News & Brews October 29, 2026
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10 most vulnerable House seats include 2 in Pa.
Yesterday, Roll Call released its list of the 10 most vulnerable U.S. House members, and not surprisingly, Pennsylvania appears twice on the list. Coming in at #7 is GOP U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, whose 2024 margin of victory was +1.0 (while Trump’s in that district was +3.2). “Outside groups have spent more than $18 million on the race…. Latino voters who helped swing the district toward Republicans two years ago will be crucial, but the race could also be a test of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s ability to help boost swing-seat Democrats.” At #8 is GOP Rep. Scott Perry, whose 2024 margin of victory was +1.2 (Trump’s in the district was +5.3). Polls suggest this race is neck-and-neck.
‘Pa. natural gas is key to winning global AI race’
Writing in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Marcellus Shale Coalition President Jim Welty explains, “The nation that powers [the AI] revolution will lead the world in technological supremacy, advanced manufacturing and national security. And Pennsylvania holds the key to making it happen…. Natural gas already fuels over 60% of the commonwealth’s electricity, yet it requires only 14% of our annual natural gas production. This enormous headroom makes Pennsylvania the ideal location for tech developers looking to build new facilities.” The problem, however, is that “continued failed energy policies are preventing the infrastructure buildout needed to meet demand with our supply. The current unfortunate irony is that we have plenty of energy resources — but lack the necessary infrastructure to move it to where it is needed.”
Philly sheriff to appear in court this morning
This is something you don’t see every day. Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal is due in court this morning “to explain why she should not be held in contemptfor failing to turn over financial records and otherwise comply with state rules and a previous consent order pertaining to [property] auctions,” the Inquirer reports. (You’ll recall the story from August that “winning bidders at sheriff sales continued to flood the courts with petitions seeking their deeds,” as apparently “Bilal’s office had not been issuing the deeds for a year or more after the auctions, leaving neglected homes unable to be renovated, rented, or resold.”) This should be interesting.
A reality check on ‘taxing the rich’
If you’ve been around for more than a day, you’ve seen the Left’s favorite non-creative solution to everything: Tax the rich and make them pay their ‘fair share’ (whatever that is). Well, the Washington Post covers two new reports that show that “taxing the wealthy would not raise enough to get the federal deficit under control, much less cover many of this season’s campaign promises.” Per the author of one of the reports, this one from the Brookings Institution, “‘Even if we seized every dollar of billionaire wealth — their stock portfolios, their mansions, their cars, everything down to their kids’ toys, and sold it for full market value’ — the proceeds could fund the federal government for about a year, ‘And then it’s gone.’” Of course, this doesn’t even touch on the fact that seizing all the nation’s wealth would kind of also dampen things like economic investment, job growth, and new wealth creation (says Captain Obvious). But despite this, we expect the Left to continue promoting economic fantasy.
Alaska’s October Surprise?
I don’t usually include stories about Alaska here (lovely state though it is!), but this one is too fun to ignore as it’s gobbling up media attention against the backdrop of this year’s crazy midterms. You may have heard about the two “Dan Sullivans” running for Senate in Alaska, including incumbent GOP Senator Dan Sullivan. Well, the New York Times broke a story yesterday that Democrat Senate candidate Mary Peltola’s campaign spent months actively recruiting the other Dan Sullivan to run in an attempt to take votes from the “real” Dan Sullivan.
Now. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has “said he was ordering an investigation into whether Mary Peltola’s campaign for Senate should face criminal charges or civil penalties over its role in recruiting candidates to draw votes from the state’s Republican incumbent.” Meanwhile, others have said such “ballot stacking” is not a new tactic and is legal. (True, but could this time be different?) And still others are pointing at the law firm that was allegedly part of the effort: Elias Law Group, headed by Marc Elias, who is one of the Left’s go-to attorneys on shenanigans including gerrymandering.
