News & Brews October 13, 2026
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These races could change Harrisburg balance of power
WHYY gives a rundown of the key state Senate and House races as Democrats seek to gain control of the Senate for the first time in decades while defending their slim House majority. If they succeed, the results will be far reaching. “A Democratic sweep of the governorship and both chambers could clear the path for proposals Democrats have long pushed for but that have stalled under divided government, including raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, legalizing recreational marijuana, expanding transit funding, adopting paid family leave and codifying abortion….” In the Senate, focus will be on five seats: Four currently held by Republicans and one held by a Democrat.
Inaction on skill games leaves owners in limbo
Since mid-June, lawmakers have known they faced an October 13 deadline to do something about skill games, which the state Supreme Court ruled were, indeed, gambling. Without action, these games become illegal this week. Well, lawmakers did not act. Now, as PennLive reports, “an established industry that existed just about everywhere is coming to a sudden and screeching halt. For most businesses that hosted these slots-like machines, there will be a dent in the bottom line, though owners reached by PennLive in recent days said they will try to persevere. They have other income streams, after all, whether it’s a gas station, a bar with a liquor license, or a convenience store. But for smaller private social clubs and veterans halls in Pennsylvania’s slow- and no-growth areas, there’s real peril ahead.”
Accused cop killer in Philly had killed before
It’s a story that’s all too common. Someone commits an act of violence—or in this case murder—and it later emerges that the individual had committed a similar crime before but was simply allowed to walk free. In this case, the man charged with killing Philadelphia police officer Shane Seiber over the weekend was also charged with the murder of another man six years ago. Yet, the case “fell apart at a trial in 2023 after a series of issues with the police investigation and prosecution,” the Inquirer reports. As a result, the man walked free. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner—who has long been accused of being soft on crime—did not respond to the Inquirer’s request for comment yesterday.
$90M in ads on 4 Pa. congressional races
As of the end of last week, Pennsylvania’s four hotly contested congressional races had drawn more than $90 million in ad spending—with each party spending about equally (Dems at $44.1M and Republicans at $46.5M). The Inquirer reports that “by far,” the most expensive of the four races in terms of ad spending (not counting things like mail, door-to-door, etc.), is the Lehigh Valley race between incumbent GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and Democrat Bob Brooks, at $28 million. The spending reflects the fact that Pennsylvania’s congressional races could, indeed, determine which party controls the U.S. House next year.
Pa. race tops list of interesting races
A Pennsylvania state Senate race tops the list of the 20 strangest and most interesting state legislative races of 2026, per a recently published State Navigate story. Landing at the #1 most interesting race is the southwestern Pa. contest between incumbent GOP state Senator Camera Bartolotta and independent Jodi Borello, who are neck and neck in a recent State Navigate poll. Among the interesting points: “Borello was … pulling significant Republican support: 20% of voters who say they supported Donald Trump in 2024 are backing Borello…. Bartolotta is also enjoying significant Democratic support as well, with 12% of voters who say they supported Kamala Harris in 2024 backing Bartolotta.”
