News & Brews May 22, 2026
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LG Austin Davis’s office sued by former staffer
PennLive reports that a former staffer has sued Lt. Gov. Austin Davis’s office in federal court, alleging she was “fired …. for taking Family Medical Leave Act leave related to her documented disability.” The staffer claims that soon after joining the LG’s office in 2023 “she encountered workplace bullying, microaggressions and sabotage.” Meanwhile, “The lieutenant governor’s office said it hadn’t yet been served with a complaint and declined to comment on the lawsuit.”
Tuesday’s three other winners
Beyond the candidates who emerged on top, WESA posits that Tuesday’s primary races, particularly in western Pa., revealed three other “groups who have something to celebrate.” First, “Democrats generally,” as “the results Tuesday suggest that even in a low-wattage election, Democrats are more energized than the GOP.” Second, “the Republican establishment,” as several efforts to oust incumbents failed. And third, “left-leaning activists” who are changing the direction of the Democrat party.
DNC’s 2024 autopsy is ‘roiling Democrats’
The Democrat National Committee finally released (sort of) its analysis of why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election. The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes, however, that “even now it’s not publishing a full, finished version of the report—because Democrats don’t seem to have prepared one.” Yet, what’s there isn’t satisfying anyone. POLITICO reports that “strategists and party officials [are] lambasting chair Ken Martin for releasing a haphazard, typo-ridden report that failed to fully capture why, exactly, the party was crushed by President Donald Trump.”
Website reveals Dem ‘blueprint’ for gov’s race
PennLive reports that a new website from the Pennsylvania Democrat Party and Democrat Governor’s Association reveals how Dems plan to attack GOP state Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity this year. The website URL, stacygarritypa.com, is similar to Garrity’s actual website, garrityforpa.com, but the content is quite different.
Analyzing Rabb’s path to victory in Philly
The Philly Inquirer looks at how far-left progressive state Rep. Chris Rabb surged to victory in the hotly contested Democrat congressional primary to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. Rabb’s “win was in no small part because he performed well in Northwest Philadelphia, the city’s most dense pocket of typically pro-establishment Black voters…. The campaign also ran up its vote totals by winning a large majority of the vote in wards that tend to back progressives.”