PA Swing Districts See Cost of Gas and Groceries Skyrocket. This is the PoliticsPA Playbook.
Friday. We’re On To The Fall Sports Now. 32 days until the midterms.
Your Morning Pick Me Up. Working for the Weekend. Loverboy
PA Weather
McKeesport | Showers, 74
Mechanicsburg | Chance of Showers, 84
Media | Mostly Sunny, 83
PA Sports 
Phillies | Atlanta 2-6 Steelers (2-2) | Cleveland 24-27 | Oct. 11 vs. Indianapolis Eagles (2-1) | Sun vs. LA Rams Penn State (3-1) | Fri at Northwestern Pitt (4-0) | Fri at Virginia Tech Temple (1-3) | Sat at South Florida
Union (11W, 6D, 10L) | Sat vs. Salt Lake
Flyers (0-1-1) | New Jersey 2-3 (OT) | Sat vs. Carolina Penguins (1-0) | Sat vs. Montreal
What’s Happening Today. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin will be in Bucks County to meet with Rolling Harvest Food Rescue and local farmers to discuss the Agency’s Feed It Onward initiative and hear from local organizations on how they are tackling food waste.
What We’re Hearing. “There’s no question that the Democratic Party’s brand is in the toilet,” said Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist, “and that running on a platform copied and pasted from national Democrats is not going to win you a seat in a tough district. But you can’t manufacture independence, and voters can smell bullshit.”
Tips. PoliticsPA is Pennsylvania’s premier source for nonpartisan political news and analysis. Tips or press releases can be sent to steve@politicspa.com.
The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. For the web version, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Top Story
“With the war in Iran rocketing gas to almost $5 a gallon, inflation surging to 3.4% from 2.6% in 2025, and food prices up nearly 3% over last year, the high cost of living is weighing on the minds of many voters — and candidates — as the midterm elections draw near.
Nowhere is that more critical than in four tightly contested Pennsylvania congressional districts that could decide the control of the U.S. House — in Bucks County, the Lehigh Valley, the Harrisburg area, and Northeast Pennsylvania.” | Philadelphia Inquirer
Elsewhere
The Democratic Brand Is a Mess. Some Democrats Are Taking Advantage. “Paige Cognetti is trying to be the kind of Democratic candidate Republicans want to have a beer with.” | Washington Sun
Bob Brooks Was in Trouble Over Unpaid Credit Cards and ‘Bilking His In-Laws’: He Didn’t Disclose It When He Applied for a COVID Loan for His Lawn Care Business. “Bob Brooks, running in one of the country’s most competitive House races, claimed on an application for a taxpayer-funded COVID-19 loan that he had no financial judgments against him and had not defaulted on any loans. At the time, Brooks had two judgments for unpaid credit cards and another one pending for bilking his former in-laws out of $130,000.” | Washington Free Beacon
Here’s What’s Driving the Gen Z Gender Gap. “Neumann University’s Brenna Vandergeest was a teenager when her grandmother told her about Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court case that ended the federal right to an abortion. She said it lit a fire in her, one that has shaped her politics. Every generation has an ideological gender gap — and Gen Z is no different.” | News From The States
Dave McCormick on Data Centers, the AI Race & Affordability. “Sen. Dave McCormick — a member of the Foreign Relations, Energy and Banking committees — sat down with Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer to discuss affordability challenges, data centers in his home state, the midterms and much more!” | Punchbowl News
State
“Pennsylvania will spend nearly 40% of its $50.8 billion budget on education this year. The size of that obligation, and its impact on children, teenagers, and college students across the commonwealth, make it an enormous part of annual spending talks.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a prominent issue in the 2026 race for governor.” | Spotlight PA
Elsewhere
Bernstine Faces Resignation Calls For Alleged Homophobic Slurs About House Colleague. “Did he or didn’t he? State Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Butler/Lawrence) is under the microscope after he reportedly went on a homophobic tirade against a legislative colleague as a Democratic fundraiser was being held on Tuesday night inside a Harrisburg bar.” | PoliticsPA
Democrats Are Calling For the Resignation of a GOP Lawmaker Who Reportedly Hurled a Homophobic Slur at Philly’s Malcolm Kenyatta. “”The alleged conduct is troubling,” the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus said in a statement about State Rep. Aaron Bernstine.” | Philadelphia Inquirer
Shapiro Sues Over Trump’s EPA Eliminating Rule That Limits Emissions From Power Plants. “States and cities sued the Trump administration Thursday for repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. | AP
2026 Debate/Forum Schedule. “We’re counting down the days until the November 3 general election. Here is a calendar of scheduled debates/forums between candidates for statewide, state House and state Senate races.” | PoliticsPA
PA House Committee Advances Bills Targeting Data Centers, Electricity Costs. “As electricity rates rise and Pennsylvania’s projected energy demand continues to grow, the state House Energy Committee advanced several measures Wednesday aimed at regulating data center development and controlling utility costs.” | WITF
Around The Commonwealth
“More than one million Pennsylvanian voters have requested a mail-in ballot ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election, with counties reporting nearly 64,000 returned ballots at the end of September.
At a press conference Wednesday, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said that the percentage of returned ballots this year outpaced the 2022 midterm election, noting that the deadline to apply is Oct. 27.” | Penn Capital-Star
Elsewhere
Officials Mull O’Connor’s 2027 Draft Budget — And Options For Pittsburgh’s Fiscal Future. “Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor’s first draft budget might seem like a classic good-news, bad-news proposition. One the one hand, it includes no layoffs or tax increases, but on the other it covers those costs by cashing out a large chunk of the city’s savings — and predicts that account will soon be drained entirely if something doesn’t change.” | WESA
Stop Airing Brian Fitzpatrick’s TV ads, Bob Harvie’s Campaign Asks Philly Area Stations. “The spots rely on dubious reporting from a questionable source, attorney Timothy Ford said, asking that they not be shown.” | Philadelphia Inquirer
2026 Election Preview: 16th Legislative District. 31 races in 31 days continues with a look at the race in Beaver County between Rob Matzie and John Costanza. | PoliticsPA
Boscola, Janney Face Off This Month In 18th Senate District Debate. “Republican Scott Janney is looking to end Democrat Lisa Boscola’s 28-year tenure representing parts of Northampton County and all of Bethlehem.” | Lehigh Valley Public Media
Editorial
1 Thing
“When someone claims to live in “central Pennsylvania,” what do they mean?
It could be the area around the state capital, the forests of the Pennsylvania Wilds, a small Rust Belt city, or the rolling fields of Dutch Country. Or maybe they live near Penn State University, in the county that’s got “center” right in the name (just spelled a little differently).
Central Pennsylvania’s nebulous definition can make efforts to talk about the region confusing — and occasionally contentious. While the descriptor sounds straightforward, it often doesn’t really tell you where someone is from, or what it’s like to live there.” | Spotlight PA
Thank you for starting your Friday with us.
The first weekend of October. Enjoy!
