News & Brews October 21, 2022

A new Insider Advantage/Fox 29 poll of 550 likely voters shows Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz tied at 46% (technically, 46.3% to 45.5%) in the race for Senate, with 5% undecided. Meanwhile, Democrat Josh Shapiro leads Republican Doug Mastriano 48.5% to 42.2% in the race for governor, with 6.1% undecided. The poll’s margin of error is 4.2%. Read more here.

Speaking at a Philadelphia fundraiser yesterday in support of Democrat John Fetterman, President Joe Biden warned that the world is watching Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race. “We’ve got to win,” he said. “John’s got to win.” The visit to Philly came after a stop in Pittsburgh, where the president touted his infrastructure agenda while visiting the site of the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge, which is now being repaired.

Pennsylvania is back on the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, and not for a happy reason. The Ed Board looks at Wawa’s recent announcement that it’s closing two stores in Philadelphia due to crime. “Much of the blame goes to Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney Larry Krasner, who is notoriously lenient on property crimes,” the Ed Board writes, adding, “Wawa’s Center City exodus is the latest evidence that businesses and people will flee when a city tolerates crime.”

In the wake of former state Senator Tom McGarrigle’s announcement that he plans to step down as chair of the Delaware County Republican Committee, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Dave White said he plans to put in his name for consideration. “It’s an open process,” White said. The Delaware Valley Journal reports that a vote is required within 30 days of a chair’s resignation announcement.

A new report from the Brookings Institution says what many policymakers and others have been saying for years: Pennsylvania is lagging where it should be a powerhouse. The report notes that the state “has not been able to convert its assets into abundant, high-quality economic growth or broad-based employment across an array of high-tech, high-pay advanced industries. Given that, Pennsylvania needs to unlock its innovation potential, which will require catalytic steps on the part of state government.” The report’s lead author notes that “other places have made strong moves in the last decade or so and Pennsylvania is now kind of, you know, a middling performer in a domain in which it should be a leader.” The Center Square has more on the report.