News & Brews August 19, 2026
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Democrat leads in special House election
In a Butler County district where Republicans significantly outnumber Dems, Democrat Brandon Dukes appears to have edged out Republican Scott Timko in a special House election yesterday. WESA reports, “While the race remained too close to call, unofficial vote tallies showed … Dukes … narrowly leading … Timko … by a margin of less than 100 votes in a race where more than 16,800 voters cast ballots.” Dukes and Timko are already slated for a rematch in November, as this election was to complete an unexpired term. Today, however, Democrats are celebrating a victory that on paper, wasn’t expected to happen. (Very similar to Lancaster Democrat Sen. James Malone’s special election victory last year.)
Shapiro’s latest data center position
In what the Inquirer is calling a “major shift from his initial embrace” of data centers, yesterday, Gov. Josh Shapiro “signed a sweeping executive order … dramatically restricting data center development in Pennsylvania.” Remember, Shapiro had boasted of bringing $20 billion in data center investment from Amazon to Pa. But that was before data centers became so politically unpopular. And testing the prevailing wins, Shapiro had to follow them. So, “Now he is taking a hard-line stance against the burgeoning data center industry he once courted.” Notably, his order “does not include a moratorium on data center development” but rather “requires local approval for projects to receive state permits, which in effect may block many developments from moving forward.”
McCormick on capitalism, war, and more
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick joined host Aaron MacLean on the Free Press’s School of War program for a wide-ranging conversation on “why the right needs a better answer to socialism, lessons in modern warfare from [McCormick’s] recent closed-door meeting with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky, and why he regrets his 2002 LA Times op-ed supporting the Iraq War.”
Conservative activist facing campaign finance complaint
Spotlight PA reports that conservative activist Scott Presler has been hit with accusations of violating state campaign finance law. “The complaint alleges that despite his extensive campaigning in the state in 2025 urging voters not to retain three state Supreme Court judges, Presler and his organization, Early Vote Action, did not disclose sources of revenue or detailed expenditures as required.” Specifically, the complaint is that “Early Vote Action used paid staff, engaged in voter outreach, and purchased digital and print media during the campaign — all expenditures which should have been detailed in campaign finance reports.” More recently, Presler has been claiming GOP gains in Pa. voter registration and massive purges of voter rolls by the Pa. Department of State—neither of which is true.
Lawmakers to hold law enforcement hearing
This morning at 10:00 a.m., the state House Republican Policy Committee will hold a hearing on law enforcement recruitment and retention. The purpose of the hearing is “to examine the factors driving law enforcement workforce challenges and explore practical policy solutions to strengthen the law enforcement pipeline.” Among those scheduled to testify are representatives from the Pennsylvania State Police and Attorney General’s office. click here to watch the livestream at 10:00 a.m.
