News & Brews July 30, 2026
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Cognetti claims to reject corporate PAC $$, then takes it
So, Democrat congressional candidate Paige Cognetti, who is challenging GOP Rep. Rob Bresnahan in Northeast Pa., has made rejecting corporate PAC money a cornerstone of her campaign. But alas, turns out she’s totally accepting corporate PAC money, only making sure it’s being redirected through other entities first so it doesn’t appear she’s taking corporate PAC money. NOTUS reports, that “federal campaign finance filings show Cognetti has accepted donations from numerous political committees that themselves are awash in cash from corporate PACs.” Look, nothing against accepting corporate PAC money, but don’t pretend you’re not.
‘4 gov’s races that could affect House majority’
Roll Call gives its take on four gubernatorial races to watch that could influence not just each state’s executive office but also which party holds the U.S. House majority. And, not surprisingly, Pennsylvania is one to watch. How the top of the ticket influences these down ballot races remains to be seen—and whether coattails will help Democrats challenging four incumbent Republican U.S. House members. The story in my view is less the particular races and more that Pennsylvania continues to be front and center when it comes to determining which party controls Congress.
‘1,057 days without a vote’
For more than 1,000 days, House Democrats have avoided voting on widely supported legislation protecting women and girls’ sports and spaces. It’s ridiculous, truly, that Democrats keep ping-ponging the legislation around committees. Now, “The Pennsylvania Women’s Sports Bipartisan Coalition, an alliance of parents, athletes, attorneys, faith leaders, child and student rights advocates, and organizations sent a formal letter to members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives urging an up-or-down floor vote on four bills concerning girls’ sports and women’s spaces.” You can read the letter, titled “1,057 days without a vote,” here.
Shapiro’s lawsuits against Trump
We all know that suing the Trump administration is one of Gov. Shapiro’s favorite pastimes. And he’s filed or joined dozens of lawsuits against Trump since becoming governor—this doesn’t count the dozens he filed or joined as attorney general. Well, if you want to see a rundown of the cases filed since Shapiro took office as governor, Spotlight PA has published a list.
PennDOT won’t investigate explosion
This boggles my mind. Recently, Gov. Shapiro bragged about reopening the I-376 Commercial Street Bridge in Allegheny County in just 17 days. But missing from the self congratulation is that a PennDOT subcontractor made an egregious mistake during the project that could have cost lives. After the old bridge was imploded, the subcontractor declared the area all clear but there was still live dynamite that hadn’t exploded. And it exploded when workers hit it the following day. Thankfully no one was hurt. But PennDOT’s reaction is baffling. The department said it will not investigate the incident as it was “just an errant mistake.”
