Good Friday Morning. The Phillies take on St. Louis in Game 1 of the Wild Card series today at 2 p.m.

PA Weather
Monessen | Mostly Sunny, chance of rain, 61
Mill Hall | Partly Sunny, 64
Mt. Pocono | Mostly Sunny, 68

PA Sports
Phillies | FRI-SAT-SUN at St. Louis (game 1, best of 3)
Union (18-5-10) | SUN vs. Toronto
Eagles (4-0) | SUN vs. Arizona
Steelers (1-3) | SUN vs. Buffalo
Pitt (3-2) | SAT vs. Virginia Tech
Penn State (5-0) | idle
Temple (2-3) | idle

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Scott Conklin.

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Top Story

1. Shapiro Secures Support From Boilermakers Union That Has Scalded Dems Before

“Usually, a Democrat getting an endorsement from a labor union is a “dog-bites-man story.” But when gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro scooped up the backing of Boilermakers Local 154 Thursday in Pittsburgh, it was a sign of how he has avoided political landmines that have derailed other Democrats.

“Josh is committed to protecting workers, supporting energy and growing our economy,” said the union’s business manager, Mike Stanton, in a statement announcing the endorsement.” (WESA)

Related

For Many PA Jewish Republicans, Yes to Oz and No to Mastriano. “In a state with the nation’s fifth-largest Jewish population — a total that represents 3% of the state’s electorate — every Jewish vote counts too. In two key races in the state — an open Senate seat and the battle for the governor’s mansion — Jewish Republicans are straddling party lines, their loyalties tested.” (Jewish Insider)

Mastriano: Prohibit Explicit, Obscene, Racist Principles in Schools; Impose Penalties On Those Who Promote Them. “Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano wants to introduce legislation that prohibits teaching of certain principles in schools and to punish those who do.” (PoliticsPA)

U.S. House

2. PA-07: Wild, Scheller Trade Attacks On Abortion, Inflation in First Debate

“If the first debate is any indication, it is “Game On” in the quest for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District seat.

“She has lied about my positions,” Republican challenger Lisa Scheller said of incumbent Susan Wild.

“Another lie,” Wild said later, after Scheller said the Democrat would “defund the police.”

And away we go.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

PA-07: Scheller and Wild Trade Barbs In Intense First Debate. “Republican Lisa Scheller and incumbent Democrat Susan Wild have shown little love for one another in their mailers, releasing a barrage of negative attacks sent across the region in recent weeks.” (Lehigh Valley News)

• Wild, Scheller Meet In First Debate Before Lively, Unruly Audience. (Morning Call)
• Testy Exchange, Vocal Crowd Feature in Wild-Scheller Congressional Race Debate. (LehighValleyLive)

PA-10: Daniels Says She Can Overcome Fundraising Disadvantage In Race Against Perry. “Both recently launched TV and digital ads, although Daniels lacks the money to match Perry’s air game.” (PennLive)

• Guide to the 10th Congressional Race (Hanover Evening Sun)

PA-05: Scanlon, Galluch Vie For Congressional District Seat. “Both U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5, of Swarthmore and Republican opponent Dave Galluch, a Navy veteran, have their own approaches to addressing the ills of the day, most of which are in line with their respective political parties as they challenge each other to serve the 5th District in Congress.” (Delaware County Times)

PA-01 Endorsement List. “Here is a list of endorsements for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.” (PoliticsPA)

PA-08: WVIA Hosting Debate Between Cartwright, Bognet. (Hazleton Standard-Speaker)

Senate

3. John Fetterman and Dr. Oz: Inside The Nastiest and Potentially Most Important Senate Race in the Country

“A race that could determine control of the Senate, and the direction of the country for at least the next four years, was always going to be fiercely fought. But even in the cut-and-thrust of Trump-era politics, few could have predicted just how bitter the campaign for Pennsylvania’s seat would become.

With one month to go until election day, the race between Democrat John Fetterman and his Republican opponent Mehmet Oz has the dubious honour of becoming the nastiest in the country, and there is little sign that either side is slowing down.” (The Independent)

Related

Fetterman Raised ‘Record-Setting’ $22M In Latest Quarter. Oz Loaned Himself $7M. “Democrat John Fetterman has reported raising a whopping $22 million in the most recent reporting period, easily outpacing Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, who plowed $7 million of his own fortune into the U.S. Senate race.” (Tribune-Review)

As Polls Tighten, Fetterman Announces Historic Fundraising, Calls on Friends For Support. “As poll results have tightened in the race for the U.S. Senate, Democrat John Fetterman’s campaign has tried to turn the attack back on his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. On Thursday, it also brought reinforcements in the form of Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown to stump for Fetterman in Western Pennsylvania.” (WESA)

Mehmet Oz’s Ad Dismays TV Anchor Jim Gardner, While Doug Mastriano’s Vision Shows … Russia? “Add this to the short list of hard-and-fast rules for politics in the Philadelphia region: Do not mess with Jim Gardner.“ (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Oz’s Comeback. “Eight months after bounding onto the stage of Giannilli’s II restaurant in Westmoreland County for his first event as a candidate for the Republican nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania, the Cleveland-born heart surgeon has been digging himself out of a poll rut and slowly making progress.” (Washington Examiner)

Donald Trump’s PAC Jumps Into Ohio, Pennsylvania Senate Races. “Former president’s new fundraising committee is running ads against Democrats Tim Ryan and John Fetterman as Republicans hope he will spend more of his campaign cash” (Wall Street Journal)

Around The Commonwealth

HD134: Schweyer, Labenberg Face Off In Civil Debate. “Incumbent state Rep. Peter Schweyer, D-Allentown, and challenger Brent Labenberg, R-Emmaus, debated hot-button issues such as abortion, LGBTQ protections and school vouchers Thursday night, but did it without friction.” (Lehigh Valley News)

HD72: Republican Challenger Says She Plans Defamation Complaint Over Opponent’s Ad. “The race for the 72nd Legislative District seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is apparently heading from the campaign trail into the courtroom.” (Tribune-Democrat)

HD118: Commercial Attacking Candidate’s Abortion Stance Improperly Uses Debate Footage, Two Scranton Groups Contend. “A commercial supporting 118th state House Democratic candidate Jim Haddock may improperly use a clip from a 2020 debate to attack his opponent.” (Times-Tribune)

Our Words Are Not Matching Our Actions: Summer Lee Critiques Democratic Party at Pitt Event. “Summer Lee may be running for Congress as a Democrat this November, but that won’t stop her from pointing out what she sees as the party’s flaws.” (Pitt News)

Have You Seen The Latest Polls? Now Forget Them. Here’s Why. “Glance quickly at polling data published over the last month and you might think that Democrats had substantially improved their prospects after Labor Day, only to squander those gains as September wound down. That would be the wrong conclusion.” (Washington Post)

• General Election Guide to Adams, Lebanon and York Counties. (York Daily Record)
• Philadelphia Voter Guide.  (Philadelphia Citizen)

DA Larry Krasner Files Motion to Stop Subpoena Issued by PA House Committee. “Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is fighting the latest effort from state lawmakers who are trying to impeach him. Krasner filed a motion Thursday to stop a subpoena issued by a Pennsylvania House committee.” (CBS Philadelphia)

Berks Won’t Allow Ballot Curing Prior to General Election. “A motion before the Berks County Election Board to allow ballot curing for the Nov. 8 general election failed for lack of a second.” (WFMZ)

Office of Open Records Grants Access to Mail-In Ballots, Overturning Lancaster County Decision. “A ruling this week from Pennsylvania’s open records office, if upheld and applied statewide, stands to give election conspiracy theorists access to hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of filled out mail-in ballots and signed ballot return envelopes.” (LNP | Lancaster Online)

1 In 4 Workers Experience Political Bias, Study Finds. “Politics is all around us on television and social media, even at the dinner table.But a new study suggests it’s creeping into the workplace, too.” (CBS Pittsburgh)

Opinion

• ‘Politics Have Always Been This Way.’ No, They Haven’t. Not This Bad. (Mark Curtis)
• Herschel Walker Mess Proves Christian Right Cares Only About Power, Not Abortion. (Will Bunch) 
• Not Enough Max, Never Enough Max Baers. (Gene Collier)
• Biden’s Gaffe Is a Sign of Almost 80 Years of Life, Not a Dying Brain. (Nancy Eshleman)
• Control For U.S. Senate Tightens Over Crime. (Andy Bloom)