🎉 Working For The Weekend. Make it a good one.

PA Weather
🌂 Huntingdon | Cloudy, PM Showers, 73
🌂 Palmyra | Cloudy, AM Showers, 76
🌂 Lancaster | Cloudy, AM Showers, 77

PA Sports
⚾ Phillies (0-0) | Sat-Mon-Wed vs. Atlanta
⚽ Union (15-9-8) | Sat vs. Nashville
🏈 Temple (2-3) | Sat vs. UTSA
🏈 Eagles (4-0) | Sun vs. LA Rams
🏈 Steelers (2-2) | Sun vs. Baltimore

What We’re Hearing
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is among 45 members who are unwilling to endorse for speaker unless the MTV (motion to vacate) is overhauled.

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Dawn Keefer, Kristen Gentile in Sen. Casey’s office, and Rep. Scott Conklin (Sat.). Also, yours truly who turns … another year older.

The Best Political News In The State
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Top Story

1. Shapiro Responds to Vereb Allegations, Defends Administration Response

“In his first public statements since the resignation of a top aide, Gov. Josh Shapiro tried to reassure Pennsylvanians that there is a healthy, safe, professional working environment in his administration.

He spoke in Bethlehem at a press gathering to announce new state investments in recreation and conservation projects across the Commonwealth.

“Our administration is led by two women, strongly – my chief of staff (Dana Fritz) and our general counsel (Jennifer Selber). And we work every day to make sure that we have a healthy, safe, professional work environment for all of our employees.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Josh Shapiro’s Star Is Rising. But Trouble May Be Brewing Back At Home. “As Gov. Josh Shapiro takes his first concrete steps on the national stage, a cloud of a scandal involving one of his former top aides is emerging back home.” (POLITICO)

Gov. Josh Shapiro Defends His Office’s Handling Of Sexual Harassment Complaint Against A Top Aide. “The governor’s comments marked his first public statement on the issue since The Inquirer and other news outlets reported last week that Mike Vereb, his former legislative affairs secretary, was accused in March of sexually harassing an employee.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Gov. Shapiro Offers First Public Remarks About The Sexual Harassment Claims Involving A Former Top Aide. (PennLive)

Quinnipiac Poll: Casey Leads McCormick, 50-44. “Never too early to start a horse race, right? A Quinnipiac University poll of registered Pennsylvania voters showed Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. with a six-point advantage over Republican challenger Dave McCormick.” (PoliticsPA)

• Casey Reports Raising $3.2M During Last Quarter. (PoliticsPA)
• Casey’s Campaign Touts Strong Start To 2024 Fundraising. (PennLive)

Who’s Running For Congress? “Can’t tell the players without a scorecard! With the sudden flurry of announcements as the final quarter of 2023 begins, we here at PoliticsPA want to make sure that you are aware of who is running for Congress in 2024.” (PoliticsPA)

A Western PA Congressman Wants A Promotion After Kevin McCarthy’s Ouster. “When Republicans took control of the House in January, U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler became chief deputy whip. It was Reschenthaler who played a key role in wrangling GOP members to support legislation suspending the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts. Now he’s trying to move up the GOP hierarchy.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Georgia Prosecutors Seek Trial Testimony From Tabas. PA GOP chair among six witnesses sought by DA Fani Willis for the Oct. 23 trial of two Trump co-defendants on election racketeering charges. (POLITICO)

Can Dave McCormick Go Home Again? “Flight records appear to show the PA Senate hopeful flying back to Connecticut after his campaign launch.” (The Messenger)

State

2. House Approves Bill To Move PA’s 2024 Primary But Rejects Voter ID Expansion, Other Election Reforms

“The Pennsylvania House has advanced a bill to change the date of the 2024 presidential primary while rejecting an effort to implement expanded voter ID requirements, mail ballot rule changes, and a slew of other provisions.

In a contentious session Thursday that included singing, yelling, and arguments over the events of Jan. 6, the state House passed a bill along party lines that would move the date of the 2024 presidential primary from April 23 to April 2.

A second bill to move the primary to March 19 — previously approved by the state Senate — failed with a wide margin of bipartisan opposition. By the time of the vote, that bill had morphed into an omnibus election reform package.” (Spotlight PA)

Related

House Approves Primary Move to April 2. “The Pennsylvania State House of Representatives voted on Thursday morning to move the Keystone State’s 2024 presidential primary.” (PoliticsPA)

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor, A Rising Political Star, Crosses Partisan School Choice Divide. “In the partisan politics of education funding, the “school choice” movement has pressed states for decades to send taxpayer money to private and religious schools and long had to concentrate its efforts on states where a Republican governor was an ally. That suddenly changed over the summer. (AP)

Republican Resistance Or Democrat Gamesmanship? House Leaders Weigh In On Week’s Work. “At least now the Pennsylvania House of Representatives can’t be accused of inaction for failing to pass bills to finalize a state budget that is almost 100 days past due, and to change the state’s primary election date.” (PennLive)

Pennsylvania House Passes Legislation To Complete Overdue Budget. Decisions Now Lie With The Senate. “Democrats who control Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives are making another attempt to send hundreds of millions of dollars to four Pennsylvania universities and get around a partisan dispute that has delayed the money.” (AP)

Working Families Party Endorses McCaffery in Supreme Court Race. “The Working Families Party has endorsed Daniel McCaffery for State Supreme Court, City & State has learned, bringing its large grassroots operation to support his run in a crucial statewide election. ” (City & State)

Around The Commonwealth

3. PA Republicans Have An Early, Nasty Fight In 2024 Primary For Attorney General

“The Pennsylvania Republican Party’s fall meeting last weekend was planned to be all about unity in preparation for 2024.

And then a nasty fight broke out.” (Philadelphia Inquirer Clout)

Related

Why Abortion Rights And Crime Worries Became Central To The Allegheny County Executive Race. “Success in politics often depends on choosing the right things to oppose. Case in point: When Mother Nature dumped nearly a half-foot of snow during a storm in early 2008, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl responded to the act of aggression by declaring a “war on snow.”” (WESA Politics)

PA Voting System Errors ‘Minuscule,’ Judge Says In Tossing Fulton County Civil Suit. “In a ruling dated Sept. 28, Judge Sylvia Rambo for the Middle District of Pennsylvania wrote that Fulton County’s Republican commissioners and their legal counsel didn’t prove that a hardware defect prevented Dominion systems from functioning according to contract.” (Chambersburg Public Opinion)

New Study: Westmoreland County Will Lead Population Decline In Western PA, While Others Will Boom. “Between 2020 and 2050, Westmoreland’s population is projected to fall to 297,459 from 354,316 for a loss of 56,857 people or 16% — more than twice the population loss expected in any of the eight counties in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area during the same period, according to the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• What This Year’s Budget Means For PA’s Shrinking Rural Communities.   (Spotlight PA)

What’s The Problem With David Oh? “The Republican mayoral candidate is a nice guy with progressive values, governing experience and Philly pride. And yet …” (Philadelphia Citizen)

Washington County DA Seeking Death Penalty For Political Reasons. “Defense attorneys in a Washington County homicide case are moving to disqualify the appointed district attorney amid allegations that he is misusing the death penalty for political gain as he faces a heated election in November.” (Tribune-Review)

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

• Make PA Primary Meaningful. (Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice)
• Keeping Youth Safe From (And In) The Juvenile Justice System. (Reps. Camera Bartolotta, Anthony Williams, Natalie Mihalek and Melissa Shusterman)
• Feeding Kids Breakfast at School Is a Smart Investment for PA. (Aaron Chapin)
• Empower Students To Vote With Their Feet. (Rachel Langan)

1 Thing

5. The Ozempic Effect

As Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs become more popular, Americans might start buying less food, particularly high-calorie snacks and fast food, Emily Peck writes for Axios Markets.

Why it matters: That could radically reshape the food industry, and investors and food industry executives are starting to pay attention.

Walmart’s U.S. CEO, John Furner, told Bloomberg that customers taking Ozempic buy less food, based on anonymized pharmacy and grocery data.

Morgan Stanley analysts laid out in a note this summer how obesity medicine could dampen demand for food and reshape the “food ecosystem.”

People on the drugs will likely consume 20% fewer calories, the report said.

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