News & Brews October 4, 2024
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Sunday, DePasquale to face off in debate
Last evening, Republican attorney general nominee Dave Sunday (whom we are supporting) and Democrat nominee Eugene DePasquale faced off in a debate hosted by WGAL. As PennLive recaps, experience (or lack of it) was a central theme of the debate. While Sunday, who currently serves as the York County District Attorney, pointed out that he’s an experienced prosecutor whose office has tried 40,000 criminal cases, he highlighted that DePasquale has never tried a case in his life. DePasquale, meanwhile, suggested his experience in statewide investigations atones for that. You can read a transcript of the debate here, watch the full video here, or click here for the PennLive story.
Casey, McCormick meet in heated debate
It apparently was the night of Pa. debates last night. From border security to the sale of U.S. Steel, topics ranged and attacks flew in last evening’s debate between Democrat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and GOP challenger Dave McCormick. The AP reports, “During the combative nighttime debate, Casey tried to drive home the message that McCormick is a wealthy, carpetbagging ex-hedge fund CEO, while McCormick painted Casey as a weak, do-nothing career politician.”
Dockworkers suspend strike until January
Perhaps afraid of hurting Democrats’ chances of winning if a strike dragged on before the election (hmm), the dockworkers’ union has reached a tentative agreement that would postpone their strike until the convenient post-election date of January 15. The AP reports, “A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50% over six years to 62%. The person didn’t want to be identified because the agreement is tentative. Any wage increase would have to be approved by union members as part of the ratification of a final contract.” International Longshoremen’s Association union members at ports from Maine to Texas (including Philly) have been on strike since Tuesday.
Pa. voter registration gap narrows (again and again)
CNHI News reports that “Republicans continue to cut into Democrats’ edge in voter registration in Pennsylvania, narrowing an advantage that was already at a historic low, new data shows.” As of Monday, “There were 333,315 more Democrats registered to vote compared to Republicans…. That’s the smallest margin dating to 1998, the oldest cumulative data available” from the Pa. Department of State.
Dem campaign consultant charged with stealing COVID relief funds
A Philadelphia Democrat campaign consultant who served as chief of staff to state Senator Sharif Street is facing federal charges “for allegedly bilking pandemic relief programs out of nearly $2 million.” The Inquirer reports that prosecutors say that Tracy Hardy “lied on applications for government-backed loans about the revenue brought in by businesses he owned and the wages they were paying their workers.” And, “Instead of using the money to keep the business afloat, investigators say Hardy spent it on cars, property, sports tickets, and travel.”