News & Brews April 23, 2024
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Police withdraw arrest warrant for state rep
Questions abound after Philly police withdrew the arrest warrant issued last week against Democrat state Rep. Kevin Boyle. The Inquirer reports, “Law enforcement officials on Monday did not have a clear explanation as to how a gaffe of this magnitude — walking back allegations against a sitting elected official the day before an election— could happen.” Apparently, the protection from abuse order that Boyle was accused of violating was no longer active. Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner suggested it was all an honest mistake, while GOP state Rep. Seth Grove (York County) posted that every headline this morning should read, “Political Corruption!! Philly DA Krasner abuses office & uses Philadelphia Police to electioneer state Representative race.” Of course, establishment Dems have been working to oust Boyle, putting more than $200,000 into backing his primary opponent. How convenient for them that this “mistake” happened just before today’s primary election.
Races to watch in today’s primary contests
There’s no shortage of “what to watch” news stories out there regarding today’s elections, but here are a few highlights. First, statewide row office primaries. Democrats have contested primaries for attorney general, auditor general, and treasurer. Meanwhile, there is a GOP primary for attorney general between York County District Attorney Dave Sunday (whom we have supported) and state Rep. Craig Williams. For auditor general and treasurer, Republican incumbents Tim DeFoor and Stacy Garrity are running unopposed. In the state House, the Democrat primary for state Rep. Kevin Boyle’s seat is one to watch. As mentioned above, Dems have put more than $200,000 behind Boyle’s opponent, Sean Dougherty. And in Lancaster County, House Republican Leader (and former Speaker) Bryan Cutler is facing a primary challenge from political newcomer Dave Nissley.
Election Day nuts and bolts
It’s primary Election Day. I know News & Brews readers have above-average knowledge when it comes to voting and elections, but in case you’d like a “nuts and bolts” primer to share—what times polls are open, how to find your polling place, and more—we’ve got you covered.
Proposed bill would prevent ‘typosquatting’
Broad + Liberty reports on legislation proposed by Democrat state Rep. Joe Webster (Montgomery County) that would require “that county boards of elections maintain a publicly accessible Internet website using a .gov top-level domain (TLD).” The bill would effectively prevent “typosquatting” of county election websites—a deception which, as Broad + Liberty explains, “relies upon creating a website URL that is extremely close to the official site.” Webster’s proposal predates the recent reports on www.vote.pa, “a Democratic-aligned, left-wing funded website that registers people to vote, but also harvests their data like phone numbers and email addresses in order to create a contacts database for campaigning.”
U.S. House race in Pa. is ‘testing fallout from Israel-Hamas war’
POLITICO’s home-page headline this morning looks at the Democrat primary happening today in Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district, where progressive Rep. Summer Lee—part of the anti-Israel ‘Squad’—is facing a highly-watched primary challenge. “The first high-profile progressive House member to face a contested primary this year … [Lee’s] Pittsburgh-based district is home to a tight-knit Jewish community that is grappling with the effects of the war. Last month, dozens of Jewish leaders signed an open letter to the Pennsylvania representative blistering her for her criticism of Israel’s government and ‘divisive rhetoric, which, at times, we have perceived as openly antisemitic.’”