News & Brews April 19, 2022
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[Partial] GOP gubernatorial debate tonight
Five Republican candidates for governor are slated to face off in a debate tonight organized by a slew of media organizations. Noticeably absent, however, will be four candidates who have been at the top of the polls: Doug Mastriano, Bill McSwain, Dave White, and Lou Barletta. Three of these candidates had previously agreed on debate criteria for the Republican primary, and this media-sponsored event doesn’t meet that criteria. (Jake Corman had also agreed on the criteria but apparently changed his mind.) The debate will be broadcast on YouTube and Facebook. PennLive has more.
Some incumbent progressive Dems in PA aren’t getting party backing
WHYY takes a look at a few incumbent progressive Democrats who aren’t getting their party’s backing in primary races against less progressive Democrats. It seems these incumbents may be too far Left even for their party.
RealClearPennsylvania launches
Today marks the launch of RealClearPennsylvania, which editor Charles McElwee explains “mirrors RealClearPolitics by offering readers a curation of must-see stories that show all sides of every vital issue.” Be sure to check it out and bookmark it as a go-to source for all things politics and Pennsylvania! https://realclearpennsylvania.com/
PA’s 10 best-funded PACs
The progressive Pennsylvania Capital-Star took a look at the ten best-funded political action committees in PA, based on 2021 fundraising. The story draws on information from Ballotpedia, which notes, “In Pennsylvania politics, non-candidate political action committees (PACs) have received $229.5 million in total donations between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. The top 10 PACs raised more than $81.5 million, or 36 percent of all donations made to state-level PACs.”
Q&A with John Fetterman
The Erie Times-News caught up with U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman for a short Q&A on his candidacy. Topics included election reform, criminal justice, and misinformation (whatever that is these days). Read more here.
Acting health secretary to resign; Wolf to name new acting secretary
Gov. Wolf’s office announced yesterday that Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter will step down, effective April 22. Wolf plans to nominate Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson as acting secretary. Johnson will reportedly also remain as physician general.