🦃  Happy Thanksgiving. We’re off for the rest of the week to enjoy the holiday with family. Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday and we’ll see you Monday.

🗞️   The PoliticsPA Playbook is written by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free.

PA Weather
☁️ Pittsburgh | Mostly Cloudy, 47
☁️ Huntingdon | Mostly Cloudy, 49
🌤️ Lancaster | Partly Sunny, 51

PA Sports
🏈 Steelers (8-3) | Sun vs. Cincinnati
🏈 Eagles (9-2) | Sun vs. Baltimore
🏈 Penn State (10-1) | Sat vs. Maryland
🏈 Pitt (7-4) | Sat vs. Boston College
🏈 Temple (3-8) | Sat vs. North Texas
🏀 Sixers (3-13) | Wed vs. Houston | Sat vs. Detroit
🏒 Flyers (9-10-3) | Wed vs. Nashville | Fri vs. NY Rangers | Sat vs. St. Louis
🏒 Penguins (7-12-4) | Wed vs. Vancouver | Fri vs. Boston | Sat vs. Calgary

🎂  Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Reps. Tim O’Neal and Rob Mercuri (Thurs.), Sen. Tracy Pennycuick and Rep. Jonathan Fritz (Sat.), and Sen. Nick Miller (Sun.).

📱  Find Us On Blue Sky. PoliticsPA has joined Blue Sky as another option for your social media. Come join us at politicspa.bluesky.social. You can also find us on Twitter @PoliticsPA

Top Story

1. Democrats in Pennsylvania Had a Horrible 2024 Election. They Say It’s Still a Swing State

“The drubbing Democrats took in Pennsylvania in this year’s election has prompted predictable vows to rebound, but it has also sowed doubts about whether Pennsylvania might be leaving the ranks of up-for-grabs swing states for a right-leaning existence more like Ohio’s.

The introspection over voters’ rejection of Democrats comes amid growing speculation about Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a contender for the party’s 2028 presidential nomination.

Some Pennsylvania Democrats say 2024’s losses are, at least in part, attributable to voters motivated specifically by President-elect Donald Trump. Many of those voters won’t show up if Trump isn’t on the ballot, the theory goes, leaving Pennsylvania’s status as the ultimate swing state intact.” (AP)

Elsewhere

Why PA Voters, Labor Leaders, And Academics Think Democrats Lost, And How They Think They Can Win Next Time. “Many responses conflict with one another, but all offer insight into a party grappling with its new reality.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

How Trump Voters Learned To Love, and Turn Out, the Mail-In Ballot. “In the spring, James Blair, political director for the Trump campaign, called a meeting in West Palm Beach. All he had to do, the reason he gathered the most loyal MAGA captains of the biggest grassroots armies around a conference table inside Trump campaign headquarters last April, was convince them to accept a little heresy. The political director had to teach them to love the mail-in ballot.” (RealClearWire)

Bob Casey Talks Loss to Dave McCormick at a West Philly School In One of His First Interviews Since Conceding the Race. “In one of his first interviews since conceding, he blamed his Senate loss on the infusion of super PAC money supporting McCormick and described President-elect Donald Trump’s strength in Pennsylvania as powerful.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

PA State House Member and ER Doctor Arvind Venkat Urges ‘No’ Vote on RFK Jr. “An Allegheny County state House member says appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human services would be harmful to Americans. State Rep. Arvind Venkat (D-North Hills) is calling on United States Sen. John Fetterman and Senator-elect Dave McCormick to oppose Kennedy’s nomination.” (WESA)

State

2. Will Harrisburg Be Able to Fix SEPTA’s Financial Crisis?

“State lawmakers will spend the next several months deal-making to help SEPTA avoid a fiscal crisis, including major rate increases, temporarily stalled by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s efforts, for nearly 800,000 residents who use public transportation on a daily basis in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.

Who is to blame for SEPTA’s funding crisis and why lawmakers couldn’t come together sooner to reach a solution is an ongoing disagreement among top legislative leaders in the GOP-controlled Senate and narrow Democratic majority in the state House, with disagreement from each party on how to move forward.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Elsewhere

Mass Transit’s Mass State Funding. “State government covers more than half of operational costs for mass transit systems in Pennsylvania’s largest cities.” (The Center Square)

That’s A Wrap: City & State’s Legislative Session Review. “A look at what Pennsylvania lawmakers did – and didn’t – accomplish during the last legislative session.” (City & State)

PA Health Insurance Overseer Warns of Big Cost Spike If Subsidies Aren’t Renewed. “Just as Pennsylvania has started to make rapid progress on reducing the number of families without health insurance, political wrangling in Washington is threatening to pull the rug out from under the effort.” (PennLive)

64 of 67 Counties Have Certified Election. “Sixty-four of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties have officially certified the 2024 presidential election, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State. Allegheny, Fayette and McKean counties are expected to complete certification on Wednesday.” (PoliticsPA)

Republicans’ Big Idea For Remaking Public Education Hits Voter Resistance. “An aggressive Republican campaign to pump hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into private education is continuing across the country, even after voters in three states rejected the idea.” (POLITICO)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Allegheny County Council Committee Cuts $70 Million From Innamorato’s Operating Budget, Reduces Tax Increase

“In a tense meeting Tuesday and a split vote, the County Council’s budget and finance committee approved a budget plan and property tax rate that reduces overall revenues for Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s original 2025 fiscal plan by about $70 million, while increasing the amount of monthly property taxes for homeowners by a proposed average of $11 to $12 monthly from 2024 to 2025.

The committee voted 4-3 to make cuts across various departments and divisions to Ms. Innamorato’s operating, capital, and grants and special accounts budgets for 2025.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Elsewhere

Mon Valley Mayors Buck Union on U.S. Steel Takeover, Seeing ‘Honorable’ Nippon. “Their towns have hosted U.S. Steel plants for generations. They see foreign investment as their best path forward.” (Public Source)

Philly Police Spent Over $4M In Overtime Covering Presidential Candidate Visits This Year. “Being the center of the political universe comes at a cost. The Philadelphia Police Department spent more than $4 million in overtime providing protection for the presidential candidates who visited the city this year vying for votes, city records show.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Drought-Like Weather Helped PennDOT’s 2024 Construction Season in Western PA. “With the weather on its side, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation marked the end of a successful construction season on Tuesday with more than 700 miles of roadway paved and 39 bridges repaired or replaced in the Pittsburgh region.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The Game Commission Changed the 1st Day of Rifle Deer Season In 2019. Some Rural PA Businesses Want to See It Switched Back. “A 2019 decision by the state Game Commission to move opening day to Saturday instead of Monday has altered longstanding traditions and spending habits. Now, there’s a rush to get to camp, shoot a deer by Sunday, and get home by Monday for work or school.” (Spotlight PA)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Trump Wields a Tariff Bludgeon. (Wall Street Journal)
• I’m a Couples Therapist. We Can Address Our Political Divide. (Orna Gunalnik)
• Better Budgeting: The Road to Fiscal Prosperity. (Emily Greene)
• Jews Were Key to Dave McCormick’s Win In PA After He Stood Up For Israel and Against Antisemitism. (Jeff Bartos)

1 Thing

5. Thanksgiving Dinner Will Be a Little Cheaper This Year

“A typical Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost about $58 this year, a new report finds — down around 5% from last year but up nearly 20% in unadjusted dollars from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

How it works: Those figures come from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey, based on observed nationwide prices for a hypothetical basket of Thanksgiving staples.

• That includes turkey — obviously! — plus cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie mix, and more.
• ☝️ Axios created an expanded menu with two other Thanksgiving favorites: ham and potatoes.

Thank you for starting your morning with us.
We’re thankful for you. Have a great weekend.