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🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. I Want You Back. The Jackson 5

PA Weather
☀️  Greensburg | Sunny, 80
☀️  Williamsport | Sunny, 79
☀️  Columbia | Sunny, 81

PA Sports 
⚾  Phillies (70-58, +2.0 GB WC) | Fri-Sun vs. St. Louis
⚾  Pirates (63-66, -5.5 GB WC) | Fri-Sun at LA Dodgers
⚽  Union (5W, 5D, 10L) | Sat at Austin FC

🔈 What We’re Hearing. “I want to make sure that people understand that this isn’t just about data centers,” Democratic candidate in PA-08 Paige Cognetti said. “This is about people standing up and standing together against exploitation.”

Tips. PoliticsPA is Pennsylvania’s premier source for nonpartisan political news and analysis. Tips or press releases can be sent to [email protected].

The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. For the web version, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

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Top Story

1.   Can Democrats Win the Pennsylvania Senate in the Midterms?

“This year’s midterm elections will feature congressional races in Pennsylvania that are pegged to be close. They have drawn national interest, plenty of money and could decide which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.

Down the ballot, however, are state Senate and House races that will decide which party controls the Pennsylvania General Assembly in Harrisburg.

It is only natural that these swingy, purple-hued state and federal races will occur in somewhat overlapping areas. And given Pennsylvania’s status as an electoral battleground, these races could turn out just as close as those for Congress.” | USA Today Network

Elsewhere

PA-08: Cognetti’s Past Opposition to Police Cooperation With ICE Resurfaces in Pennsylvania House Race. “Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti’s past comments supporting the separation of local police from federal immigration enforcement are drawing new scrutiny as the Democrat campaigns for Congress on a message of political independence in one of the country’s most competitive House races.” | Washington Examiner

PA-08: In Pennsylvania House Race, It’s Pink Heels vs. Drag Queens. “A fight over drag has broken out in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Democratic Mayor Paige Cognetti is running for Congress against Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan. At issue: a new TV ad that Bresnahan and the National Republican Congressional Committee began running on Aug. 12.” | Semafor

PA-07: Brooks Promises ‘Change’ In His Bid For Congress. Can He Win Over Lehigh Valley Voters With Blue Collar Bona Fides?. “Bob Brooks has worked many jobs throughout his life: newspaper deliverer, truck driver, factory worker, bartender, landscaper, firefighter and union leader. His next job is in the hands of voters, but if he gets his way, it will be U.S. congressman, representing the Lehigh Valley and Poconos area.” | Allentown Morning Call

Speaker Mike Johnson Stumps In PA-07 and PA-08 For GOP Candidates. “Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-La.) made stops in Allentown and Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday to stump for a pair of Pennsylvania congressmen who are embroiled in tight reelection campaigns.” | PoliticsPA

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State

2.   Data Centers Are ‘Redefining’ Midterm Races Across Pennsylvania

“Up and down the ballot, Pennsylvania politicians preparing for the November election are making data center criticism central to their campaigns.

There are more than 120 proposed data centers across the commonwealth — among the most in the country, according to Pew Research Center. That rapid, ambitious development has led to overwhelming backlash from many of the communities where these projects are planned.” | Spotlight PA

Elsewhere

Does Pennsylvania Now Have ‘The Strictest Guardrails In The Nation’ For Data Centers? “As part of his new, hard-line stance on regulating data centers in Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said during a news conference this week that his sweeping executive order has the “strictest guardrails in the nation” on data center development. Fact check: That’s technically true, if you exclude moratoriums, or the full-stop pauses on development that have been implemented in two other states.” | Philadelphia Inquirer

The Speaker Is Bullish in Pennsylvania As Data Center Anxiety Spreads. “Speaker Mike Johnson is bullish on his chances of “substantially” growing the House GOP majority just 75 days out from Election Day.” | Punchbowl News

Rage Against the Data Centers. “For years, artificial intelligence was largely an abstract political debate about chatbots, automation, and the future of work. In 2026, that changed. Across the United States, the physical infrastructure powering AI has become a flashpoint in local politics, state elections, and community activism, uniting voters who rarely agree on much else.” | Newsweek

Why Does the Special Election In Butler County Matter? “OK, sure. It can be easy to overstate the significance of a special election result, especially when the winner will only hold office for a few weeks. On the other hand, it can also be a lot of fun.” | WESA

PA Skill Games Could Disappear In October. Businesses That Rely On Them Are Worried. “A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling could force the machines out of businesses and nonprofits unless lawmakers agree on how to regulate and tax them.” | WITF

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Around The Commonwealth

3.   Tupone Takes Stand in State Court to Defend Third-Party Candidacy in PA-07

“Taking the stand twice in one day to defend his place on the 7th Congressional District ballot, Andrew Tupone, the self-described Green Party candidate, testified on Thursday that he did not know who solicited nomination signatures on his behalf, and that he retained his Republican-connected attorneys at the start of his campaign.

Commonwealth Court Judge Stella Tsai in Harrisburg did not immediately announce any rulings following a full day of testimony across two separate but related hearings, both dealing with challenges to Tupone’s candidacy. But the questioning provided a clearer timeline to his third-party run in the high-profile midterm race — and identified a group that paid at least one of his petition circulators.” | Armchair Lehigh Valley

Elsewhere

What Pennsylvania and Florida Know About Sports Tourism That Hawai‘i Doesn’t. “Sports tourism has firmly established itself as one of the most powerful economic engines in the United States. Hawai‘i is not one of the states winning a slice because no one in state government is running sports tourism as a strategy.  We are sitting out a race other states are winning. Pennsylvania is the clearest example.” | Aloha State Daily

Philly Named Finalist To Host 2028 DNC Convention. “It’s down to the final three cities under consideration to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention. And Philadelphia made the cut.” | PoliticsPA

Investigation Into Pittsburgh’s Finances Shows ‘Millions of Dollars’ Appear to Be Missing, DA Says. “The Allegheny County district attorney said Thursday that “millions of dollars” purportedly spent on contracts by former mayor Ed Gainey’s administration could be unaccounted for, saying financial documents show money spent but no tangible “work product” as a result.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Referendums On Insider Trading Ban, Hazleton Home Rule On Nov. 3 Ballot In Luzerne County. “The referendum to ban insider trading would amend the county home rule charter and also would require an annual report of ethics complaints and stock trades involving county, state and federal elected officials representing the county.” | Hazleton Standard-Speaker

A Life Between Sports, Business and Politics. “The businessman and former Olympian from Allentown wants to turn Pennsylvania’s natural resources into a source of public wealth and reduce property taxes, while trying to carve out a path outside the two major parties.” | Al Diá News

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Editorial

4.  What Do You Think?

• How Data Centers Can Stanch The Political Bleeding | Washington Post 
• Harrisburg Should Stop the Price Hike On New Cars | John Bozzella
• Who Loves Data Centers? Electricians | Don Slaiman
• From Fishtown to City Hall —  The Far Left’s Philly Takeover | Thom Nickels
• Republicans Can’t Just Trash the Left—They Need a Plan to Win | Victor Davis Hanson

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1 Thing

5.   Why Pennsylvanians Care So Dang Much About Regional Names, Borders

“Ask Pennsylvanians to name where in the state they hail from, and you’ll get a range of responses.

Linda McKee, a DuBois resident who grew up in Titusville, divides the commonwealth into six neat regions: northwest, north-central, northeast, southeast, south-central, and southwest. So for her, the answer is straightforward: She’s originally from northwest Pennsylvania, and currently lives in north-central.

For many Pennsylvanians, regional identity runs deep. It manifests in all manner of ways, from which sports teams people cheer for to what they eat and where they buy gas. You can even hear it in how some people talk.” | Spotlight PA

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