News & Brews November 6, 2025
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How Dems ‘roared back to life’ on Election Day
PennLive reports that in addition to holding three state Supreme Court seats, Democrats this year won additional statewide court seats, “flipped or retained control of county courthouses in several swing counties,” and “won several races in places where the Democratic wins make political history.” How did they do it? “Democrats have argued for some time now that while they are losing their registration edge in Pennsylvania, they have flipped the script on which party’s base turns out most reliably. Statewide turnout Tuesday dramatically exceeded numbers from recent odd-year elections, with more than 3.6 million voters casting ballots this fall. That represented 17.5 percent growth over voter participation in 2023, the most recent prior off-year election.”
GOP: ‘Work to do’ after Supreme Court election
The Post-Gazette reports, “Pennsylvania Republicans are taking stock of sweeping Democratic wins up and down the ballot Tuesday, including a pivotal state Supreme Court campaign focused on contentious state and national issues….” Spending in the race topped $20 million, with the Left far outspending the Right. “Over the final six days, ‘yes’ vote supporters reserved $982,000 in future ads, compared to just $27,000 for groups against the justices.” As most of the spending on the Right came from Commonwealth Partners’ groups, our president and CEO Matt Brouillette notes in the story, “It was unfortunate that while the left was able to rally more than 40 groups to fund and fight for [Pennsylvania’s] progressive justices, the right clearly lacked the motivation to get engaged like we hoped.”
Yass: ‘I’m betting $100M on a new university’
Pennsylvania entrepreneur and educational philanthropist Jeff Yass explains in The Free Press why he’s giving $100 million to the University of Austin (UATX)—the largest donation the university has ever received. “The purpose of higher education should be to instill students with knowledge, skills, judgment, and character, so they can flourish and contribute to society,” he writes. “By that standard, success should be measured by how graduates are doing. That’s not happening anymore…. This gift is intended to kick-start a virtuous cycle: UATX will prepare students to become the next generation’s leading entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, and philanthropists. In turn, these successful graduates will financially support future generations of students, ultimately making UATX tuition-free.”
‘Right problem … wrong cures’
The Inquirer shares reaction among some academic experts to President Trump’s so-called college compact requiring certain things in exchange for federal funding. William Gruver, Bucknell University emeritus professor and current senior fellow at Open Discourse Coalition—a group we’re big fans of for their commitment to civil dialogue and debate—said, “For the private schools, it’s just a bridge too far. If you’re a private organization, you should make your own decisions on these matters. … The way you really cure societal ills is not by government mandates, but by action from boots on the ground.” Meanwhile, American Council on Education Senior VP Jonathan Fansmith says of the compact, “They diagnosed the right problems, but they prescribed all the wrong cures.”
State court considers taxpayer-funded abortions
This week, the Commonwealth Court heard arguments in the case challenging the current restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortion via Medicaid. WESA reports, “Although the lawsuit primarily concerns who should bear the cost of an abortion, much of Wednesday’s proceedings focused on whether Pennsylvania women have a constitutional right to abortion … at all.” Last year, the state “Supreme Court ruled the coverage exclusion ‘presumptively unconstitutional’ … and remanded the matter back to the lower court.” Gov. Shapiro, an enthusiastic abortion fan, has said his administration will not defend the current law.