News & Brews August 11, 2026
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Was Shapiro’s data center flip flop fast enough?
The Inquirer reports that Gov. Josh Shapiro was initially all in on data centers in Pennsylvania. But as public opinion has quickly turned against data centers, Shapiro has changed his position to follow the political winds—”but not fast enough for some voters.” An while the governor’s approval rating has been above 50%, a Quinnipiac poll found that only 24% approve of how he’s handling data centers.
Another test for socialists today
As socialists continue to test their appeal in swing states, Wisconsin is latest on the list. POLITICO reports, “Progressives believe they are on the cusp of another major victory against the establishment in the Wisconsin governor primary [today] — one that could pave the way for the movement in 2028 and beyond.” On the ballot is socialist Francesca Hong, who wants to eliminate Thanksgiving and defund the police. But other socialists like Bernie Sanders and AOC aren’t endorsing Hong. And POLITICO speculates their “lack of involvement … could foretell just how immense a task Hong faces” to convince folks she’s electable.
The ‘2nd degree murder sentencing mess’
At a joint hearing of the Senate Majority Policy Committee and the House Republican Policy Committee yesterday, lawmakers heard from testifiers “on various crime trends and issues.” But, “The second-degree murder sentencing quandary may have the most political urgency,” the Center Square reports. At issue is the current “lack of a sentencing framework for ‘felony murder’” after the state Supreme Court gave lawmakers 120 days to come up with new guidelines and lawmakers are now beyond that deadline with no guidelines in place.
PennLive can’t help itself
Last week, the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) Keystone Chapter announced its endorsement of Stacy Garrity for governor. ABC is pro-worker and believes in workers’ right to work free from being forced to join a union and fund its political agenda as a condition of employment. But in reporting the endorsement, PennLive couldn’t simply run a story on the endorsement with a reaction from the other side. Nope, PennLive’s entire story is focused on (and headlined by) how unions don’t like the endorsement. For our part, congratulations to Garrity for earning the backing of those who prioritize workers over union leaders’ interests.
Dems gaining in Pa. voter registration
PoliticsPA gives a Pennsylvania voter registration update, noting that since April, “More than 67,000 voters either registered or changed affiliation … with 68 percent of those opting for ‘no affiliation’ or independent.” Meanwhile, “Democrats picked up 14,676 new registrants to bring their total in the state to 3.84 million – 210,000 more than the GOP, who sit at 3.635 million after registering 9,537 new voters.” Contrary to some flat-out false rhetoric by activists, there’s been no recent massive purge of voter rolls in Pennsylvania, and claims about a shrinking gap in “active” voter registration don’t mean anything as even “inactive” voters are still registered to vote and can vote in elections.
