News & Brews January 26, 2026
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Axios: Dem officials don’t like Shapiro
Axios had a story yesterday noting that “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is wildly popular with voters in his critical battleground state. But among some top Democrats there who know him personally, feelings are lukewarm — sometimes even resentful.” And while “few Pennsylvania Democrats have spoken out with complaints partly because they’re afraid of the political consequences of turning on the governor,” … “Many Democratic elected officials and party leaders in Pennsylvania privately have fumed about Shapiro to Axios through the years, even as they’ve supported him publicly. Several have claimed that Shapiro has been willing to push aside allies to get ahead, which has created a slew of politicians quietly holding grudges.”
Shapiro launches book tour; Some Dems ‘fume’ over book’s claims
Gov. Shapiro launched his book tour on Saturday at the Central Library in Philadelphia. The Inquirer reports, “The conversation focused on the governor’s spiritual journey and family, but it also offered critiques of both parties and promises to the community.” Separately, Axios reports that some ex-Obama and Biden officials are ‘fuming’ at Shapiro’s accusation in the book that some of the VP vetting questions were antisemitic. Biden’s former chief of staff said, “Asking a high-level appointee if they have ever been a foreign agent is a standard vetting question.” Meanwhile, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is challenging Shapiro in November, pointed out that the library where the book launch event was held, which typically acts as a warming center in frigid weather, halted its warming center operations “on one of the coldest weekends of the year” for Josh Shapiro’s promotional event.
Chesco pollbook error connected to ‘inexperienced’ staff
Remember the Chester County pollbook fiasco last year in which the county printed poll books from the primary election for the general election, meaning the books excluded thousands of registered voters who were not registered as Republicans or Democrats? Well, Votebeat reports that a review of the error found that “the ‘two inexperienced employees’ who generated the pollbook files mistakenly selected the option to include ‘only voters from the major parties.’” Among other findings, the review “also said the state’s training did not sufficiently guide employees through the settings needed to generate a general election pollbook versus one for primaries. Finally, the report said ‘no policy or procedure was in place’ to check the files generated … for accuracy before the pollbooks were printed.”
Pa. swing voters on Greenland, Trump, Shapiro & more
As part of its Swing Voter Project, Engagious conducted focus groups last week with 14 Biden-to-Trump voters. Topics covered included Greenland, Venezuela, ICE, President Trump, & Gov. Shapiro. Engagious reminds us that a focus group “is not a statistically reliable sample of a larger population. Unlike a survey, its results are not projectable.” (Caveat on this one: I haven’t yet watched the video but am sharing for your enjoyment!) Watch it here.
Forecasting 2026 legislative races
Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia has released its “First Look” at 2026 state legislative races. And, of course, Pennsylvania plays a role on the list. “In our analysis, two chambers rate as Leans Republican, both of them currently Republican-held: the New Hampshire Senate and the Pennsylvania Senate. Two chambers rate as Leans Democratic, both of them currently held by Democrats: the Maine House and the Pennsylvania House…. Democrats are favored to hold the [Pa.] state House, which they should narrowly control once vacant seats are filled. The Senate has been a tougher nut for Democrats to crack, but with popular Gov. Josh Shapiro on the ballot in 2026, it’s possible that his coattails and a blue environment could make it possible.”