News & Brews November 10, 2026
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How Trump brought back the Bush era
RealClear Pennsylvania Founding Editor Charles McElwee outlines the comparisons between Trump in 2026 and Bush in 2006, writing that the “midterms confirmed that the political ghost of 2006 still haunts a despairing electorate.Americans’ concerns, both domestic and foreign, remain unresolved. Under Donald Trump’s second presidency, these have been not merely neglected but actively dismissed. Almost exactly 20 years ago, Republicans were punished at the midterms for their ill-advised foreign adventurism. But unlike in 2006, when centrist Democrats made gains in Congress, today’s Democratic Party is advancing a distinctly Left-wing message of economic populism.”
What can we take away from this? Well, “Voters may be signaling their desire to move beyond the Trump era, but their frustrations echo those of two decades ago. In 2006, they punished a Republican Party that had lost touch with their concerns. This week, they delivered a similar rebuke to the party Trump once revived, only for him to repeat the very mistakes that brought it down before.”
Will Democrat trifectas disenfranchise voters?
The progressive Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that with their new trifecta, Pennsylvania “Democrats have a clear runway to launch popular progressive initiatives.” And one of the most radical on their radar is joining the National Popular Vote Compact, an agreement under which Pennsylvania would hand electoral votes in presidential elections to whomever wins the popular vote. In practice, this means that even if Pennsylvania voters choose Candidate A, if Candidate B wins more popular votes nationally, Pennsylvania’s electors would go to Candidate B, ignoring the will of Pennsylvania voters.
The compact has been around since 2006, and over the last 20 years, 18 states and D.C. have agreed to it, for a total of 222 electoral votes of the 270 needed to win. With Democrats gaining multiple trifectas across the country last week, enough Democrat states could join to effectively nullify the Electoral College and disenfranchise millions of voters in individual states. Of course, the compact faces significant constitutional and legal concerns, but expect to hear much more about it in the months ahead. (Also, this is a reminder of why state elections matter!)
Can Dems resist urge to end school choice?
Reason reports that with recent Democrat victories, “Unless the victors reconsider deep-rooted positions, one area where we’re likely to suffer post-election loss of liberty is in matters of school choice.” Already, Democrats are lining up to undo gains in educational opportunity, even as most Americans support school choice. “In Texas, Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa promised supporters that ‘we will work tirelessly to repair the damage of the Texas voucher scam.’” The supposed “scam” is last year’s adoption of education savings accounts. In Arizona, Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs “promises to renew efforts to deny choice to families and children.”
Now, “The question for Democrats, who just won an election because Republicans ignored voters’ concerns, is whether they want to cater to a party constituency that seeks to trap children in government schools or else serve those children and the voters who overwhelmingly support school choice.”
McCormick wanted pause in Senate leadership elections
Following Republicans’ brutal losses last week, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick was among several senators who said Senate Republicans should not hold leadership elections as scheduled today. In a statement Sunday evening, McCormick said, “We need a discussion about what went wrong, how we fix it, what we stand for, and how our agenda must focus on the concerns of the American people. As I’ve shared with Leader Thune, I don’t believe we should move to leadership elections until we have digested and debated the lessons of the midterms and how to move forward. We need leadership in place fast, but Tuesday is too soon. I know it’s been the practice to go straight to leadership elections in recent years, but we should not rush it.” Despite the request, however, it seems Senate Republicans still moved forward with elections today.
Shapiro’s victory margin in all 67 counties
Politics PA offers another installment of “Fun with Maps,” cartographically displaying Gov. Shapiro’s margin of victory in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. The map presents “Shapiro’s victories in 2022 and 2026 alongside Donald Trump’s win in 2024 in Pennsylvania.”
