Exactly one month to the day ahead of the highly consequential midterm elections, Gov. Josh Shapiro stood in front of the Middletown Township Municipal Center and said something pretty much everyone in Bucks County is well aware of:
“Bucks County, you’ve got a lot of power,” he told the large crowd that gathered on the lawn and under trees with fall-tinged leaves.
Shapiro kicked off a day of action for Democrats organized by Planned Parenthood’s state-level political action committee Saturday afternoon in Bucks County. The purple county will be the center of crucial races for state Senate and U.S. Congress,and could determine the balance of power.
Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks to the crowd gathered at the Middletown Township Municipal Center in Bucks County on Saturday.Fallon Roth
Shapiro, who is also running for reelection, promoted the Democrats at the forefront of those races Saturday, including 1st U.S. Congressional District candidate Bob Harvie and Eileen Hartnett Albillar, who is running in the 6th state Senate district. He framed their election as a chance to put a check on President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., and an opportunity to flip the state Senate and obtain the first Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg in decades.
Bryan Allen, Kristin Egan, and Monica Weninger are also running in Bucks County to expand Democrats’ majority in the state House.
Shapiro called the 1st Congressional District race — between Harvie and U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) — “the most competitive in the entire commonwealth.”
Three other U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania are also being targeted by both parties: the 7th, 8th, and 10th Districts. Shapiro has also described the 9th as competitive.
Harvie, in his speech, highlighted the affordability crisis and an “economy that is broken.” He also argued that the U.S. has “lost our stature around the world.”
Democrat Bob Harvie (center), challenging GOP U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the 1st Congressional District, speaks to the crowd at the Middletown Township Municipal Center in Bucks County on Saturday.Fallon Roth
“We’re going to put this country back in the path it was meant to be on. A country we can be proud of. A country we can be proud to hand our children and grandchildren, and a country that is strong around the world, strong at home, and we’re going to do that here in this county,” Harvie said.
With Planned Parenthood PA PAC organizing Saturday’s day of campaigning, the slew of Democratic officials and candidates in attendance also highlighted reproductive rights in their rallying calls.
Hartnett Albillar said in her speech that such rights go in tandem with cost-of-living issues, like making a livable wage and accessing childcare and paid family leave.
“People are scared about the unsustainable economic path that we are on, and reproductive healthcare is part of that affordability conversation,” she said. “Reproductive healthcare is something we need to ensure we have in order for economic futures for families.”
She pledged that with a Democratic state Senate, abortion rights would be codified.
“The folks that live here are going to determine whether or not we are going to be able to get that trifecta,” she said.
Democrat Eileen Hartnett Albillar (center) speaks to a crowd gathered at the Middletown Township Municipal Center on Saturday.Fallon Roth
Shapiro’s appearance in Bucks County on Saturday afternoon came after his morning campaign stop in Philadelphia’s Ninth Wardand reflects how the popular governor has spent most of his reelection campaign trying to boost other Democrats across the state.
For instance, in July, he launched “Rise Up Pennsylvania” — an effort that is aimed at pooling donations to fund campaign resources for key state Senate and U.S. congressional races.
Before the door knocking and canvassing around town ensued, Shapiro framed November as an inflection point for Bucks County residents and pondered future conversations between crowd members and their kids or grandkids.
“You’re going to be able to look at them and tell them, ‘in the swingiest town, in the swingiest state, in the entire country, you dedicated yourself to meeting your neighbors … telling them what’s at stake.’”
Democrat Bob Harvie thumbed through hundreds of pages bound together in a booklabeled “The Partially Redacted Epstein Files” and said he was disgusted with what he read —or at least what he was able to read.
Entire blocks of text regarding the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, were marked black.
But survivors of Epstein’s predatory behavior, including Sharlene Rochard, who appeared with Harvie Friday in Bristol, are heroes for illuminating what has been blocked from the public, the congressional candidate said.
Harvie pledged to push “very, very hard” to release the full, unredacted files related to Epstein’s crimes if elected.
The Bucks County commissioner is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick to represent the 1st Congressional District, one of two swing districts in the state that Rochard visited Friday to campaign for Democrats. She’ll be hitting another the following day.
“These are files, but I’m in these files, and that is my life in these files,” Rochard told Harvie. “And I need justice. We need accountability, and we need some transparency, and we need people likeyou.”
Rows of files were contained inside a traveling bookmobile parked in front of the Bristol waterfront. Plastered on the outside of the truck was a decades-old image of President Donald Trump with his arm around Epstein.
Reminding voters of Trump’s history with Epstein has been a campaign tactic used by Democrats in competitive contests across the country, but Harvie said the issue of justice for survivors should go beyond partisan politics.
“I don’t care what party they’re from,” Harvie said. “I don’t care what office they hold or held. I don’t care how much money they have. I don’t care. We need to do everything we can to protect the victims and honor them and shine a light on this part of our society.”
Sharlene Rochard, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking and abuse, and Bob Harvie during a news conference at the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Bookmobile in Bristol.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Earlier in the day, Rochard visited Harrisburg, where she was welcomed by Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former news anchor who promised to “take on the culture of corruption across the government” if elected over incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th District.
Rochard was slated to appear Saturday in Bethlehem with Democrat Bob Brooks, who is running against U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the 7th District, one of the most competitive contests in the nation.
The truck arrived in Pennsylvania one month before Election Day as Trump continues to plummet in popularity among likely voters in the state. It’s an officially nonpartisan project of Institute for Primary Facts, a nonprofit that builds public art installations, and DEFIANCE.org, a group dedicated to ending sexual exploitation of children and adults.
Rochard, who was born in Canada, began traveling to the U.S. as a teen to model when she met Epstein and was with him in New York, Florida, and on his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she said. Though she’s unable to go into details about her trafficking experience because she is involved in ongoing legal action, she now works alongside fellow survivors to advocate for the files to be exposed.
Every Pennsylvania lawmaker voted to release the Epstein files last year, including Fitzpatrick and the other vulnerable Republican incumbents whose districts Rochard was touring this week.
In a statement last year, Fitzpatrick said he is “unequivocally behind the victims and their family members who suffered immensely” from Epstein’s crimes.
“He 100% stands with the victims, and will support disclosure and transparency every single time,” Heather Roberts, a spokesperson for Fitzpatrick’s campaign, said Friday.
A couple dozen people trickled through the bookmobile during its Bristol stop, though multiple people interviewed entered with familiarity about the files and were already convinced of a strong connection between Trump and Epstein.
“I’m dumbfounded that there are people who don’t believe the victims,” said Deb Crasnick, 69, of Langhorne.
Sharlene Rochard, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual trafficking and abuse, and Bob Harvie at the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Bookmobile in Bristol on Friday. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Crasnick found out about the event from her friend Diane Grant, 71, of Bensalem, who has been following the tour on social media. But Grant, who called the revelations disturbing, worried the tour’s effectiveness may have limits.
“People have their mindset. Nothing said or shown in there will change it,” she said.
“The economy keeps me up at night,” said Tracey Marshall, 57, who lives in Falls Township. “We need a change.”
Rochard said the purpose of the tour goes beyond Election Day.
Trump has called the Epstein case “a hoax” and said that the files that have been publicly shared are “enough,” a notion the survivor is hoping to dispel with the tour.
“This is something that has happened to me,” Rochard said. “I’m not a Democratic hoax. I am a real person, and we need some justice.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro will be in Bucks County on Saturday to campaign for Democrats up and down the ballot in the key swing county.
Shapiro, who kicked off Democrats’ general election campaigns at a space centrifuge in Warminster this past spring, is returning to Bucks, emphasizing the important role that the perennially purple county will play in November’s midterms with competitive contests for Congress and state Senate on the ballot.
The governor will appear at a canvass launch in Langhorne organized by Planned Parenthood PA PAC, the organization’s state-level political action committee. The PAC has endorsed Bucks County Democrat Eileen Hartnett Albillar, who is running for state Senate in the 6th District, a crucial seat for the party, and state House candidates Bryan Allen, Kristin Egan, and Monica Weninger.
Shapiro will also appear alongside Democratic County Commissioner Bob Harvie, who is challenging GOP U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the Bucks-based 1st Congressional District — one of four seats in the state being targeted by both parties. Harvie is endorsed byShapiro and Planned Parenthood’s federal PAC.
Democratic U.S. Reps. Madeleine Dean, of Montgomery County, and Mary Gay Scanlon, of Delaware County, will also be in attendance.
Democrats are hoping to win control of the state Senate — which they haven’t had for 33 years. The GOP currently holds 27 seats in the 50-member state Senate.
To take control of the chamber with the lieutenant governor’s tie-breaking vote, Democrats would need to flip at least two seats and maintain control of the governor’s office. With a trifecta in Harrisburg, Democrats hope to advance legislation on issues that haven’t gained support in the Republican-controlled Senate, like codifying abortion protections.
The Shapiro-endorsed candidates have an opportunity, if successful in November, to give Democrats more governing power, whether that’s winning party control in the U.S. House, the state Senate, or giving Democrats an expanded majority in the state’s lower chamber.
Shapiro is running for a second term as governor, but he’s spending much of his time using his political prowess to bolster other Democrats ahead of the midterms. Recently, he was in Philadelphia with Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to energize volunteers. Earlier this month, he was in Montgomery and Chester Counties campaigning for down-ballot candidates.
Shapiro has invested more than $5.7 million in the state party since fall 2025, his campaign said last month.
Gov. Josh Shapiro poses with Democratic Pa. Senate candidate Chris Thomas (left) and his supporters after a rally in Towamencin, Montgomery County before heading out to canvass Sunday, Sept. 29, 2026.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
In July, he launched an effort — “Rise Up Pennsylvania” — that is aimed at pooling donations to fund campaign resources for key state Senate and U.S. congressional races.
Abortion protections remain a key piece of the party’s platform, even as Democrats have refocused their messaging on affordability ahead of November.
“Bucks County will be critical to building a pro–sexual and reproductive health care trifecta in Pennsylvania,” Signe Espinoza, executive director of Planned Parenthood PA PAC, said in a statement Friday.
“We endorsed these candidates because we know they will stand up to fight to protect every Pennsylvanian’s freedom to make their own decisions about their body, health and future.”
It wouldn’t be a Pennsylvania election without Bucks County becoming the star of the show.
And that’s exactly what’s happening this weekend, when Gov. Josh Shapiro travels to the swingiest of the swing counties to stump for Democrats up and down the ballot in key races.
🎤 I’m Fallon Roth, the suburban politics reporter at The Inquirer, coming to you live from Bucks (my home county) as we dig into how the suburb will be the make-or-break place for Democrats’ wishlist next month, including a win for Bob Harvie in the 1st Congressional District and shift in party control in the state Senate, which could only happen with help from the Philly suburbs.
We’ll also explore whether Pennsylvania voters would support Shapiroturning his attention to a bid for the White House in 2028.
In this edition:
🗳️All hands on deck: Shapiro will be in Bucks County Saturdayto launch a day-of-action for Democrats, organized by Planned Parenthood’s state-level PAC.
🗳️ The Bucks stops here: Two Bucks County swing districts and another in Montco could determine which party controls the state Senate.
🗳️Homefield (dis)advantage?: Pennsylvania voters are split on whether Shapiro should run for president in 2028.
-Fallon Roth, Michelle Baruchman, Sam Janesch, Gillian McGoldrick (pa2026@inquirer.com)
The latest
The price of gas, groceries and, well, living is on the rise and Pennsylvania’s swing district voters will have affordability on their minds as they head to the ballot box next month.
As democratic socialist candidates become more mainstream — including in Philly — most Pennsylvania Democrats said in a recent Inquirer/New York Times/Siena University poll that they have a positive view of socialism.
Shapiro and Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (possible 2028 rivals) went to Sam’s Morning Glory Diner in Philly to energize voters ahead of the midterms.
📊 Without a doubt, Shapiro is a popular governor. He’s viewed favorably by Democrats, independents and even some Republicans — no small feat in a swing state that voted for President DonaldTrumpin 2024. But whether these likely Pennsylvania voters want Shapiro to run for president in 2028 is an entirely different question.
Voters, in a poll conducted by Siena University on behalf of The Inquirer and the New York Times, were split on whether Shapiro, who is expected to pursue a White House bid, should run: 43% of respondents want him to run, and 44% don’t.
Of those supporting a potential presidential campaign, 41% ranked his character and competence as their reasons, and nearly one in five said they were satisfied with Shapiro’s performance as governor. But for those who oppose a run, it’s not necessarily because they don’t like him (although that is the case for 21% of respondents).
About one in 10 said they would prefer Shapiro, who is up for reelection this November with a commanding lead against his competitor, to remain in Pennsylvania. Campaigning and presidential debates would likely begin soon into his second term.
“I like his views. I like his policies. I like everything. I just think his religious affiliation will stop him from winning because I think the rest of the country, especially the middle of the country, will rally against him,”said Michael Biello, a 68-year-old Democrat in Philadelphia.
Campaign scrapple
🏥 Is the U.S. ready for Medicare for All?
Democrat Bob Harvie thinks there needs to be more trust in the federal government first before it starts running the healthcare system, he told The Inquirer on Tuesday evening.
Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner challenging GOP U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the swingy 1st Congressional District, has focused his campaign on addressing rising costs and increasing access to healthcare, such as advocating for 55-year-olds to be able to buy into Medicare.
Congressional candidate Bob Harvie (D, Pa.) speaks on Friday, September 11, 2026 at the Garden of Reflection in Yardley, Pennsylvania.William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
“My worry is you start talking to people about well, ‘We’re going to take away the healthcare system you have, and we’re going to give you another one, and the government’s going to run it,’” Harvie said of Medicare for All. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to rebuild trust in the government, just like we have a lot of work to do to rebuild how this healthcare system works.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (second from the left) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro chat with diners at the Morning Glory. The two Democrats have grown close in recent years, but they could become rivals in 2028 if they both pursue the presidency. Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
👀 What we’re watching
Shapiro and Garrity will face off in a live, televised debate this coming Wednesday, Oct. 7. The Harrisburg-based TV station ABC27 is hosting the debate, which will air on several stations owned by Nexstar across Pennsylvania, including WPHL-TV in Philadelphia. Politics reporters Gillian McGoldrick and Michelle Baruchman will break the major moments down at inquirer.com/politics.
Quote of the week
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick weighs in on the No. 1 issue this election. William Thomas Cain / For The Inquirer
Fitzpatrick agrees with his opponent, Harvie, on one thing: this election will hinge on which party voters think will do a better job lowering the cost of living.
👋 Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to check back as we enter a final campaign month packed with debates, candidate events and maybe even a few October surprises. You can follow The Inquirer politics team’s coverage here, and we’ll see you in your inbox next Friday.
SCRANTON — Four of Mike Parry’s tenants can no longer afford to pay their rent. Suddenly, their financial pain is his.
“It’s the affordability of everything that’s the problem,” said Parry, 60, of Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County. “We’re all feeling it now.”
With the war in Iran rocketing gas to almost $5 a gallon, inflation surging to 3.4% from 2.6% in 2025, and food prices up nearly 3% over last year, the high cost of living is weighing on the minds of many voters — and candidates — as the midterm elections draw near.
Nowhere is that more critical than in four tightly contested Pennsylvania congressional districts that could decide the control of the U.S. House — in Bucks County, the Lehigh Valley, the Harrisburg area, and Northeast Pennsylvania.
Mike Parry of Clark Summit, Lackawanna County.Courtesy of Mike Parry
Parry, a Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, said he is aware that many Americans hold the president and his party accountable for the affordability crisis, including in the 8th Congressional District, where Parry plans to back GOP U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan over Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, the Democratic nominee.
But other voters might not be so kind to Trump-aligned incumbents this fall.
Among likely voters in Pennsylvania, 75% disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living, compared with just 25% who approve, according to a recent poll fromThe Inquirer, the New York Times, and Siena University. And 73% disapprove of how he has handled gas prices, vs. 24% who approve. About 65% disapprove of his handling of the economy, vs. 34% who approve.
“It doesn’t matter what party you’re in,” Parry said. “We’re all getting hammered the same.”
‘Spend less’
At his local Wawa gas station in Allentown, P.J. Santos, 32, removed his finger from the pump trigger before his tank filled.
“So I buy less than I need,” he added, tightening his gas cap. “Same goes for date nights with my wife: Spend less.”
That is harder when you’re buying food, said Tammy McCoy, 52, of Easton,in the same district.“Walk into any grocery store,” said McCoy, a Democrat and professional cook. “It’s like you have to hand them $50 at the door.”
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Trump, she remembered, promised to lower priceson Day 1 of his presidency. Not only did that not happen, she added, he raised tariffs, making imported staples like coffee, nuts, and olive oil more expensive. “Because of that,” McCoy added, “I’m against him and Republicans.”
Tapping into the frustration over food prices, Democrat Janelle Stelson’s campaign is pointing to the cost of hamburgers as she seeks to oust Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th Congressional District.
Janelle Stelson (left) and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa.(right) from a Stelson campaign photo in 2024, the last time the two squared off against each other in a bid to represent the 10th Congressional District. Stelson Campaign, AP
Stelson eats a burger in a TV ad that says Americans now pay $7.29 for a pound of ground beef —a result of tariffs Trump imposed and Perry supported.
But criticism of Trump’s tariffs will not sway Tammy Green, 60, a Republican voter in the 8th Congressional District who supports Bresnahan over Democrat Cognetti.
“Because he’s a businessman, President Trump understands the economy. … He’s negotiating fair prices with tariffs,” said Green, a former travel agent who lives in West Wyoming, Luzerne County.
More households need help
On a hot September day in Levittown, people gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new headquarters of the United Way of Bucks County. Focused on helping anyone experiencing financial hardship, the building features an expanded HELP Center, where diapers, fresh produce, and clothing are available at no charge.
As need skyrockets, the nonprofit expects a 40% to 50% increase in demand this year, Marissa Christie, president and CEO, said in an interview.
“Folks are telling us that in the grocery store, their budget is not going as far as it used to,” Christie said. “When they go to fill up their gas tank, their money is not going as far as they expected.”
Attending the event alongside other local lawmakers was U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), who secured $4.15 million in federal funds for the building and said the agency will “always be in that top-10 list” of key nonprofits helping those in need.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) speaks outside the U.S. Capitol about legislation to put national restrictions on gerrymandering on Sep. 16, 2026.Sam Janesch / Staff
The cost of living has become a focal point in the 1st Congressional District race as Fitzpatrick fends off a challenge from Democratic County Commissioner Bob Harvie in the Bucks County-based swing district.
Pennsylvania Democrats, including Harvie, have centered their campaign messaging on affordability in hopes of appealing to voters across the political spectrum.
“Costs are what affect people every single day … whether it’s at the pump, whether it’s in the grocery store,” Harvie said in an interview with The Inquirer’s Editorial Board. “Housing costs obviously are huge. It’s a major issue here in this district, especially in the county.”
(The Editorial Board, which runs The Inquirer’s opinion pages and decides endorsements, operates independently from the newsroom. Newsroom editors and reporters have no role in endorsements, and opinion staffers have no role in news coverage.)
Fitzpatrick, too, acknowledged in an interview at the U.S. Capitol last month that affordability is the top issue not just in this election, but in every election.
“The No. 1priority, the No. 1 focus, has to be on affordability — has to be,” he said. “That’s the issue that got Trump elected in ’24. It’s what got [New York Mayor Zohran] Mamdani elected in ’25. It’s what people care about.”
‘Affordability front and center’
Demonstrating their awareness of voter focus on the high cost of living, Trump administration officials and local Republicans repeatedly emphasized “affordability” as they touted their work to combat rising electricity prices at a PPL Electric Utilities facility in Allentown last week.
“This is a quick way to lower electricity prices and increase reliability,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said as he announced up to $71.5 million in federal funding for PPL, which was among $2 billion in new spending aimed at improving the electric grid.
Upgrades to existing transmission lines will include new technology like sensors to detect weather conditions, improving efficiency and ultimately lowering electricity costs, according to the Energy Department.
Asked how quickly consumers might see those improvements, Wright did not specify a timeline but noted that new, large-scale energy users — like data centers — are negotiating with utilities about how much of the increased demand they will cover.
Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker whose district includes the Lehigh Valley and Poconos, also emphasized a bill he supports that would set federal standards for data centers to pay for their electricity use, and another to promote transparency around retail electric costs.
President Donald Trump invites 7th District U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (right) to the stage to visit Mack Trucks in Macungie, outside Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, in June.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Mackenzie said energy policy needs tokeep“affordability front and center.”
The war’s economic consequences
Some Trump voters say they are willing to pay more for gas and other essentials as the president pursues his policy goals at home and in Iran.
“We incur a cost that stinks now to avoid another Sept. 11 later,” said T.J. Fitzgerald, 60, a Republican bail bondsman from Nanticoke, Luzerne County, in the 8th Congressional District. “Fighting Iran, a terrorist organization, is worth inflation at the pump.”
Ryan Kavulich, a 37-year-old project manager from Dunmore in nearby Lackawanna County, disagreed with that logic.
“The war’s a nightmare with what it’s costing for diesel,” said Kavulich, a Democrat who plans to back Cognetti in November.
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People in the 8th District know that Bresnahan voted against ending the war with Iran in September, Kavulich said.
“And that makes voting for Paige [Cognetti] in November the easiest choice ever,” he said. “So many people around Scranton have a blue-collar, kitchen-table, commonsense vibe. They know going into Iran isn’t what you do. They know it’s time to be over Bresnahan and Trump.”
As the cost of fuel continues to climb, even some longtime Republicans in the district are expressing their doubts about the economic consequences of Trump’s war.
“I voted for Trump three times,” said Greg Kerrick, 58, a Republican voter from Scranton.
“But I don’t like him pushing up gas prices,” added Kerrick, who is unemployed. “And I feel for anyone paying over $4 a gallon.”
John Baer was the son of a Harrisburg newspaperman. He literally grew up in the Pennsylvania state Capitol. And he never left.
His father, John H. Baer, was a political reporter for what is now the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, and Mr. Baer spent many Sunday afternoons hanging around the old Capitol press room while his father worked on stories. Decades later, in 1972, Mr. Baer joined the Evening News in Harrisburg as a reporter and went on to work for nearly 50 years in that same press room.
“I’m probably unique in Pennsylvania politics and journalism,” Mr. Baer said in a 2020 oral history interview for Pennsylvania State University. “I dare say there probably aren’t any who can say they worked in the same state capitol newsroom that their father did.”
In 1987, the Daily News hired Mr. Baer to cover state politics in Harrisburg. He became a political columnist for the newspaper in 2000, and his plainspoken, no-holds-barred stories later appeared in The Inquirer as well. Before he left the papers in 2019, he covered hundreds of political campaigns, conventions, and elections, and wrote about thousands of local, state, and national politicians.
Mr. Baer’s column on politics appeared in The Inquirer and Daily News from 2000 to 2019. Newspapers.com
“He was the most feared reporter in my eight years in Harrisburg,” former Gov. Ed Rendell said. “He did his work. He did his digging. He really cared about the issues.”
On Thursday, Sept. 24, Mr. Baer died of cancer at his home in New Cumberland, Pa. He was 79.
For 32 years, Mr. Baer was a hard-hitting, award-winning political reporter and columnist for The Inquirer and Daily News. He was also a columnist for PennLive and the Patriot-News, onetime public TV producer and show host, former press secretary, author, teacher, and mentor.
Many of those Mr. Baer covered in Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Washington praised his “deep integrity” and “fierce independence,” and called him a “keen observer of Pennsylvania politics” and “a heavyweight in Pennsylvania political reporting” in online tributes. State Rep. Ben Waxman called Mr. Baer a “legendary Capitol journalist.” U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans said he was “authentic and a one-of-a-kind journalist.”
Mr. Baer told Penn State he wanted to “let people see the inside of the game in Harrisburg.” His Inquirer.com online profile reads: “John Baer has written about politics and government since 1987. Neither subject ever fails to provide him with stories of policies and politicians walking on or skirting by paths to perdition.”
In addition to covering nine Pennsylvania governors, the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, and the ascensions of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Mr. Baer wrote about the execution of serial killer Gary Heidnik, the pleas for more research funding by a cancer victim, and the battle of a state policeman’s widow to receive her husband’s pension benefits.
He said some of his favorite columns were the mea culpa pieces he wrote at the end of each year that highlighted things he got wrong. “I truly just had a ball at the Daily News,” he told Penn State. “I just loved it. … I’ve always said I had no adult supervision, and it was wonderful.”
Mr. Baer joined PennLive in 2019, and his last column was published in July. “The depth and breadth of his knowledge was beyond compare,” said Amy Worden, his editor at PennLive.
Mr. Baer and his wife, Rosemary, married in 1969.Courtesy of the family
Before the Daily News, Mr. Baer spent 14 years in total as a reporter for the Patriot-News, an award-winning public TV producer and show host for WITF in Harrisburg, and a press secretary during Lt. Gov. Bill Scranton’s unsuccessful run for governor in 1986.
He wrote freelance stories for Philadelphia Magazine and national publications. He was a frequent guest on political TV and radio shows and moderated several statewide candidate debates.
A lifelong foodie, he also reviewed Harrisburg-area restaurants for a magazine under the pseudonym “the Phantom Diner.” His book, On the Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics,was published in 2012.
“He was so good at writing strong opinions with depth,” Paul Vigna, a retired Daily News editor, said.
Mr. Baer earned awards for his journalism and was inducted into the Pennsylvania News Media Hall of Fame in 2024. He was cofounder of the Pennsylvania Press Club and onetime president of the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association.
In tributes, colleagues praised his “sharp wit” and called him a “journalism giant,” “terrific writer,” and “mentor to many of us.” The internship program at the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association is named in his honor.
“He was an All-Star, a Hall of Famer,” Vigna said. Rendell said: “He didn’t take any BS.”
John Baer was born June 25, 1947, in Harrisburg. He graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in 1965 and earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland and a master’s degree in education later from Temple University.
He coached basketball and football teams while teaching English for three years at Trinity High School in Harrisburg after college. He married Rosemary Ruggieri in 1969, and they had sons Johnny and James.
Mr. Baer and his wife hosted many memorable Christmas parties and enjoyed road trips to Georgetown University basketball games, New York Mets baseball games, and their sons’ many sporting events. He played racquetball and tennis, and ran a marathon at 50.
He was a longtime member of St. Theresa Catholic Church in New Cumberland. “He liked interesting people and had lifelong friendships,” his family said in a tribute. “He loved his friends.”
On Facebook, colleague Diana Robinson said: “Here’s to you, John Baer. You’ll always be The Most Interesting Man in Harrisburg.”
In addition to his wife and sons, Mr. Baer is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives.
Services were held earlier.
Donations in his name may be made to Vickie’s Angel Foundation, 511 Bridge St., Box 174, New Cumberland, Pa. 17070.
Bucks County Democrat Bob Harvie is asking TV stationsin the Philadelphia area to stop airing advertisements from U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, calling them misleading to viewers.
In letters sent Thursday, an attorney for theDemocrat’s campaign highlighted two attack ads from Fitzpatrick’s campaign related to Harvie’s time as a county commissioner.
He said the ads relied on dubious reporting from a source who has personal connections to Fitzpatrick, the incumbent Republican who has represented the 1st Congressional District for five terms. Harvie is challenging Fitzpatrick for the Bucks County-based seat, one of four in the state that both parties are targeting ahead of November.
In one of the ads, for example, Fitzpatrick’s campaign cited a headline from Patch.com, the hyperlocal news organization, that said “Bob Harvie was the lone vote to abolish local police funding on the Board of Commissioners.”
Harvie opposed a roughly $43,000 purchase of “civil unrest protective equipment” for the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office in a 2024 vote, attorney Timothy Ford said in the letter, but voted to approve every other law enforcement spending request, including about $31,000 for a sheriff’s deputy vehicle and about $44,000 for a police interceptor utility vehicle.
The legal action comes after revelations from Politico that the author of multiple Patch articles Fitzpatrick is using in his campaign ads is Dave Sommers, who received occasional payments from Fitzpatrick’s campaign over the years, though not in the most recent financial reporting cycle.
“Sommers’ claim that Mr. Harvie voted to ‘abolish local police funding’ is a deliberately false characterization of the official and public record of the Bucks County Commissioners’ Meeting,” Ford wrote.
Harvie’s campaign asked the TV stations to scrutinize any future advertisements that refer to Sommers’ work.
“These advertisements rely on reporting from a highly uncredible and biased source with a penchant for publishing out-of-context, false statements that mislead voters and damage Mr. Harvie’s reputation in the community,” Ford wrote.
Sommers had previously been charged with stealing an election sign for a previous Fitzpatrick primary challenger and attended the lawmaker’s June wedding, Politico reported.
Representatives for the Fitzpatrick campaign did not respond to The Inquirer.
Several public polls put Harvie and Fitzpatrick in a tight race, but the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan group that provides election analysis, indicates the seat will likely remain in Republican control.
This summer, Harvie’s campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to Fitzpatrick and his campaign for what it said were defamatory allegations that falsely suggest Harvie was the subject of an FBI investigation. A PAC supporting Fitzpatrick that used similar language in its social media posts, news releases, and video content also received a cease-and-desist order and was slapped with a lawsuit.
The practice of sending these kinds of letters is common for campaigns, and some go ignored.
In another ad Harvie’s campaign complained about in the letter, Fitzpatrick referenced a Patch headline that said “Bob Harvie Voted to Give Himself a Significant Taxpayer-Funded Pay Raise.”
As chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, Harvie approved an annual 1% increase in salaries beginning in 2024 for commissioners and several other local offices. State law requires commissioners to set salaries prior to a forthcoming election year for most county-level roles, including their own.
“There was nothing ‘significant’ or unusual about the pay raise that Mr. Harvie and his fellow Commissioners approved,” Ford wrote. He added that the raises were approved across party lines, including support from the Republican commissioner.
The Trump administration cannot withhold emergency preparedness grants from states that do not change how they conduct elections, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency warned state and local governments in June it would withhold up to 20% of some terrorism-preparedness grants unless officials demonstrated that they were exploring a transition to paper ballots or verifying voters’ citizenship. The grants, totaling $1 billion each year, help harden urban areas against terrorist attacks, develop anti-terrorism plans, and conduct terrorism drills.
The changes to elections that FEMA sought were in line with President Donald Trump’s false and largely debunked claims of widespread voter fraud.
A group of local governments in Tennessee, Texas, and Ohio sued FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, its parent agency, over the move last month, arguing the federal government did not have the power to force changes to how they conduct elections. They also said the rules would disenfranchise eligible voters.
Judge Amir H. Ali of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, an appointee of President Joe Biden, agreed that the conditions exceeded the administration’s power over elections and ordered them stricken from the grant programs’ application process.
FEMA and Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
The ruling follows several actions by the Supreme Court addressing Trump’s push to exert more control over elections before the midterms. This month, the court blocked changes to mail-in voting but approved increased screenings for ineligible voters.
With recent victories by democratic socialists nationwide prompting a fierce debate about the future of the Democratic Party, most Democrats in Pennsylvania have a positive view of socialism — and nearly 40% consider themselves to be a democratic socialist, a new poll found.
About one-third of likely voters in the midterm elections this fall have a favorable view of socialism and 56% have an unfavorable view. That result closely mirrors a recent national poll from the New York Times and Siena University, raising questions about the appeal of socialism to a wider swath of voters.
“We’re more popular than ever,” said Dan Parker, cochair of Philadelphia’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). “But we still have a long way to go.”
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The survey of 615 likely Pennsylvania voters conducted from Sept. 15 through 21 comes amid a surge of leftist victories both locally and across the country.
State Rep. Chris Rabb defeated a pair of more moderate candidates in Philadelphia’s highly competitive congressional primary in May. A democratic socialist, Rabb is highly favored to win in the general election and has spent the months since his primary campaigning for other like-minded candidates.
Nearly all of those candidates — from Abdul El-Sayed in the high-stakes Michigan U.S. Senate race to a pair of New York candidates boosted by Mayor Zohran Mamdani — have also won their primaries as Rabb and his allies look to grow the ranks of progressives starting on Capitol Hill in January.
“The mainstream Democratic establishment candidates are telling us time and time again to settle for less, to expect nothing other than the status quo,” Parker said. “People are looking for a different set of politics that speaks to their material needs and to the values of freedom that many are striving for.”
Parker said Philadelphia DSA has been “exploding” since Rabb’s victory. The group mobilized hundreds of volunteers to knock between 75,000 and 100,000 doors during his campaign, and more than 750 new members have joined since May to put the chapter’s total ranks at about 3,000, he said.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks speaks with colleague Nicolas O’Rourke during a March 12 caucus session. Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Rabb’s success follow that of Pittsburgh’s U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, who was first elected to Congress with DSA support in 2022. Other DSA-backed elected officials include Philadelphia City Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Nicolas O’Rourke, as well as State Sen. Nikil Saval, while new primary victories this year include Mark Pinsley and Ce-Ce Gerlach in Lehigh Valley-based legislative races.
Further growth, Parker said, will come with DSA-backed candidates working in office to “prove that government can exist to serve ordinary people.”
On that agenda: Advocating for universal healthcare, affordable housing, progressive tax policies, defunding and ultimately abolishing ICE, and ending the wars in Iran and Gaza.
“What makes DSA distinct — and democratic socialism as a political movement distinct — is that it’s not really just about who has the right ideas,” Parker said. “It’s about a theory of change that puts the vast majority of society in the driver’s seat.”
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As Democrats look to retake control of Congress and the White House, how much influence that movement will yield remains an open question.
Moderates like Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, have acknowledged the energy on the left while advocating for a more centrist approach. Shapiro said this summer that the progressive candidates were practicing “performative politics” and would need to deliver if elected. He has also said he expects the party to have the most significant “battle over what we believe in” in more than three decades as the next presidential race gets underway.
The latest poll shows the party’s base remains divided in Pennsylvania.
While Democrats in the state remain split in their views of socialism, 38% consider themselves to be a democratic socialist while 57% do not, the poll found. Just over half of Democrats see their party as divided and 45% believe it’s united.
‘A tiny, tiny fraction’
Some observers also cautioned that the number of self-identifying democratic socialists across all of Pennsylvania — a swing state that has largely elected moderates to statewide office — may appear larger than reality. The poll did not define democratic socialism, for one. And progressives have been overrepresented in other polling this year, including in Wisconsin and Michigan, said Lew Irwin, a political science professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
“A lot of people will claim an affiliation when they actually have an affinity,” Irwin said, adding that it’s still become “increasingly mainstream and acceptable inside the Democratic Party” to identify as socialist.
J.J. Balaban, a Philadelphia-based ad maker for more moderate Democrats like U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, pointed to the fact that even with the additional energy on the left, the vast majority of Democrats in Washington next year will not be socialist.
“We’re talking about a tiny, tiny fraction of the Democratic caucus,” he said.
Balaban said that is one of the reasons why Republicans’ campaign messaging may also not be effective as they try to defend their majorities in the November midterm elections. Republicans have branded all kinds of Democrats as socialists — repeatedly denouncing the entire party as far left and “communist” in its agenda.
One of the main characters featured in those attacks has been Hasan Piker, the controversial leftist streamer who campaigned with Rabb and other candidates this year. His visit to Philadelphia in April drew hundreds of young progressives but was condemned by Rabb’s opponents and Jewish groups who consider his views antisemitic.
Online influencer Hasan Piker speaks to attendees at an April 30 fundraiser for State Rep. Chris Rabb’s 2026 congressional campaign at Renata’s Kitchen in West Philadelphia.Erin Blewett / For The Inquirer
Piker’s support of El-Sayed has become a dominant issue in the Michigan race, but the poll of Pennsylvania voters shows he is mostly unknown in the Keystone State.
Among Pennsylvania likely voters, 23% had an unfavorable view of Piker and 6% had a favorable view. Two-thirds said they had not heard of him — and a higher share of Republicans knew him compared to Democrats.
“He is a much greater part of the discourse in the Fox cinematic universe than he is in actual Democratic discourse,” Balaban said.
With polls increasingly showing Democratic momentum this fall, even some conservatives appear to be pushing for Republicans to shift their messaging away from socialism.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican who has reportedly lived at least partially in the Poconos since President Donald Trump commuted his sentence last year, posted a video Thursday in which he criticized a mailer for U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a freshman Republican in a tight reelection campaign. The mailer claims Bresnahan will “stop the socialists” and lists his Democratic challenger, Paige Cognetti, alongside the “socialist dream team” of progressives Mamdani, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind., Vt.), and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.).
“Please stop sending me this. It’s silly,” Santos said in the video, adding colorful language to say Pennsylvania Republicans should be focusing on the cost of living.
“No more rhetoric!” he added.
Staff writer Joe Yerardi contributed to this article.
City Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. held a campaign fundraiser featuring Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at the Cobbs Creek Golf Course on Thursday night, a show of strength as he gears up to seek a sixth term in next year’s municipal election.
But that hasn’t stopped a whisper campaign among Philly’s political class about whether he’ll actually appear on the Democratic primary ballot next spring, with as many as four potential candidates said to be eyeing his seat representing parts of West and Northwest Philadelphia.
People close to Jones have recently encouraged him to reconsider seeking a new term and to clear the way for State Rep. Morgan Cephas to run to represent Council’s 4th District, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Other possible candidates include criminal justice reform advocate Celeste Trusty, ex-Service Employees International Union staffer Leigh Owens, and developer Ryan Spak.
The intrigue over Jones’ political future follows an Inquirer report in June that Jones and his wife, City Representative Jazelle Jones, who is a top official in the Parker administration, stand to reap up to $752,000 in payouts from the controversial Deferred Retirement Option Plan, or DROP.
Jones, who makes $165,000 per year, told The Inquirer in June that he may need the extra money from DROP to pay for medical bills in retirement because he is suffering from glaucoma, an incurable disease that Jones said has already caused him to lose 40% of his vision.
Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. stands in for former Council President Darrell Clarke after he stepped away briefly during a Council meeting on Sept. 14, 2023.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
State Sen. Vincent Hughes, a West Philadelphia Democrat who said he has been friends with Jones for 44 years, said he will support Jones no matter what he decides, adding that “no election is automatic.” But Hughes also said he has encouraged Jones to consider his health when deciding how to proceed.
“I think the councilman has earned the opportunity to try to make an accurate determination as to what he wants to do for his future,” Hughes said in an interview Monday. “I have encouraged him to think about the personal side of this, the physical challenges.”
Hughes said he would like to see Cephas eventually succeed Jones in the 4th District. But if Jones decides that he can serve another term, Hughes said he will back his reelection.
“He’s been serving with this challenge, and he’s been serving well,” Hughes said.
Jones said Thursday that he intends to run for reelection and serve a full term.
ScreenshotSean Walsh
DROP allows city workers to “double-dip” by accumulating four years of pension payments, which is usually paid out in a lump sum upon their retirement, while they are still working and receiving their regular paychecks.
The Joneses’ enrollment in DROP is legal, but his use of the program resurrects a scandal from the early 2010s that ended the political careers of several prominent figures in City Hall.
Elected officials, who were not initially envisioned as being eligible for the program, took advantage of it by briefly retiring at the end of their terms, collecting lucrative DROP payouts, and then getting rehired at the beginning of their new terms.
As a junior Council member, Jones in 2010 voted for a bill banning future elected officials from enrolling in DROP. But the bill “grandfathered” in current elected officials at the time, he said, and Jones is now poised to become the first lawmaker to use the program in years.
Jones enrolled in DROP in August 2024, meaning his mandatory retirement date would be in August 2028, during the first year of the next Council term. He would be eligible to collect a $432,000 payout then, and upon retirement he will begin collecting his regular city pension payments.
But Jones in June said he plans to retire just before the start of the next Council term in January 2028, take a slightly reduced DROP payout, and then serve his entire next four-year term, if he is reelected. He has held the seat since 2008.
The person familiar with the discussions about Jones’ future said 4th District voters are unhappy about his enrollment in DROP and that speculation about his potential successor is becoming a “self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“This is a district that reads the newspaper and works to stay informed,” the person said. “And they don’t like what they’ve been reading and hearing.”
In June, Jones said he has had four eye surgeries and that he enrolled in DROP to ensure he can afford the healthcare he needs in retirement, “so that if I was blind, I wouldn’t have been without resources.”
He added that, due to his health challenges, he is grateful he was not elected Council president. He ran for the leadership post in 2023, losing to Kenyatta Johnson, a South Philadelphia Democrat.
“I am functional. My staff kind of helps to keep that good,” Jones said. ”I am thankful to God that I did not get elected [Council] president. Do you know how much reading they do? I could have not kept up with all of the numbers and stuff like that, so I know my limitations.”
Jazelle Jones, who has served in multiple mayoral administrations, enrolled in DROP in 2020 and was originally set to retire in 2024. Parker, however, has pushed through a series of exceptions to personnel rules allowing her to continue serving and collect a more lucrative DROP benefit of about $320,000. Those approvals were processed months after the fact, city records show, and the administration has not yet explained the gaps in paperwork.
Curtis Jones, 69, has also said he hopes that Cephas, 42, a West Philadelphia Democrat, will succeed him when he retires after his next four-year term, meaning she would run in the 2031 municipal election cycle.
State Rep. Morgan Cephas attends a get-out-the-vote rally for State Sen. Sharif Street at the Church of Christian Compassion in West Philadelphia on May 18, 2026, on the day before the Democratic primary election for the 3rd Congressional District. Cephas was a candidate for the same seat, but withdrew early in the race.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia politicians sometimes retire in the middle of their terms, triggering a special election in which Democratic ward leaders, and not primary voters, choose the party’s nominee, who usually ends up winning the seat thanks to Philly’s deep-blue electorate. That can sometimes allow outgoing politicians to handpick their successors.
But Jones has said he would not retire in the middle of his next term, and he instead plans to endorse Cephas to run in a Democratic primary in 2031.
Amid the heightened scrutiny over his retirement plans, some allies of Jones and Cephas, who both got their start in the West Philadelphia-based political organization previously led by former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, are encouraging him to speed up the transition. That could prevent a worst-case scenario for Cephas: if Jones lost to another challenger in next year’s Democratic primary while Cephas sat out the race in deference to Jones.
Several other potential candidates are considering running for Jones’ seat, setting up what could grow into a crowded primary.
Spak — an affordable housing developer based in West Philadelphia who has in recent years been critical of some Council members’ more restrictive housing policies — is rumored to be considering a campaign. He declined to comment.
In this 2022 file photo, Ryan Spak is photographed at 44th and Chestnut Street near the Ethiopian Community Association. Spak’s work has included collaborating with West Philly residential and commercial property owners on rehab projects.ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer
In addition, the city’s progressive organizations are eyeing the district as a potential opportunity to grow their influence on Council. Candidates aligned with the left are already lining up to run against incumbents in at least two other districts.
Three sources close to that effort, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly, said Trusty and Owens, both criminal justice reform advocates, are considering getting in the 4th District race.
Trusty is the ex-secretary of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons and has also worked with the national organization FAMM, formerly known as Families Against Mandatory Minimums. She declined to comment.
Celeste Trusty, of FAMM, is at right in this 2019 file photo. She is celebrating with Ketra Veasy (center), sister of Willie Veasy, who had been imprisoned for 27 years for murder and was exonerated.HEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
Owens, a former staffer at SEIU who was also a political aide to progressive ex-Councilmember Helen Gym, is now the education and advocacy director at the Pennsylvania Prison Society. He said in an interview that he has been considering running for Jones’ seat for about two years.
He said he is a native of the district, and sees an opportunity for new voices on Council to advocate for stronger public education and more affordable housing.
Owens, 46, said the revelations around Jones’ use of DROP made clear that it’s “time for the old guard to step down.”
“When I see what he’s doing with this DROP money and people using politics as a tool to line their pockets and stifle progress, it’s upsetting,” Owens said. “It’s time for people that really have the lived experience and who are doing this for the right reasons to get these seats. That’s the only way the city is going to be better: if our leaders care about the people and not their own interest.”
Staff researcher Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed a candidate considering running for the 4th District seat. The potential candidates are Curtis Jones Jr., Morgan Cephas, Ryan Spak, Celeste Trusty, and Leigh Owens.
