News & Brews June 9, 2026
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Dems bet $30M on reshaping 2028 House maps
Axios reports that the Democrats’ Forward Majority PAC plans to spend $30 million this year attempting to win just two dozen state legislative races across the country. Why? Because they recognize that the future of the U.S. House majority relies not simply on congressional races but on state legislatures that draw congressional maps. And “They’re betting that as few as eight statehouse races [in five states] could help determine who controls redistricting for six U.S. House seats ahead of 2028.” Guess what one of these states is? Pennsylvania.
Krasner v. Parker?
Progressive Philly DA Larry Krasner is making a public (and televised) show of demanding $5.6 million more from the city for his office “to bolster shootings investigations, domestic violence prosecutions, and victim services.” But just days ago, City Council advanced a budget with “a record-high $62.4 million” for the DA’s office, an increase of about $3 million over last year. The Inky reports that “Krasner’s televised appeal to Parker … came as rumors swirl that the third-term progressive may run for mayor next year when Parker … is up for reelection. He has also been floated … as a potential candidate for U.S. Senate to run for the seat currently held by Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has angered many in the party and will be up for reelection in 2028.”
How to ease electricity costs in the Northeast
Commonwealth Foundation Senior Fellow Gordon Tomb writes in the American Spectator that as “northeastern states are scrambling to address rising energy costs,” there’s one solution that “would deliver Pennsylvania natural gas to energy-starved New York and New England.” That solution is construction of the long-ago proposed Constitution Pipeline. “The need for this project is well documented,” said Jim Welty, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition.. “Customers throughout New York and New England have experienced significant supply disruptions in recent years due to inadequate natural gas supply and constrained access to the market.” After years of languishing due to far-left opposition, there may be new life for the project.
Pa. Dems take aim at guns
PennLive reports that Democrat state lawmakers are again trying to impose gun regulations and restrictions, hoping to get Republican support. But “So far, it isn’t working.” Yesterday, “The House Judiciary Committee … passed a bill [on party lines] that would require gun owners to keep their firearms locked up – either in a safe or with some sort of locking safety device attached – when not under their immediate supervision.” Republicans countered that the bill “will invariably delay a person’s ability to respond to a threat.” (For more on what Pa. Dems would do on guns if they gain a governing trifecta this November, check out this piece in Broad + Liberty.)
Investment in Mon Valley higher than predicted
The Post-Gazette reports, “Once Nippon Steel’s engineers started digging into the facilities that the Japanese steel firm acquired when it bought U.S. Steel Corp. in June 2025, they realized that $1 billion for a new hot strip mill at the Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock wasn’t going to be enough. The new estimate for the expanded scope of Mon Valley improvements is somewhere between $2 billion and $2.5 billion, U.S. Steel announced on Monday.”