News & Brews December 1, 2025
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A ‘costly governor’s race’ ahead
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican challenger state Treasurer Stacy Garrity are “poised for [a] costly governor’s race” next year. Initial fundraising numbers for 2025 aren’t due until February 2, 2026, but in 2022, Shapiro raised tens of millions of dollars. (From 2020-2024, more than 55% of Shapiro’s itemized donations came from outside of Pennsylvania, per our analysis of campaign finance reports.) Meanwhile, Garrity has proven to be a strong campaigner and holds the record as the top vote-getter in a race for statewide office in Pa.
Legal shenanigans target oil companies
The Washington Free Beacon reports, “The New Venture Fund (NVF), a behemoth left-wing dark money charity, wired $2.3 million last year to the law firm that dozens of Democratic prosecutors have contracted to spearhead high-stakes climate litigation against oil companies, according to its latest tax filings. At the same time, it bankrolled a group that advises judges on how to handle those cases.” Recent filings “raise ethics questions about whether the fund is attempting to stack the deck by funding both the lawyers leading the cases—which are aimed at bankrupting America’s largest oil companies—and trainings that could sway judges to side with those lawyers.”
Candidates line up for state House seat
WESA reports that Allegheny County Democrat state Rep. Anita Kulik’s retirement announcement means candidates have begun lining up in hopes of replacing her in the lower chamber. “So far, two candidates have announced campaigns for the district: Democrat Fred Coleman and Republican James Julius. Both said it won’t be easy to replace Kulik in a district with complicated politics.” Julius challenged Kulik last year, losing 58% to 42%. Meanwhile, Coleman said of the district, “It’s not a safe district by any means. It’s a light blue district.”
Pa. budget didn’t regulate skill games
Spotlight PA reports, “This year’s state budget didn’t pull slot-like skill games out of their legal limbo in Pennsylvania, despite bipartisan consensus on the need to do so.” (The media often confuses “needs” and “wants,” by the way. Just saying.) You’ll recall that early in the budget debate, skill games were a central theme. But by the end of the multi-month impasse, they were almost nowhere to be found. Still, some lawmakers aim to keep trying.
COVID ends, but budget spending sprees don’t
The Center Square observes, “States around the country, hooked on billions of federal dollars that flooded in during COVID, don’t want the party to end.” Among the partiers is Pennsylvania. Our “annual budget has ballooned by nearly 64% under Gov. Josh Shapiro and his Democratic predecessor.” Among the areas of largest increases were K-12 education, human services, and corrections.