News & Brews April 25, 2022

The topic of mail-in voting has been taking center stage for a while in the GOP gubernatorial primary. PennLive reports on how attacks surrounding the topic are being aimed largely at Doug Mastriano and Jake Corman, both of whom voted for the law that implemented no-excuse mail-in voting. The story notes, “All 10 of the candidates seeking [the governor’s] office have weighed in on the topic in interviews, at forums and on the debate stage. But blame for the flare up over the state’s electoral process gets cast at the two GOP candidates who helped pass the now controversial no-excuse mail-in voting in 2020.” Read more here.

ABC27 will host a GOP Senate debate tonight at 8pm, with Jeff Bartos, Dave McCormick, Mehmet Oz, Carla Sands, and Kathy Barnette all expected to participate. The debate will air across the state—click here (and scroll down) for the many ways to watch. Separately, the Democrat Senate candidates will debate tonight at 7pm. Scheduled to participate are John Fetterman, Conor Lamb, Malcolm Kenyatta, and Alexandria Khalil. You can watch that debate here.

The AP takes a look at the benefits and fallout of former President Trump’s endorsement of Dr. Mehmet Oz in the PA GOP Senate primary and J.D. Vance in the Ohio GOP Senate primary. While the endorsements have helped with the candidates’ fundraising, they’ve also resulted in their share of criticism.

On Friday, Gov. Wolf announced that Secretary of Education Noe Ortega will leave his post on April 29. Wolf intends to nominate his current deputy chief of staff, Eric Hagarty, to become acting secretary of education. PennLive has more.