News & Brews September 22, 2025
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Pa. GOP endorses Garrity for governor
At its annual fall meeting over the weekend, the Pennsylvania State Republican Party officially endorsed Pa. Treasurer Stacy Garrity for governor. “By making an early endorsement,” PennLive reports, “the state GOP committee is hoping to replicate 2024, when an early endorsement of Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate allowed the party to avoid a messy primary battle….” In her acceptance speech, Garrity criticized Gov. Shapiro for trying to play both sides of issues as well as for his obvious maneuvering for higher office. “I’m not running for governor as a stepping stone to something bigger,” she said, adding, “[T]here is no more dangerous place in Harrisburg than standing between Josh Shapiro and a camera.”
‘Is the end near’ for Pa. mail-in ballot chaos?
Dated ballots. Undated ballots. Lawsuits. Court rulings. More lawsuits. Despite the clarity of Pennsylvania’s requirement that mail-in ballots must be dated, conflicting court rulings have injected chaos into the issue. Now, with the latest two cases—one before the Pa. Supreme Court and one in federal court—Votebeat asks, “Is the end near?” While the courts “could theoretically settle the question for good,” we admit we’re less than optimistic, given history.
Total spending number at core of budget impasse
Nearly three months after the state budget deadline, there’s still no state budget. Why is that? Well, the Inquirer explains, “Legislative leaders are still unable to agree on … how much money they should spend.” More specifically, “The amount lawmakers ultimately approve … will determine if Pennsylvania needs to raise taxes, cut spending, or create new revenue streams next year, as the state is set to spend more than it brings in during this budget cycle and every following year without new income.” What’s more, “If leaders agreed to fund Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal at his requested $51.5 billion total spend number, the state would spend more than $5 billion than it is projected to bring in for the 2025-26 fiscal year.”
Harris’ new is book ‘unflattering’ toward Shapiro
POLITICO reports that former Vice President Kamala Harris’ new book, 107 Days, slated for release tomorrow, “befuddles Dems” as it’s “peppered with digs at fellow party members.” Among those digs is one against Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was among the final contenders to be Harris’ running mate. “Harris said Shapiro … ultimately came across as too ambitious to trust as her number two. In one unflattering anecdote, she recalls the Pennsylvania governor measuring the figurative drapes in the vice president’s residence, musing about art by Pennsylvanians he could display there.”
Pa. college GOP-ers: ‘Ballots not bullets’
One day after yesterday’s memorial service for Charlie Kirk, PennLive and RealClear Pennsylvania jointly report on what’s been happening among college conservatives across Pennsylvania since the September 10 assassination. Specifically, the story looks at “the visceral reaction to Kirk’s killing across Pennsylvania college campuses and the longer-term implications this holds for Keystone State politics.”
Pa. March for Life happening today
The fifth annual Pennsylvania March for Life, hosted by the Pa. Family Institute, will take place this morning on the steps of the state Capitol. Slated to speak are lawmakers, pro-life advocates, and more. Click here.