????  Hello, Tuesday

????️  In Today’s PoliticsPA Playbook. PA Will Help Determine Control Of The U.S. House. Shapiro: Trump “Needs To Be Better.” Pennsylvania Expects Farm Labor Reform Soon. Penny Shortage Sparks A National Math Crisis.

????  Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Purple Haze. Jimi Hendrix

PA Weather
❄️  Clearfield | AM Snow, 36
????️  Mercersburg | Rain/Snow, 39
????️  Scranton | Rain/Snow, 35

PA Sports
????  Sixers (10-9) | Tue vs. Washington
????  Flyers (14-8-3) | Pittsburgh 1-5 | Wed vs. Buffalo
????  Penguins (13-7-5) | Philadelphia 5-1 | Thu at Tampa Bay
????  Eagles (8-4) | Mon at LA Chargers
????  Steelers (6-6) | Sun at Baltimore

????  What We’re Seeing. The Pennsylvania Society calendar of events for Dec. 11-13 can be found here. 

????  The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free.

Top Story

1.   PA Will Help Determine Control Of The U.S. House In The 2026 Election

“With control of the U.S. House again expected to come down to a razor-thin margin next year, several congressional districts in Pennsylvania are emerging as some of the nation’s most competitive. As a result, control of the U.S. House may once again run through Pennsylvania.

Democrats have identified four districts they believe they can flip next year in Pennsylvania, more than any state: the 1st congressional district representing Bucks County; the 7th in the Lehigh Valley; the 8th in the Scranton area; and the 10th representing Harrisburg and York.

Three major, nonpartisan election forecasters — The Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Inside Elections have placed PA-7 and PA-10 among the most competitive House seats nationwide.” | WHYY

Elsewhere

How Progressives Are Taking Over Swing States – And Driving Fear Into Democratic Elites. “From Detroit to Pennsylvania to Buffalo, New York, and here in Ohio, insurgent, progressive Democrats are defeating their long-established colleagues in dozens of school board, city council and mayoral races, throwing the already-divided national party into chaos, even as polls indicate it stands to potentially benefit at next year’s midterm elections due to the Trump administration’s divisive policies.” | The Guardian

Fox News Faces Critical Test In 2nd Case Over False 2020 Election Claims. “The lawsuit is being brought by Smartmatic, a London-based voting technology firm that played a limited role in the 2020 race but was, nonetheless, accused on Fox shows of taking votes away from Trump and throwing them to Biden. Smartmatic is suing for $2.7 billion.” | NPR

The State Budget Was 135 Days Late, But PA Lawmakers Got Their Pay Raise On Schedule. “Pennsylvania lawmakers just received a 3.25% pay increase on Dec. 1, raising their base salary to $109,881. Only New York and California’s legislators make more.” | PennLive

Poll Shows Fetterman Still Tanking Among Dems, While Republicans Give Him A Thumbs Up. “In the survey commissioned by RealClearPennsylvania and Emerson College, Fetterman has a 31% job approval rating from Democrats compared to 57% from Republicans and 30% from independents.” | PennLive

State

2.  Shapiro: Trump “Needs To Be Better”

“Answering questions following a visit to the Riverview Children’s Center in Verona, Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized President Donald Trump for his comments directed at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz where the president used a slur for people with intellectual disabilities to describe the governor.

Shapiro took exception to the comments, invoking his visit to the Riverview facility and the lessons that Trump would learn if the chief executive would ever do the same.” | PoliticsPA

Elsewhere

Pennsylvania Bailed On A Carbon Market To Appease Republicans. “Governor Josh Shapiro pulled out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in exchange for a budget. Critics say he “got rolled.”” | Grist

On Pittsburgh Visit, Shapiro Touts Raise For Child Care Workers In State Budget. “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Pittsburgh on Monday to tout a provision of the 2026 budget that has gotten little attention but that Shapiro calls “a really wise investment”: a fund to shore up the ranks of child care workers.” | WESA

Too Much Still Isn’t Enough: Pennsylvania Budget Woes. “One budget, two narratives. As Gov. Josh Shapiro spent his holiday weekend touting the policy wins baked into the long overdue state budget, his critics have been crunching numbers.” | The Center Square

Groups Pressure Bradford To Bring Bills To Protect Girls’ Sports To The Floor For A Vote. “Moms for Liberty, Keystone Town Hall, and the Conservative Voice are leading a full-court press to convince Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Matt Bradford to allow bills to protect girls’ sports to come to a vote by the full House.” | Broad + Liberty

Around The Commonwealth

3.   Pennsylvania Expects Farm Labor Reform Soon

“A need for farm labor remains among Pennsylvania’s most urgent agricultural concerns, according to the state’s farm bureau. But officials are eyeing relief in the form of House Ag Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson’s farm labor bill, which Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman said he expects will be released within the next two weeks.

“I think it meets pretty much the things that we’re asking for in our policy book that would lead us to that next step of being able to get workers, not only seasonal but year-round,” Hoffman told Morning Agriculture.

A year-round visa program, either through reforming the H-2A program or creating a new one, is the farm bureau’s top labor priority, as are changes to the H-2A housing standards.” | POLITICO

Elsewhere

Hens-Greco To Step Down As Leader Of Allegheny County Democrats In January. “Sam Hens-Greco has chaired the Allegheny County Democratic Committee through generational change, the Democratic disaster of 2024 and the party’s resurgence last month. Not to mention a slew of special elections in between. But local Democrats will face the 2026 midterms without his leadership.” | WESA

Funding Cuts And New Oversight Rules Hit Pennsylvania’s 14 Cyber Charter Schools. “One notable area of bipartisan consensus in Pennsylvania’s recently finished, four-month-late state budget? A group of new policies that boost oversight of cyber charter schools, and also give public school districts a break on the tuition they pay to these schools.” | Spotlight PA

PA’s Home Care Workers Want To Be Included In The Next State Budget. “The Pennsylvania Homecare Association seeks to raise Medicaid rates by 23% and invest upwards of $800 million into home care to “stabilize” the industry, citing studies.” | Penn Capital-Star

Davis Vetoes Tax Hike, Minority, Youth Programs Funding In 2026 Budget. “Erie County Executive Brenton Davis has vetoed more than $1 million in the 2026 budget for programs serving minority communities, young people and residents facing discrimination.” | Erie Times-News

Editorial

4.  What Do You Think?

• Federal Judges Should Not Make Political Speeches In Private | Bruce Ledewitz 
• A MAGA Writer Says ‘No Kings’ To Donald Trump | Frank Miele
• Was Joe Biden America’s Most Powerful President? | Adriana E. Ramírez
• Shooting the Wounded on Drug Boats? | Wall Street Journal
• It’s (Still) The Economy, Stupid | Lowman Henry
• Trump Overreacts To Attack On National Guard | Stu Bykofsky
• Trump Can’t Escape Blame For Bucks Republican Rout | Bradley Vasoli
• We Need To Reform Pharmacy Benefit Managers | Rep. Joe Kerwin

1 Thing

5.  Penny Shortage Sparks A National Math Crisis

“The country’s penny supply is collapsing far faster than expected — forcing retailers into rounding workarounds, cash-register math headaches and what some describe as a “legal minefield.”

Why it matters: The end of penny production was supposed to simplify cash payments. Instead, it’s colliding with the holiday rush and legions of math-averse Americans.

Customers don’t always understand what happens when $4.73 becomes $4.75. Stores are posting signs, retraining cashiers, spending millions on tech fixes and — in many cases — rounding down to avoid disputes, thus eating the cost.” | Axios

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