News & Brews May 16, 2023
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Judicial races top today’s primary ballot
It’s primary election day. And leading the ballot are four open seats on our statewide courts, including one seat on the state Supreme Court. Democrats currently hold a 4-2 majority on that court, with one seat vacant due to the death last year of Chief Justice Max Baer. Commonwealth Partners has endorsed Judge Carolyn Carluccio for Supreme Court, Megan Martin for Commonwealth Court, and Maria Battista and Judge Harry Smail, Jr. for two seats on Superior Court. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Will Philly’s progressive machine prevail?
RealClearPennsylvania Editor Charles McElwee has a piece in City Journal on today’s Democratic mayoral primary in Philadelphia. He writes that the race will determine whether the city’s rising progressive wing wrests power from establishment Democrats. If that happens, it would “portend the most dramatic political shift at City Hall since 1951, when Democratic mayoral candidate Joseph Clark vanquished a decades-long GOP machine.”
Dem picks up Biden’s endorsement in special House election
In the highly watched special House election in the 163rd District (Delaware County), Democrat Heather Boyd picked up a last-minute endorsement from President Joe Biden. Boyd faces Republican Katie Ford. The race, in which Democrats hold an advantage, will determine the House majority. The Inquirer reports, “Democrats have gone all in …spending nearly $1 million on ad buys, mailers, and polling, according to campaign finance filings. Republicans have spent only a fraction of that….”
Last minute election info
From around the state, here’s a round-up of last-minute election information. PennLive covers the Capital area. The Post-Gazette covers Allegheny County. The Erie Times-News has that region. The Morning Call has the Lehigh Valley. For Centre County, check out the Centre Daily Times. For Northeastern PA, visit WNEP. The Inquirer has Philly. And for everywhere I missed, here is info from the Commonwealth.
Acting Sec’t of State to hold primary election presser tonight at 9 p.m.
Tonight at 9:00 p.m., Acting Pa. Secretary of State Al Schmidt will hold a press conference “to provide an update on the administration of Pennsylvania’s municipal primary.” Before we get too excited, the presser won’t deliver election results but rather will say whether the election ran smoothly (or not). The event will be live-streamed here.
Op-Ed: Shapiro should choose students over union power grabs
The Commonwealth Foundation’s Kevin Mooney writes in the American Spectator that Gov. Josh Shapiro has an opportunity to put himself “squarely on the side of parents, students, and teachers.” Doing so, however, means he “would need to cut a path that conflicts with the anti-education agenda of his union benefactors.” While campaigning for governor, Shapiro stated his support for Lifeline Scholarships. These scholarships would allow state education dollars to follow children to the school of their family’s choice. Government unions firmly oppose giving this opportunity to students. But Shapiro should stand with students and families rather than with ‘union power grabs.’