News & Brews November 11, 2022

As Democrats claim they’ve won the majority in the state House, PennLive reports that control is still to-be-determined, with two tight races not yet called. As of now, Democrats have won 101 seats and Republicans have won 100 seats in the 203-member chamber. In the 151st House District in Montgomery County, Republican Rep. Todd Stephens led Democrat challenger Melissa Cerrato by 14 votes as of the story’s publication. Meanwhile, in the 142nd House District in Bucks County, Democrat Mark Moffa led Republican Joe Hogan by two votes. Final results could take days. Democrats would need to win one of these seats to take the majority, while Republicans would need to win both seats.

American Federation for Children Senior Fellow Corey DeAngelis writes in the Wall Street Journal that while this week’s elections “may not have been a red wave or a blue wave,” they were “a nationwide school-choice wave,” as multiple candidates who endorsed school choice (including some Democrats previously opposed to it) came out victorious. DeAngelis writes, “Skeptics have noted … that these Democrats flipped on school choice for political expediency. Does it matter? If candidates for governor who were already up in the polls felt compelled to switch their stances on school choice right before the election, that’s good news regardless of their motives, and voters should hold them to account for their new positions.” Case in point: Pennsylvania’s next governor, Josh Shapiro.

The Inquirer interviewed “more than a dozen Republican elected officials, strategists, or party leaders” for their take on former President Trump in the wake of Tuesday’s GOP losses. While some believe the GOP “can’t win races if he continues to be the head of the party,” others say he remains popular and instead place the blame for Democrat Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial win “on Mastriano … and the state party for failing to rally the GOP around an alternative.” See more here.

In its regular Election Day Three Questions feature, the Inquirer queried as many politicians as it could on future predictions. This edition’s three questions: “Who wins the May Democratic primary for mayor in Philadelphia? What does Mayor Jim Kenney do next? [and] When does Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro run for president?” Notably, out of 26 interviews, the Inky “didn’t find anyone who thought Shapiro won’t run for president.”

Jack Miller, founder and chairman of the Philadelphia-based Jack Miller Center, which promotes the teaching of American history and founding principles in our schools, has an op-ed in RealClearPolicy reflecting on the principles that unite us as Americans and expressing concern over the “emphasis today on putting people into categories.”Read his piece here.