News & Brews October 27, 2026
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Supposed ‘independent’ is backed by Dem group
GOP Sen. Camera Bartolotta represents the deep red 46th district in Beaver, Greene, and Washington counties. After she survived a bruising primary, many expected her to sail to victory in November. But now, she’s in a surprisingly tight race against “independent” Jodi Borello. Only, it turns out Borello is being backed by a group “tied to a Democratic consulting firm and funded in part by dark money groups that have donated to progressive causes across the country,” the Post-Gazette reports. (Of course, this isn’t at all surprising as Borello has also received $50,000 from the PAC for America’s Future, per FEC reports, which focuses exclusively on funding Democrats and is funneling money to Pa. this year in hopes of flipping the state Senate blue.)
Inky ignores Harvie campaign finance scandal
For as much as the Inquirer prides itself on a list of journalistic ethics, it’s long been ignoring a rather scandalous story involving Democrat congressional nominee Bob Harvie, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. In an open letter to the Inquirer newsroom, Broad + Liberty takes the paper to task for choosing not to cover the fact that as chair of the Bucks County Board of Elections, Bob Harvie turned a blind eye to tens of thousands of dollars in unreported campaign donations to Falls Township Supervisor and former Harvie running mate Jeff Dence. And the Inquirer’s silence comes even though the story itself has been reported on multiple times by Broad + Liberty in recent years.
Do Pa. public pensions rely on AI data centers
I’ve never related more to Democrat state Sen. Katie Muth, who recently told the Wall Street Journal that she—as a board member of the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS)—”struggles to understand the fund’s total exposure to AI.” (I struggle to understand pension investments, period :)) With that said, the Journal has a story noting that even as “politicians are turning against AI,” many public employees’ pensions are “riding on it.” Specifically, “AI-linked stocks drove $138 billion in gains across 13 public-pension funds since 2022, helping them dig out of losses from the last financial crisis.” Yet, here in Pennsylvania, “Many former public employees who live near proposed projects don’t know their retirements rely in part on AI investments.”
Can Dems win control in Pa.?
RealClear Pennsylvania Founding Editor Charles McElwee and Spotlight PA Capitol Reporter Stephen Caruso joined WHYY for a conversation on “the key races that could decide who controls Harrisburg, from the Senate districts to the contest for governor.” The conversation also examined “the issues driving voters, including data centers, corruption and affordability” as well as “what President Donald Trump’s approval numbers could mean for turnout on Election Day.” Watch the video here (scroll down, & the interview portion begins just after the 19-minute mark).
U.S. Senate hearing on senior loneliness in Pa.
PennLive reports that U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick will be in Pittsburgh on Thursday for a U.S. Senate field hearing focused on seniors. “McCormick, who sits on the Special Committee on Aging, will host the committee’s hearing on loneliness and social isolation among seniors…. The hearing will start at 10 a.m. and feature the following speakers: Shannah Gilliam the director of the Allegheny County Area Agency on Aging; Martin Sliwinski, the director of the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State University; Laura Poskin, the chief aging officer for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and Feleen Nancarvis, the executive director of Meals on Wheels of Lancaster.”
