News & Brews May 11, 2026
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Shapiro trying to ‘derail’ fellow Dem’s candidacy
Axios reports that Gov. Shapiro “is quietly trying to derail a left-wing congressional candidate championed by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.” AOC has endorsed Democrat state Rep. Chris Rabb in the primary race to succeed Democrat U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. “But Shapiro and his team have privately told allies that he disapproves of Rabb and has taken steps to block his path, according to three people familiar with the discussions.” Rabb and Shapiro have clashed before, and “Shapiro has privately advised Philadelphia’s building trades unions to avoid inadvertently helping Rabb, the lone progressive in the race, by attacking one of his center-left opponents.” Gee, what is it with Shapiro telling unions whom to support?
Fundraising gap persists in governor’s race
In the campaign finance reporting period from March 31 through May 4, Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro reported raising more than $3.6 million, ending the period with nearly $38 million cash on hand. Republican challenger Stacy Garrity reported raising about $275,000, ending the period with about $1.4 million cash on hand. Shapiro has drawn much of his money from out-of-state wealthy donors who recognize the importance of Pennsylvania. (In his new book, You GOTTA win Pennsylvania!, our president and CEO Matt Brouillette explains why national folks on the Right need to do the same.)
Hochul opts NY into school choice; what about Pa.?
NY Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul signaled last week that she will opt her state into the new federal tax credit scholarship program—marking the 30th state and 2nd Democrat-led state to give kids this educational option. The move naturally brought to the forefront Gov. Shapiro, who has still refused to commit to opting Pennsylvania into the program. Indeed, GOP lawmakers are asking outright, “Why won’t Gov. Shapiro make the same move for Pa.’s kids?” Why, indeed? As the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board notes, “There’s no good reason for a state not to join….”
From 2012-23, $2T left blue states for red states
This is some startling data. Our friends at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity crunched IRS numbers and found that from 2012 to 2023, “some $2 trillion in cumulative income has migrated out of high-tax blue states to low-tax red states.” That’s “trillion” with a “t.” “This is larger than the entire GDP of most nations.” Do you think all these blue states are changing their high-tax tunes as a result? To the contrary, “As many as 10 blue states are contemplating raising their income or wealth taxes.”
Pa. towns deploy 180-day data center moratorium
The Center Square reports, “Local government officials in Pennsylvania who have witnessed the storm of controversy over data center proposals are using a tool in state law that lets them create a de facto six-month moratorium.” That tool, found in the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, says an entity “can take a 180-day pause from considering proposals to create and adopt appropriate wording.”