It’s Friday the 13th. DYK how many ads you see in an hour of local TV? Vetting Kathy Barnette. Corman bows out and backs Barletta. How many candidates are too many? Here is the Playbook.

PA Weather
Meadville | Mostly Sunny, 79
Lewistown | Chance Showers, 72
West Chester | Chance Showers, 72

PA Sports
76ers (lost 4-2) | lost vs. Miami, 99-90
Penguins (lead 3-2) | lost at NY Rangers, 5-3; FRI vs. NY Rangers

Phillies (15-17) | won at LA Dodgers, 9-7; FRI-SUN at LA Dodgers
Pirates (13-18) | lost vs. Cincinnati, 4-0; FRI-SUN vs. Cincinnati

Union (5-1-4) | SAT vs. NY Red Bulls

News

Good Morning Political Ads!.: A look at one hour on local morning TV. You won’t believe – or maybe you will – the number of political ads shown just days before the primary election.

How Many Candidates Are Too Many?: How many candidates are too many on the ballot? Do historical trends give us any indication as to what we should expect on Tuesday night?

Focus ON: 17th Congressional District: There are three Republicans and two Democrats vying for the 17th Congressional House seat vacated by Conor Lamb.

Scott Perry Subpoenaed by Jan. 6 Committee: 10th District congressman Scott Perry and four others, including Kevin McCarthy, received subpoenas to appear before the January 6 commission for testimony.

PA Governor Race: Corman Steps Aside, Endorses Barletta: Jake Corman withdrew from the GOP race for Pennsylvania governor and threw his support behind Lou Barletta.

• Spotlight PA: Pa. primary 2022: Candidates for governor raised $12.8 million in April alone
• Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Corman ends GOP governor bid; endorses Barletta in effort to halt Mastriano
• City & State PA: Jake Corman drops out of governor’s race, endorses Lou Barletta
• AP: Pa. governor hopeful drops out, backs rival as primary nears
• Philly Clout: Conservative group boosts Brian Sims after grousing about Josh Shapiro’s meddling
• Inquirer: Lou Barletta is getting new support in the governor’s race as GOP leaders try to stop Doug Mastriano 
• PennLive: Shapiro ad targeting Mastriano exposes GOP division over governor’s race candidates
• PennLive: Corman exits the GOP gubernatorial race, asks voters to support Barletta
• The Caucus: Corman makes it official: Endorses Barletta as Pa. GOP seeks to derail Mastriano in governor’s race
• The Times Leader: Mastriano to make Friday campaign stop in Kirby Park
• WJET: Josh Shapiro holds campaign stop in Meadville
• Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Zama visits area on the stomp for GOP gov. nomination

PA Senate Race: The “Vetting” of Kathy Barnette: Books will be written about the 2022 U.S. Senate primary in Pennsylvania. And with Kathy Barnette’s surge in the polls, the final chapter has yet to be written.

• Staff Spotlight: Malcolm Kenyatta Campaign Manager Vanessa Clifford: Grassroots organizing is in Vanessa Clifford’s blood. In total, Clifford has either been officially or unofficially involved with 92 campaigns throughout her career.
• Inquirer: The ‘knives are coming out’ for Kathy Barnette as Republicans, and Trump, scramble to stop her
• Inquirer: How Kathy Barnette’s election denial helped her become a GOP front-runner in the Pa. Senate race
• Inquirer: Trump just warned Republicans that Kathy Barnette ‘will never be able to win’ the Pa. Senate race
• Inquirer: Emails shed new light on Trump ally’s push for Pa. lawmakers to overturn 2020 vote
• Inquirer: John Fetterman will likely be Pa.’s Democratic Senate nominee. So why do so few elected Democrats back him?
• WHYY: Where are the Pa. Senate candidates getting their money?
• Post-Gazette: Kathy Barnette’s ascension brings scrutiny from Republican rivals in Pa. Senate race
• Post-Gazette: Ted Cruz vouches for McCormick’s conservatism, potential to win
• KDKA: Republican Senate candidates split on key issues but stress why they should be the nominee
• Politico: GOP launches Operation Stop Barnette 
• Politico: Trump tries to slow Kathy Barnette momentum in Pennsylvania’s Senate primary
• CNN: Surging GOP candidate Kathy Barnette has long history of bigoted statements against gays and Muslims 
• Fox News: Former Trump appointee calls his endorsement of Dr. Oz ‘wrong,’ supports Kathy Barnette in Pennsylvania 
• CNN: Trump: Barnette will never win Pennsylvania
• CNN: ‘Nervous about Oz’s prospects’: Trump and his allies worry about a Barnette victory in Pennsylvania
• The Hill: Trump warns GOP voters against Barnette in Pennsylvania Senate race 
• Fox News: Pennsylvania Senate candidate McCormick rips Biden on inflation: ‘Disgraceful’ he isn’t taking accountability
• Fox News: Trump takes aim at Barnette after one-time longshot soars in Pennsylvania GOP primary 
• Fox News: Dr. Oz defends his record after critics blast him for flip-flopping 
• Fox News: Kathy Barnette faces questions about her background amid scrutiny from conservative outlets
• KDKA: Democratic Senate candidates split on key issues but stress why they should be the nominee
• WTAE: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz campaigns with Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Dave McCormick in Carnegie
• Bucks County Courier Times: Outside money: Pennsylvania donors make up only 38% of campaign donations in US Senate race
• AP: Trump scrambles to fend off Oz challenger in Pa. Senate race
• Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Dr. Oz stops in Williamsport
• York Dispatch: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman campaigns for U.S. Senate during stop in York

‘Pa.’s secretary of state asks for post-election patience, says results likely to take ‘a few days’’: PennLive reports that “Pennsylvania acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman on Thursday asked for patience when it comes to getting primary election results next week, cautioning that some outcomes likely won’t be immediately known.”

City & State PA’s Biggest Winners & Losers This Week: City & State PA highlights the three winners and losers in Pennsylvania politics last week.

‘The PSERS pension fund may sue its consultant for botching profits figure’: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “the PSERS school pension system is still reacting to the false profits figure it posted in 2020. It has spent millions for lawyers to head off an FBI probe, and improve its management processes.”

‘Democrats compete in overlooked — but potentially crucial — 17th Congressional District’: WESA reports that “both Meloy and Deluzio champion unions and worker-friendly policies such as raising the minimum wage. Both say they would resist GOP efforts to scale back reproductive rights and access to the ballot. The differences lie mostly in the paths the two took to reach the primary, and the issues each one emphasizes as they say they are the party’s best shot in November.”

‘The war in the 12th District: Both wings of Democratic party collide as Bernie Sanders comes to Pittsburgh to tout Summer Lee’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “the festering war between Allegheny County’s Democratic establishment and the progressives who’ve railed against it — a battle that’s been playing out here on endorsement slate cards and campaign finance sheets in recent years — broke out into the open on Thursday with the appearance of one white-haired Vermont senator.”

‘Sen. Bernie Sanders joins Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey to campaign for Summer Lee’: WTAE reports that “a rally was held in Pittsburgh Thursday in support of Summer Lee, a Democratic candidate for the 12th Congressional District. One of her supporters, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, joined Lee for the rally.”

‘Sen. Pat Toomey pushes tariffs exclusions as the Senate and House attempt to reconcile China competitiveness bills’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “when it comes reconciling the thousands of pages of U.S. Senate and House bills aimed at bolstering competitiveness with China, one of Sen. Pat Toomey’s priorities is formalizing a path for domestic companies to bypass tariffs imposed during the recent trade war with world’s second-largest economy.”

‘Snyder plans legislation to remove Pennsylvanians from jury duty pool at 70’: The Observer-Reporter reports that “planned legislation from a local lawmaker would exempt Pennsylvanians from having to serve as a juror once they turn 70.”

‘Election 2022 | Reschenthaler faces no opponents to represent Somerset County in Congress’: The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reports that “he is unopposed in the upcoming Republican Party primary. No Democrat entered the race to represent the district that also includes all of Washington, Greene and Fayette counties, along with parts of Indiana and Westmoreland counties.”

‘Election 2022 | Joyce running unopposed for re-election to U.S. House’: The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reports that “Joyce, a Blair County Republican, is running unopposed in the 13th Congressional District that includes all of Cambria and Bedford counties, along with part of Conemaugh Township in Somerset County.” 

‘Tom Ridge to receive 2022 Baker Award for ‘selfless service’ that was ‘an inspiration to others’’: PennLive reports that “The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) will present the award to the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the former two-term governor of Pennsylvania at a dinner Saturday night.”

‘The latest on ACLU fight against Lancaster County dropbox removal’: LNP | LancasterOnline reports that “Lancaster County’s chief clerk of elections said on the witness stand Thursday that she does not have the authority to remove or install ballot dropboxes for mail-in voters, a distinction that seemed to buoy the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s challenge to how county commissioners ordered the removal of the county’s sole dropbox last month.”

‘Public database significantly undercounts former drug labs in Pa. Here’s why home buyers, renters should care.’: Spotlight PA reports that “the only online federal database that allows people to see whether their home or property was contaminated with toxic chemicals used to make drugs like methamphetamine significantly undercounts the number of sites in Pennsylvania, according to data obtained by Spotlight PA.”

‘Philly area home-care workers often get cheated on overtime. Pa.’s Medicaid rules don’t help.’: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “a core problem is that Pennsylvania Medicaid doesn’t include overtime in the rates it pays agencies that employ aides.”

‘Siefken joins U.S. Department of Energy in executive role’: The Pittsburgh Business Times reports that “Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation Executive Director Anna J. Siefken is taking a leave of absence from Carnegie Mellon University to join the U.S. Department of Energy.”

‘PODCAST: G. Terry Madonna demystifies the 2022 state and local elections’: The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reports that “special guest G. Terry Madonna, Senior Fellow in Residence for Political Affairs at Millersville University, discusses the latest updates from the 2022 primary elections with Tribune reporter Dave Sutor. The pair talk U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania governor, and local races throughout Pennsylvania.”

Legislative Election Updates
LNP | LancasterOnline: Pennsylvania House Speaker faces challengers in May 17 primary
Inquirer: State Sen. Tony Williams faces primary challenger Paul Prescod in a battle over the Democratic Party’s future
WESA: Different economic visions drive choice for Democrats in 33rd state House district
Morning Call: Longtime Lehigh Valley state Sen. Pat Browne faces his first primary challenge in 30 years. Can newly elected school board member Jarrett Coleman pull off an upset?
Tribune Review: State Rep. Jessica Benham faces primary challenge from Stephanie Fox in South Hills
Tribune Review: Newly elected state Rep. Martell Covington faces primary challenge from 2 Dems
Tribune Review: Political newcomer seeks GOP nomination over legislator in state Senate 38th District race
Citizens Voice: Republican state House candidate arrested last year for DUI

Regional Spotlight: North by Northwest
WJET: Big name Democrats stop in Erie for party’s annual Spring Dinner
WJET: Erie County Democratic Party holds annual Spring Dinner
WJET: Erie county executive outlines plan for “fusion cell” proposal
WJET: Free parking offered while dropping off ballots at courthouse
Erie Times-News: No zip line this summer. City Council member wants green space pledge
Erie Times-News: Economic ‘fusion cell’ proposal passes through County Council
Erie Times-News: RNC, Erie GOP host poll watcher training ahead of PA primary
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Jersey Shore takes first step in budget process
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Little League brings back full capacity seating
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: New mayor takes office in Jersey Shore
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Lycoming County to get $4.5 million over 18 years from opioid settlement
Centre Daily Times: How Neeli Bendapudi got here: A timeline of the new Penn State president’s career
Centre Daily Times: Neeli Bendapudi officially starts tenure as Penn State’s 19th president, releases message to community

Opinion  
John Baer: Primary election results could end traditional politics for Pa. Democrats and Republicans
Brad Bannon: Pennsylvania primary previews political polarization
Chris Kelly: Dumped by Trump, McCormick keeps Trumping
Mark O’Keefe: Trump’s election lies are truth for far too many 2022 GOP hopefuls
John L. Micek: New Dem ad in Pa. hits GOP plan to sunset Medicare, Social Security | Thursday Morning Coffee
Katherine Gilmore Richardson and Alex Cupo: Philly should prioritize green infrastructure with its federal dollars
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Better collaboration can streamline city government
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Outstanding student, undervalued school
Nichola D. Gutgold: Jill Biden shines as gritty, graceful first lady
Paul Muschick: We have to stop living in the past. Demolish the rotting Neuweiler Brewery and move Allentown forward