News & Brews November 3, 2026
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It’s Election Day!
I realize this is hardly breaking news, but I’d be remiss not to highlight the main item of the day: It’s Election Day! Polls are open until 8:00 p.m., and you can find your polling place here. Spotlight PA gave its opinion of the races to watch (we agree with some of these). But one thing Spotlight has correct is that control of the Pennsylvania legislature is on the ballot. Democrats are aiming to flip the Senate and gain a governing trifecta, and they need flip just three seats to do so. This is a good time to re-up a recent op-ed by our president and CEO Matt Brouillette on why the real political battle today is in the states. Happy Election Day, and if you haven’t already, go vote!
Nearly $1.9B traded on midterm prediction markets
The Washington Post reports, “Americans had wagered nearly $1.9 billion on the midterm elections as of late Monday, risking money on over 7,000 different outcomes ranging from what a candidate will say in a specific campaign speech to the broad balance of power in Congress.” This includes about $1.3 billion traded on Kalshi and about $600 million on Polymarket. This sum is less than the 2024 elections, which saw more than $3.6 billion wagered on the presidency on Polymarket alone.
Who’s funding Pa. legislative races?
As spending on state legislative races continues to shatter records, Spotlight PA looks at where much of the money is coming from. Of particular note to us is something we’ve been saying for years: Democrats are relying on out-of-state wealthy donors for oodles of their money. The story notes, “Pennsylvania Democrats got a big boost this year from a national group that supports state-level candidates. Since registering in Pennsylvania in 2020, the PAC for America’s Future has raised $58.5 million from a mix of mid- to big-dollar donors, particularly from wealthy individuals in blue states like New York and California, and funneled those dollars to swing state legislative races across the country…. [The group has] raised $20.1 million this year (at least $220,000 of which came from Pennsylvania-based donors). Its most notable funders include Jonathan Soros, son of Democratic megadonor George Soros, and Oklahoma philanthropist Lynn Schusterman.”
What happened to ‘Affordable’ in ACA?
Shocking no one who predicted that the government run “Affordable Care Act” (ACA) would be a disaster, the Tribune-Review reports that “with a second straight year of double-digit average premium increases, industry experts said they expect more people to drop coverage or switch to lesser plans as costs rise with no end in sight. On average, Pennsylvanians insured under the ACA — commonly called Obamacare — will see a 16% boost to their premiums after a 21.5% hike this year.” Meanwhile, the Paragon Health Institute explains, “From 2014 to 2026, benchmark premiums for a 50-year-old increased 129 percent, compared with 63 percent for ESI [employer-sponsored insurance], while federal taxpayers absorbed nearly all premium increases for subsidized enrollees. By 2025, federal subsidies accounted for 86 percent of premium revenue in HealthCare.gov states.” What a smashing…catastrophe?
P-G union sues new owner
The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh is once again being a disgruntled union (is there any other kind?). You’ll recall the union went on a three-year-plus strike against the old owners of the Post-Gazette—and ultimately won a legal victory against the owners. Well, now the union is suing the new owner, too. I mean, why stop when you’re ahead? WESA reports that the new owner, the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, “said it had retained around two-thirds of the paper’s staff, and pledged to recognize the union. But the NewsGuild alleges that when it came time to staff the paper, the company shunned union members who had been out on strike against the paper for the previous three years — a potential violation of labor laws that bar discriminating against workers for union activity.” I mean, heck, I admit I’m no labor law expert, but if I’m an employer I’m probably not too keen on hiring someone who refused to come to work for three years either. Just sayin’.
