian military’s Mariupol hell