Down-ballot drama in the midterms. This is the PoliticsPA Playbook.
Red October. 33 days until the midterms.
Your Morning Pick Me Up. Centerfield. John Fogarty
PA Weather
Titusville | Partly Sunny, 80 Spring Grove | Decreasing Clouds, 82 Tamaqua | Partly Sunny, 76
PA Sports Phillies (best of 3, 1-1) | Atlanta 4-3 (10) | Thu at Atlanta
Steelers (2-1) | Thu at Cleveland
Flyers (1-0) | Pittsburgh 0-7 | Thu at New Jersey Penguins (1-0) | Philadelphia 7-0 | Sat vs. Montreal
What We’re Hearing. Q3 has officially ended, and the final pre-midterm fundraising numbers are about to start pouring in. In Pennsylvania’s closely watched 7th District, Democrat Bob Brooks pulled in more than $2.5 million.
What We’re Hearing, Too. “Bucks County, in particular, it’ll break your heart if you let it.” – Ashley Ehasz
Tips. PoliticsPA is Pennsylvania’s premier source for nonpartisan political news and analysis. Tips or press releases can be sent to steve@politicspa.com.
The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. For the web version, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Top Story
“Political power in legislatures and governors’ offices is at stake in the November elections in more than one-third of the states, creating down-ballot drama in the midterms that could have significant implications for President Donald Trump’s agenda.
In numerous states, the parties are striving to make or break a legislative supermajority — an important threshold that allows them to enact laws with little regard to dissent.
If Democrats are able to win full control in Minnesota, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, they could use their new trifectas to redraw U.S. House districts ahead of the 2028 elections.” | AP
Elsewhere
How Big Could A Blue Wave Be? “Whether an independent-minded Republican can survive in a purple Pennsylvania district could provide clues.” | The Dispatch
Should We Believe What Prediction Markets Say? ““America’s Swing State” is just under five weeks away from the November 3 general election. We have seen polls from Franklin & Marshall College, as well as Quinnipiac and Siena Universities. And now we have the “first” prediction market election.” | PoliticsPA
Why a Popular Push to Ban Congressional Stock Trading Crashed and Burned. “Conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, an overwhelming majority of Americans want members of Congress to stop trading individual stocks. But on Wednesday, Congress’ best shot this decade at a stock-ban law died unceremoniously in the Senate during a party-line procedural vote.” | Washington Sun
Most Americans Blame Trump For High Prices As Midterms Approach, a New AP-NORC Poll Finds. “A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only 17% of U.S. adults approve of the Republican president’s handling of the cost of living. Just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low.” | AP
Fetterman and McCormick Vote to Pass the Protect College Sports Act. “Legislation supporters say would help “end the chaos and uncertainty plaguing college sports,” while providing student athletes, fans, schools, and coaches “desperately needed relief” passed the U.S. Senate on Monday. Both of Pennsylvania’s elected officials serving in the upper chamber voted in support of the bill.” | The Center Square
State
“Pennsylvania lawmakers returned to Harrisburg on Sept. 28, 2026, after a 10-week recess with little time to determine the future of the state’s skill games. On June 15, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the devices are slot machines governed by the state’s gambling and criminal laws. The court stayed its order for 120 days to give affected businesses time to adjust and lawmakers an opportunity to act.
That safe harbor period expires Oct. 13. But as legislators focus on jobs, business revenue and taxes, they risk overlooking a more consequential question about whether gambling machines should remain widely available in the gas stations, bars and social clubs that Pennsylvanians encounter in everyday life.” | The Conversation
Elsewhere
How Stacy Garrity Would Tackle Pennsylvania’s Housing Shortage. “The next governor of Pennsylvania will have to address a housing shortage that has reached crisis levels.” | USA Today Network
Shapiro Makes Pennsylvania Housing a Cornerstone of Reelection Bid. “Pennsylvania built fewer homes per capita than all but five other states in 2025.” | USA Today Network
Libertarian Ken Krawchuk Vows to Fix Schools, Cut Taxes in 4th Run For PA Governor. ““I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore,” said Krawchuk, 73, who previously ran for governor in 1998, 2002 and 2018.” | Tribune-Review
Bucks and Montgomery Counties Could Determine Which Party Gets Control of the PA State Senate. “Gov. Josh Shapiro’s hope for a Democratic state Senate likely hinges on the Philadelphia suburbs, where three swing districts could give his party the majority in the chamber for the first time in 33 years.” | Philadelphia Inquirer
PA House Member Hurled Slurs About a Gay Lawmaker at a Crowded Harrisburg Bar. “A Republican state legislator went on a homophobic tirade at a Harrisburg bar Tuesday night, calling a gay Democratic lawmaker an anti-gay slur and falsely claiming he lost weight because he has AIDS.” | PennLive
Around The Commonwealth
“Mayor Corey O’Connor has finally given Pittsburghers their first look at his fiscal plan, and the picture it paints of the city’s financial future is bleak.
The proposed budget includes no tax increases or layoffs, but it predicts that, without major changes to how the city pays for the critical services it provides, Pittsburgh will burn through its reserve account and be more than $38 million in the red in five years.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Elsewhere
2026 Election Preview: 3rd Legislative District. “PoliticsPA has identified 19 State House races throughout the Commonwealth to focus on during the run-up to the 2026 election, as part of our 31 Races in 31 Days series.” | PoliticsPA
2026 Election Preview: 12th Legislative District. “We are closing in on the midterm elections and if Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to see his dream of the Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg come true, his party will have to hold onto its majority in the state House.” | PoliticsPA
The Race to Represent the 44th Senatorial District. “Democratic incumbent Katie Muth and Republican Melissa Dicranian are vying for the seat.” | Reading Eagle
CMU Got a Record $3 Billion Donation Toward a New Campus. What Does That Mean For Pittsburgh? “News of a $3 billion gift quickly swept Carnegie Mellon University’s campus amid a day of bagpipes, confetti and snacks, bringing mixed reactions among students cautious about the potential for political strings.” | Public Source
Editorial
1 Thing
“Softball is a popular game in Amish culture.
But more than that in Lancaster County, it’s an experience that is unique and worth witnessing.
Girls in bonnets and skirts who are also wearing Nike socks and Under Armour cleats while rounding the bases nicely represent how this sport brings so many different cultures and communities together.” | LNP
Thank you for starting your Thursday with us.
Welcome to October. Enjoy the day.
