News & Brews October 23, 2026
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Shapiro, 2026, and 2028
The Inquirer reports that even though everyone knows Gov. Josh Shapiro has had his eye on the White House forever, he still won’t admit it. Instead, he’s aiming for a Democrat trifecta this year as he’s “struggled as a dealmaker in the state’s split legislature.” So, unable to work across the aisle, he wants to end the Republican Senate majority so he won’t have to negotiate with anyone to push his agenda. If he succeeds, he’ll have something to talk about for 2028.
Shapiro has also “put his reputation on the line to flip the U.S. House, endorsing, campaigning and fundraising for four Democratic challengers in competitive congressional districts across Pennsylvania in hopes they win and take control of the chamber.” His recent creation of a federal PAC supposedly is for this end—even though creating a federal PAC just a few weeks before the election isn’t going to do much to move the needle, so Shapiro really created it for his own 2028 ambitions.
GSD = Getting Squat Done
Spotlight PA reports that as the Pennsylvania legislature wraps up its 2025-2026 session, “a long list of proposals with bipartisan support and keen public interest is on track to fail, forcing those issues back to the starting line next year. Some, like a deal on regulating skill games, have sunk under pressure from warring and monied special interests. Others, like a long-sought measure to let child sexual abuse survivors file related lawsuits beyond the statute of limitations, became partisan bargaining chips.” And, “as it stands, the General Assembly is on track to pass fewer individual pieces of legislation than in any other two-year legislative session since at least 1973-74.” This is despite Gov. Josh Shapiro’s claim that he can bring both sides of the aisle together to “get stuff done.”
Referencing Shapiro, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward said, “It is hard to get things done when you can’t trust the person sitting across the table from you, I worked with [former Democratic] Governor [Tom] Wolf, and it was so pleasant. He didn’t want to go and become president. He wanted to take care of what was right for Pennsylvania.”
The blame game on skill games
Well the legislative session isn’t winding down without a bit of drama. Yesterday. House Democrats came out and blasted Senate Republicans, claiming a deal was reached on regulating skill games but Senate Republicans couldn’t muster the votes for it. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford blamed the GOP for being “weak in their caucus and … weak in their convictions.” Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman referred to efforts to reach a deal during the budget process, saying, “It is unfortunate Democrats abandoned those efforts over the summer when there was adequate time to come to agreement.” And so, here we are.
Mail-in voting underway in Pa.
ABC27 breaks down the numbers on mail-in ballots for us. “Applications for 1,238,525 ballots were approved as of 8 a.m. on Oct. 22, according to the Department of State. So far [as of yesterday], 722,351 ballots, or 58%, have been returned.” As for party breakdown, “Registered Democratic Party voters requested a majority of the ballots (802,662) and have returned more than 60% of those ballots. Registered Republican Party voters requested 301,319 ballots and have returned more than 57% of them. Independent and third-party voters requested 135,544 ballots and have returned more than 47% of them.”
U.S. House hearing in Pa. on educational freedom
The U.S. House Committee on Education & Workforce will hold a field hearing this morning at 10:00 a.m. in Bethlehem, Pa. on expanding educational freedom. Scheduled to testify are Commonwealth Foundation Chief Policy Officer Nathan Benefield, American Federation for Children Future Leaders Fellow Ilen Perez-Valdes, Education Voter of Pennsylvania Executive Director Susan Spicka, and National Alliance for Public Charter Schools Chief Legal Officer Eric Paisner. The hearing will be live-streamed here.
