News & Brews August 15, 2022
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Mastriano v. Shapiro race ‘puts partisan divide in clear view’
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that in the race for governor between Josh Shapiro and Doug Mastriano, “[a] detailed look at the candidates’ recent public messaging shows a race that could be one of the most significant — and contentious — in the country, at a time when the GOP legislature here seems poised to act on numerous key issues, if only they had a governor’s approval and not his veto pen.”
Oz and Mastriano: An ‘awkward marriage’ at top of ticket?
As Republicans Doug Mastriano and Mehmet Oz campaign for governor and U.S. Senate, respectively, NBC reports that the two “share little in common other than the support of former President Donald Trump. They’re otherwise poised to go their separate ways this fall, and that’s what some state Republicans believe is best.” Read the story here.
Fetterman returns to campaign trail
In his first public campaign appearance since suffering a stroke almost three months ago, Democrat John Fetterman returned to the campaign trail at an Erie County rally on Friday. He spoke for about 10 minutes, acknowledging, “My life could have ended. It’s the truth. But I’m so grateful to be here tonight,” POLITICO reports. The story continues, “Fetterman’s appearance on Friday was closely watched by leaders and strategists in both parties….[He] appeared physically healthy and mostly talked without any issues. At times, however, his speech was somewhat halted…. Fetterman has acknowledged that he sometimes trips over his words and has trouble hearing as he continues to recover.”
Judge says she’ll rule quickly in mail-in voting case
On Friday, Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer said she will rule quickly in the case surrounding undated mail-in ballots in three counties. The Wolf administration brought the case against the counties for not counting undated mail-in ballots. Of course, state law requires that ballots be dated. The AP has more.
PLCB may end buying perk for employees
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is considering banning board members and some PLCB employees “from participating in limited-release lotteries for highly sought-after bottles of liquor,” PennLive reports. The potential ban comes after some PLCB officials were allowed “to buy bottles of rare whiskey leftover from two liquor lotteries in 2019 and 2020. They were bottles that the public was never given a chance to purchase.” In other words, the government-run liquor agency may require its employees to abide by the same rules as every other Pennsylvanian. Imagine that.