News & Brews March 20, 2026
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Green Party candidate running for governor
Another candidate has entered the gubernatorial field. This time, it’s Green Party candidate Tony Dastra of Lancaster. Dastra previously ran for Lancaster city mayor, a race in which he received 10.4% of the vote. But Green Party gubernatorial candidates have fared far worse, receiving less than 1 percent of the vote in 2022 and 2018 each. The LNP reports, “Aug. 3 is the deadline for an independent or third-party candidate to file paperwork with the Pennsylvania Department of State to get their name on the November general election ballot. Independent and third-party gubernatorial candidates must gather 5,000 signatures from Pennsylvania registered voters.” If Dastra meets this requirement, he’ll be on the ballot against Josh Shapiro and Stacy Garrity.
Fetterman breaks ranks to support Mullin
Democrat U.S. Sen. John Fetterman broke with fellow Democrats to cast the deciding vote advancing the nomination of Markwayne Mullin to be Secretary of Homeland Security. The committee of the same name voted 8-7 to move Mullin’s nomination forward, with Republican Committee Chair Sen. Rand Paul voting “no.” Aside from Paul and Fetterman, the vote was along party lines.
Op-Ed: Why is Pa. defunding cyber charter schools?
Marcella Arline, a Board Member of Reach Cyber Charter School, writes in PennLive, “More than 63,000 students across Pennsylvania—one of the largest student bodies in the commonwealth—attend a cyber charter because their neighborhood brick-and-mortar school couldn’t provide what they needed for their education.” Her grandson is one such student. “Now all these students face the risk of returning to the schools they escaped—all because lawmakers have vilified their preferred schools.” Yet, “Pennsylvania will only succeed when we value all forms of education that allow all students to become successful adults.”
Suspending the gas tax?
The Center Square reports that Democrat state Sen. Lisa Boscola (Lehigh and Northampton counties) plans to introduce legislation “that would have the state government suspend the [gas] tax for 60 days to help consumers and make up the lost revenue by issuing bonds.” Yet, House Republican Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (Centre and Mifflin counties) minority chairman of the House Transportation Committee, “described it as a political gesture that would only hurt efforts to keep roads in good repair.” This comes as gas prices have rapidly increased in the wake of the war with Iran—not to mention our 57.6-cent-per-gallon gas tax is the fourth-highest in the country.
$17B power plant coming to southwestern Pa.
The Post-Gazette reports, “A $17 billion natural gas-fueled facility to increase energy production is coming to southwestern Pennsylvania, the White House announced Thursday. The hub, called South Mon, is one of three stemming from President Donald Trump’s $550 billion trade deal with Japan, according to a White House official speaking on condition of anonymity.” The facility will reportedly “be connected to existing natural gas pipelines within the Marcellus and Utica shale regions.”