News & Brews October 14, 2026
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Democrats dream of a trifecta
As President Trump’s approval rating is abysmally low and Gov. Shapiro’s is the opposite, the Inquirer reports that Democrats are “for the first time in decades imagining what Harrisburg would be like with a trifecta of power.” They need only keep the state House and governor’s office while flipping three state Senate seats. And they’re spending big to do so even as the GOP is spending to prevent it.
“According to media tracker AdImpact, Senate Republican campaigns have spent a total of $15.4 million so far … in TV and streaming ads across five competitive races…. Senate Democratic candidates have spent $12.3 million so far for the TV and streaming ads across those same five competitive districts, according to AdImpact.” This does not include expenses for mail, door-to-door, and myriad other campaign expenses.
Gov. Shapiro’s education policies
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, our friend Rev. Joshua C. Robertson of Black Pastors United for Education says the new federal tax credit scholarship program “is an opportunity to empower Pennsylvania’s children and families—and to unite people in support of America’s future.” He writes that Gov. Shapiro “should seize this opportunity to unite his state, especially if he has national ambitions. Mr. Governor, please put aside politics, and put families and children first.”
With skill games illegal, workers lose jobs
As lawmakers failed to come up with a plan to regulate skill games by the court-imposed deadline and are instead focused on their own re-elections, the Center Square reports that some workers across Pennsylvania are now out of jobs. “Ralph Elia, who operates four bars in Berks County in the southeastern part of the state, was among what was expected to be a significant number of small business owners who would be forced to let employees go…. Elia said he had no choice but to cut well over 10 employees, a number of whom are single mothers.”
Meanwhile, “At Wagner-Good VFW Post 216 in Hamburg in northern Berks County, longtime manager Jennifer Naftzinger said the post had three of the ‘skill games’ removed last week. The revenue, she said, will be missed….” She rightfully blamed Harrisburg lawmakers. “If I ran a business the way they do, we wouldn’t be here.” Lawmakers had months to come up with a plan and prevent these losses, but they didn’t do so.
Dems bank on anti-corruption theme
RollCall reports that in the much-watched congressional race between incumbent GOP Rep. Rob Bresnahan and Democrat Paige Cognetti in northeastern Pa., Democrats are hoping an “anti-corruption” theme will help them win. Bresnahan, meanwhile, “is relying on strong union support and points to funds he’s secured for his district over the past two years…. He also ticked off various times he’s broken with his own party. He cited a discharge petition lawmakers forced the House to consider last year that was focused on restoring collective bargaining rights for federal workers.” Cognetti has called for an end to corporate PAC donations but takes them herself, so there’s that. The race is one of four in Pennsylvania that could determine the U.S. House majority.
More education funding … for GLP-1?
When folks hear of property tax increases to fund local schools, they probably assume the money is for education. But USA Today Network reports that some Pa. schools are aiming for more money so they can fund the explosive use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs for employees. “All over Pennsylvania” school districts are trying to figure out what to do, “caught between the promise of a potentially transformative drug and the sizable price tag that comes with it…. Amid these climbing costs, some districts that initially embraced coverage of weight-loss drugs are now looking to backtrack, alarmed by a rapid takeoff in pharmaceutical spending.” Something to think about amid the perpetual “we need more money for education” claims.
