New Jersey is poised to allow political candidates to spend campaign donations on security guards and equipment, amid a rising toll of national violent threats and deadly attacks against politicians and their families.
The 80-member state Assembly on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would enable politicians to buy alarm and motion-detection systems and hire guards “provided that the security measures address ongoing dangers or threats that would not otherwise exist were it not for the individual’s status or duties as a candidate or officeholder.”
The bill passed 53-13 with eight abstentions.
Majority Democrats did not speak during the debate. Some Republicans questioned why candidates’ safety should in any way depend on the size of their campaign fund. They recommended that concerned candidates apply for a firearm and protect themselves.
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (R., Sussex) said she encountered “some real live wires out there” and has beefed up security in her own home. She has enlisted help from the state police and the attorney general’s office as well. But the bill still gave her pause.
“I don’t believe anyone has ever donated to me … thinking, ‘I hope it keeps her alive,’” Fantasia said.
Typically, candidates cannot not use political donations to cover personal expenses. But since the execution of New Jersey U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ son in their Middlesex County home in 2020 by a self-described men’s rights lawyer, appointed and elected public officials nationwide have taken steps to protect their privacy.
Those fears only multiplied after President Donald Trump was wounded during a shooting at a Pennsylvania campaign rally in 2024, last year’s arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro slept inside, and the 2025 assassination of Democratic Minnesota State Rep. and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband.
This image provided by Commonwealth Media Services shows damage after a fire at the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion while Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family slept inside on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (Commonwealth Media Services via AP)A
New Jersey would be the 17th state to allow political contributions to be spent on security, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Rowan University political science professor Ben Dworkin called the need for such a bill “an unfortunate development in the hyper-partisan world we live in.”
“For any number of years, protecting the candidate meant staff walking in a circle around them, creating a bubble, and moving through the crowd,” said Dworkin, the director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Leadership. “It’s sad if we have gotten to the point the majority of the legislature needs professionals.”
It is now up to Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill to decide whether to sign the legislation into law. The 40-member Senate passed the measure in June.
The next major statewide election is next year, when all 120 seats in the legislature are on the ballot.
The protections could extend to candidates’ immediate family members with whom they live. Security personnel could not be relatives, nor could candidates hire security companies owned by family, according to the bill.
Security devices may be sold after the campaign, according to the bill.
The state Election Law Enforcement Commission would implement the measure if Sherrill signs it.
One in four likely Pennsylvania GOP voters has not heard of the state’s Republican candidate for governor, as Gov. Josh Shapiro continues to pull ahead with less than six weeks remaining until Election Day, according to a new poll.
According to the poll, Shapiro’s lead has now expanded beyond the advantage he held the month before the 2022 election against State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin). Shapiro went on to beat Mastriano in that election by nearly 15 percentage points, or 800,000 votes — a drubbing that the GOP vowed not to repeat.
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Pennsylvania Republicans endorsed Garrity in September 2025 — an unprecedented early nod to unify behind her in an effort to put up a stronger fight against Shapiro after the party largely withheld its support for far-right Mastriano. Garrity has won statewide twice and received the most votes in Pennsylvania history for a statewide office, a record previously held by Shapiro. In January, President Donald Trump endorsed Garrity, calling her “an America First Patriot.”
But building on that early enthusiasm has proven to be a challenge for Garrity, who for months has struggled to raise money, compete with Shapiro’s $60 million war chest, and gain name recognition in the critical battleground state where registered Democratic voters narrowly outnumber Republicans.
Garrity, 63, who entered politics in 2020 after a long career in the U.S. Army Reserve, raised only $1.8 million this summer and spent $1.5 million, according to her latest campaign finance filing, posted Tuesday. Shapiro raised $13.3 million during that time and spent $31 million.
Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses the audience during a rally for congressional candidate Bob Brooks at the United Steelworkers Union Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday, July 26, 2026.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
And while Shapiro has dramatically increased his advertising spending on TV and streaming services to top $27 million this year, Garrity has spent a total of $744,000 on ads so far, according to media tracking firm AdImpact.
Both Shapiro and Garrity have released ads attacking each other for their past support for data center development, an increasingly unpopular issue among both Republicans and Democrats. Garrity’s ad criticizing Shapiro has been viewed about 802,000 times in the Philadelphia media market, according to AdImpact. Shapiro’s commercial labeling Garrity as “Pennsylvania’s number one fan of data centers” has been viewed 416 million times.
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“Within the data right now, Josh Shapiro is a favorite son in the state of Pennsylvania, and they see him as doing a fantastic job,” said Don Levy, the director of the Siena Research Institute, which conducted the poll of 615 likely Pennsylvania voters from Sept. 15 to 21. “Barring double lightning bolts or a triple rainbow, he’s going to win.”
Garrity’s lack of campaign spending has allowed Shapiro to define her in the race, experts have said.
George Stanton, 77, a registered Republican from Lebanon County who participated in the poll, said he will support Garrity in November. He said Shapiro’s attack ad about Garrity’s past support for data centers, which he said he agrees with, helped him learn more about her positions.
Voters trust Shapiro more than Garrity on all of the top issues facing them, the poll found, including the state’s economy, the cost of living, data centers and artificial intelligence companies, and vaccine policy. In recent weeks, Shapiro has been embroiled in a battle with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he has blamed for spreading misinformation as Pennsylvania experienced a deadly measles outbreak. And at a summit in Pittsburgh last week, Shapiro called for more regulation of AI companies but said innovation of the technology should still be harnessed.
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Scott Byers, 79, a Republican from Westmoreland County who supported Trump in 2024, is planning to vote for Shapiro this fall because “he just seems to be more in line with the public, with the feelings of his constituents.”
That includes Shapiro’s position on AI and data centers, which Byers believes should be more difficult to build. All he knows about Garrity’s views is what he catches on commercials — but it does not feel comprehensive, said Byers, who participated in the poll.
“I think technology in itself is going a bit beyond what is necessary. I feel that it’s hard to pinpoint, but I just feel that there’s too much emphasis on technology,” Byers said.
Campaign volunteers hand out signs to supporters of Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democratic Pa. Senate candidate Chris Thomas at a rally in Towamencin, Montgomery County before heading out to canvass on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2026.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Approximately 60% of likely voters strongly approve or somewhat approve of the job Shapiro is doing as governor, according to the poll. That includes 30% of Republican voters, 89% of Democratic voters, and 59% of independents in the critical swing state where Shapiro maintains high popularity.
As a moderate politician, Shapiro has been able to capture most independent voters and even win over some Republicans, according to the poll.
Lesa Yeager, 63, considers herself an independent voter with centrist views who voted for a third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential election. She is an ardent union supporter and also thinks the nation should have a strong border. She said she trusts Garrity, as the state’s treasurer, to do a better job handling Pennsylvania’s economy.
But she is supporting Shapiro this November, in large part, because of his work on schools.
“I like that he’s very pro-education,” she said. “I am a fan of charter schools because I sent my kids to charter schools.”
Two of her children, now 35 and 37, benefited from smaller classroom sizes and adjustable curriculums, she said.
Yeager said she has also reached her limits with Trump’s behavior during his second term and believes Shapiro would continue to represent the state positively.
“I just think Trump is such a bully and so mean and just does whatever he wants, and I just want someone who isn’t that,” Yeager said.
She appreciates the Republicans who distance themselves from Trump. “But it’s tough to tell who is and who isn’t, a lot of times, and I would rather vote for someone I know isn’t going to support Trump on a lot of the things that he does,” she added.
Still, Garrity has found some backing among Pennsylvania’s electorate, though even some of those supporters say they don’t know much about her.
GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity and her running mate Jason Richey hold up their arms in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, February 7, 2026. Kalim A. Bhatti / For The Inquirer
Susan Roller of Lancaster said she plans to vote for Garrity this fall because “she’s more responsible and will protect our freedoms.” Roller, who is retired, said she is particularly distressed about Shapiro’s positions supporting access to abortion and encouraging vaccines.
But as far as getting to know more about Garrity, Roller, 72, said she has not “seen a lot” of messaging on television about her.
In 2022, Shapiro did not participate in any debates while he maintained a double-digit lead over Mastriano, declining the Republican’s requests as an “unserious stunt.” Shapiro held a 13-percentage-point lead over Mastriano in a New York Times/Siena poll conducted that October — a closer margin than Shapiro’s lead over Garrity this year.
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The 2022 midterm election was a much different political moment for Democrats, said Levy of the Siena Research Institute.
“That was a point in time when the Democratic star was on the decline,” he added. “Everything was a bit of a referendum on Democrats, on the job that [former President Joe] Biden was doing, how we were coming out of the pandemic.
“The overall political climate in which the ’26 election is taking place vs. ’22 is really kind of night and day,” Levy said.
Staff writers Joe Yerardi and Fallon Roth contributed to this article.
A whistleblower lawsuit accuses Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration of bypassing procurement requirements meant to safeguard the use of taxpayer dollars, including during renovations to the governor’s mansion, and firing a staffer who had raised concerns.
The administration waived competitive bid requirements after purchases were made, split transactions to bypass the threshold requiring a bidding process, and kept paying a security contractor who no longer provided service, the suit says — claims that a spokesperson for Shapiro rejected.
The federal lawsuit is the latest in the controversy surrounding the security upgrades and renovations to the state-owned governor’s residence in Harrisburg and Shapiro’s personal home in Abington Township, after a man firebombed the mansion on the first night of Passover in 2025 while the governor and his extended family were asleep inside.
This work was largely done through the state’s emergency procurement process that allows agencies to the skip lengthy bid protocols, as officials took quick action to strengthen security.
But the overall cost and questions over whether the correct processes were followed led to scrutiny by Republican lawmakers. The project at Shapiro’s Abington residence also led to a property dispute with his neighbors, who filed a federal suit against him that led the Shapiros to sue in return. Those lawsuits are ongoing.
Nicole Moyer, a procurement specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of General Services, claims in the federal lawsuit filed last week that after she repeatedly raised concerns about the “waste and wrongdoing” by the agency, she was fired.
Moyer, 49, has been working in procurement since 1995, first in the Army and later at the Pennsylvania State Police and various state agencies, according to the complaint. She joined the Pennsylvania Department of General Services in 2023.
Rosie Lapowsky, Shapiro’s press secretary, said in a statement that the allegations “by a disgruntled former employee who was dismissed from her position” are “totally and completely false.”
The suit, filed in the Middle District of Pennsylvania against the state, also names the Pennsylvania Department of General Services and former General Services Secretary Reggie McNeil, along with other officials from the agency that oversees the state’s purchasing, construction, and facilities. Shapiro is not a named defendant.
Mark Schwartz, a Delaware County attorney representing Moyer, said he hoped Shapiro will be deposed as part of the litigation.
“The question is how involved, if at all, was the governor in terms of the residence procurement process,” Schwarz said.
In her role as a procurement specialist, Moyer would not have beenaware of details about the emergency procurements for the governor’s residence project, Lapowsky added. Shapiro’s administration complied with “all relevant procurement policies,” she said.
“PSP identified necessary security improvements based on its assessment and issued an emergency declaration consistent with the procurement code in the fastest, most efficient, and most cost-effective way to complete the work and ensure the safety of the governor and his family,” Lapowsky said.
The whistleblower lawsuit claims the administration flouted bidding requirements and made purchases outside of existing contracts, often to meet specifications provided by Shapiro’s interior designer, de la Torre Design Studio.
The firm had been quietly hired to renovate the official residence by Team Pennsylvania, a Harrisburg-basednonprofit that operates the public-private partnership between the state and private businesses. Shapiro has come under scrutiny previously for utilizing the group to watch the Philadelphia Eagles lose to the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2023 Super Bowl and for other trips, Spotlight PA reported.
Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, waves before meeting with Mike Parson, governor of Missouri, at the NFL Experience to make a friendly wager on the Super Bowl outcome. The governors met at the Lombardi Trophy on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, in Phoenix, Ariz. .David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
De la Torre had been working on the governor’s mansion before the fire, and asked for a specific brand of lighting fixture for the design.
The Pennsylvania Department of General Services deemed the $456,000 purchase too expensive, the suit says, and did not budge when the supplier revised the cost to $380,000.
But after the fire, the costly lighting fixtures were installed without any competitive bid or paper trail that would allow the purchase to be audited, according to the complaint.
Similarly, a $17,000 carpet was purchased and partially installed before procurement’s approval and outside existing contracts for carpets and floorings, the suit says.
Time and again, through other examples detailed in the lawsuit between the April 2025 fire and her March termination, the general services department had to issue waivers after the fact to “clean things up,” the suit says.
Moyer also questioned overlapping payments for the security monitoring companies for Shapiro’s residences, the home of Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, and regional offices, with one company not providing services for months, the suit says.
“Nonetheless, the proposed emergency job order contract that included provision for private residences was processed under the same umbrella as state facilities without bidding,” the complaint says.
The residences are not the only place Moyer says the administration fell short of the procurement requirement.
Earlier this year, the suit says, general services approved a $20,000 lactation pod for the Capitol even though a $4,950 option was available under an existing contract. The only difference between the pods was “outer fake ‘woodgrain’ decal,” according to the complaint.
“Plaintiff questioned the rationale for paying substantially more for a minimal aesthetic modification,” the suit says. “Plaintiff was overruled.”
Moyer was terminated in March after repeatedly reporting concerns, including on whether the department couldlegally make purchases for private residencies, the suit says.
Moyer, a registered Republican from York County, filed her suit just weeks ahead of the forthcoming midterm elections, in which Shapiro, a Democrat, is seeking a second term.
Lapowsky said the suit was “clearly timed” to hurt Shapiro politically.
McNeil left his post as secretary of the general services department in August. Shapiro appointed executive deputy secretary Sandra Aguilera to serve as acting secretary.
New Jersey has fined the developers of a data center in Vineland more than $1 million for violating clean-air laws.
State officials say DataOne, a French company that is building the Cumberland County facility, installed and operated 62 large natural-gas power generators without the required DEP permits.
“This enforcement action — by far the largest ever taken against a data center in New Jersey and possibly one of the largest such actions in the nation — sends a clear message that these facilities will not be constructed or operated with impunity in this state,” New Jersey DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak said in a statement.
During a site inspection July 29, state DEP officials saw the generators, which had not been there during a December visit, according to the enforcement document. Operating such machines — which emit carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and other pollutants — without the required permits violates the New Jersey Air Pollution Control Act.
The state’s announcement comes weeks after an investigation by Floodlight and the Guardian, in which the news outlets used thermal drone footage to show the Vineland data center was operating at least 45 of its generators without permits.
DataOne spokesperson Naomi Race said company executives “disagree with the temporary generator determination” but will apply for the needed permits. Race did not respond when asked whether the company planned to pay the fine.
DataOne may request a hearing on the matter within 20 calendar days, according to the state’s enforcement document.
The Vineland data center is shown during an earlier stage of construction. It sits on a former industrial park.Courtesy of DataOne
As for the facility’s permanent power source, the company is “transitioning to low-emission, quiet fuel cells,” for which they “have the necessary approvals in place,” according to Race. Fuel cells generate energy through an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion, pistons, or rotating machinery.
The Vineland facility is on South Lincoln Avenue, off State Route 55, on the site of a former industrial park. The property was sold to DataOne in a private transaction, the details of which Charles-Antoine Beyney, DataOne’s founder and chief executive officer, previously declined to disclose.
He also has not disclosed a price, saying only that the project would be privately funded. Beyney said he turned down a nearly $6.2 million loan from the city due to community pushback.
Some Vineland residents have voiced concerns about the environmental, financial, and quality-of-life impacts of having a data center in their neighborhood. Opponents also took issue with the fact that DataOne did not seek their input until the facility was already under construction.
Some Vineland residents have put up signs like this one opposing the AI data center under construction nearby. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
At a contentious town hall in January, Beyney tried to assuage these concerns, telling residents they had nothing to worry about because his center would use “breakthrough” technology.
“Most of the data centers that are being built today suck, big time,” Beyney said at the meeting. “No freaking way am I am going to do what the entire industry is doing … just killing our communities and killing our lungs to make money.”
The Vineland facility has been under construction for more than a year. In January, DataOne executives said they expected the project to be complete by November.
Amid the global boom in data center demand, several hyperscale facilities have been proposed in the Philadelphia region, from King of Prussia to Limerick. But few have been approved and begun construction.
The Vineland site is one of them. Once fully operational, it could be the region’s first hyperscale AI data center.
The only other local facility nearing completion is Amazon’s 2 million-square-foot data center campus in Falls Township, Bucks County. As of last month, Amazon was awaiting a decision from the Pennsylvania DEP on permit applications for hundreds of proposed backup natural gas generators.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro shifted his stance on data centers last month and instituted new restrictions, which included the removal of Amazon from the state’s fast-track permitting process.
Gov. Josh Shapiro has raised more than $60 million toward his reelection effort since he took office, his campaign said Tuesday.
According to the campaign, those preliminary figures mean that the first-term Democratic governor has added $13.3 million to his war chest since June, as he maintains a significant fundraising edge over his Republican opponent Stacy Garrity.
Filings on Tuesday showed Garrity had raised around $1.8 million this cycle, with her campaign coffers nearing $3 million. After spending $1.5 million, she will enter October with roughly $1.4 million cash on hand.
So with a massive cash advantage, where will Shapiro’s campaign money go? And could anyone else benefit from his spending?
Even as he pulls ahead in polls, Shapiro has spent heavily on advertising. His campaign has promised he’s keeping his foot on the gas through Election Day in efforts to secure his own victory andelect Pennsylvania Democrats up and down the ballot in hopes of flipping the state Senate and electing Democrats in four battleground congressional districts. He’s donated roughly $5.7 million in total to the state party to fuel theeffort, an additional $2.5 million since June, according to his campaign.
Beyond the November election, he’s widely expected to launch another campaign as a 2028 presidential prospect. Although the law prevents him from transferring his gubernatorial campaign money into a political action committee that funds a run for president, that doesn’t mean he’ll spend all his fundraised money before this year’s election, experts said.
In the governor’s race, the first checks he owes are paying for campaign staff salaries, spending money on advertising, and renting leases for field offices, among other costs, according to campaign experts. As a careful politician, he’d likely also want to reserve a fair amount of cash for surprise developments in the race, they said.
But after all of Shapiro’s receipts are accounted for, experts said, a potentially large stock could remain available, presenting him with options for how to spend it — if at all.
Daniel Weiner, the director of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice, said Shapiro has several options available.
“It is incredibly common for candidates who are not facing an especially competitive race to still try to raise money hand over fist and amass a war chest,” Weiner said. “It can be used to fund a future run for office of one sort or another. It can also be used, increasingly in this era of very deregulated money in politics to just build a general political machine.”
Keeping it in the party
Shapiro, who has maintained high favorability among both Democrats and Republicans, has established himself as a formidable fundraiser, bringing in dollars from across the commonwealth and the nation. Donors can give him as much as they’d like, since there is no limit on political contributions in Pennsylvania, said Matthew Foster, a professor of political science at American University.
“There’s a lot of ways for politicians to use political cash to help their allies and to help their team,” said Michael Beckel, an expert on money in politics at Issue One, a Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan nonprofit. “They can spread that money around to help people who need it. And there’s certainly a lot of people who might potentially want help from a big name like Governor Shapiro.”
Pennsylvania law allows Shapiro to transfer endless amounts of money from his campaign account to other state candidates. His campaign said he had not given any money directly to state candidates,but that he has supported them in other ways.
He is also not allowed to transfer money from his gubernatorial campaign to any congressional candidates.
Instead, he has poured money into the state party.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro accepts the endorsement for a second term as governor at the state Democratic Party’s winter meeting in Harrisburg on Feb. 7, 2026.Gillian McGoldrick
Since last fall, Shapiro has given $5.7 million to the state Democratic Party and its election effort. That money is used to benefit Shapiro as well as state Senate and congressional candidates by pooling funds for their field offices, signage and volunteers.
“A donation to the state party historically has helped get the vote out statewide,” said Philadelphia-based Democratic strategist Adam Erickson.
Plus, donating to the state party versus national groups helps to ensure the money is spent on Pennsylvania races, Weiner added.
Pennsylvania Republicans have held on to the state Senate for more than 30 years, even as the House chamber and governor’s mansion have swapped partisan control and are currently both occupied by Democrats.
This year, Democrats have “a strong opportunity to flip the state Senate,” Erickson said, but that the effort will take “an unprecedented amount of spending” from Shapiro and the state party.
Often, Shapiro has appeared alongside candidates at campaign events, rather than donating to them. On Sunday, Shapiro joined Democrats in Chester and Montgomery Counties to kick off door-knocking and phone-banking efforts benefitting several legislative candidates, such as state House candidate Elizabeth Moro in Chadds Ford and state Senate candidate Chris Thomas in Harleysville.
“Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, the Party is rallying support all across the Commonwealth and putting Democrats in a strong position to win everywhere this November,” said Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro’s campaign.
Campaign volunteers hand out sign to supporters of Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democratic Pa. Senate candidate Chris Thomas at a rally in Towamencin, Montgomery County before heading out to canvass Sunday, Sept. 29, 2026. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Tim Ford, an attorney who handles legal concerns for Democratic campaigns in Pennsylvania, said Shapiro’s sizable bank account is “also a flex to show he’s capable of raising this kind of money,” and another clue that he may be eyeing a higher office.
If Shapiro does choose to run for president, he’s not allowed to legally transfer his state-level campaign fundraising to a federal political action committee associated with his campaign.
“One thing that I think people get wrong is they believe that he’s raising money for his next office,” Erickson said.
Governor Shapiro (left) and Democratic congressional candidate Bob Brooks (right) greet supporters during a campaign event at the United Steelworkers Union Hall in Bethlehem on July 26, 2026.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
That would put him at a slight disadvantage compared to any sitting federal elected officials who can spend their campaign funds on a presidential run and who are also speculated 2028 presidential contenders, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Jon Ossoff, who has been the top fundraiser this midterm cycle.
Still, Shapiro’s cash stockpile “sends a message that he’s been a successful fundraiser,” Beckel said. “While past performance doesn’t guarantee future results, he certainly would try to [leverage] that to his advantage to say, ‘I’ve been a successful fundraiser in the past, I will be a successful fundraiser in the future’.”
Former staff or associates could create a federal super PAC, a type of political action committee that can take in and spend unlimited contributions but must do so independently of a candidate and without directly coordinating with the campaign. Shapiro could repurpose his state campaign account into that super PAC, Weiner said, but he would have no say on the messaging in ads or how money is spent.
While this practice of loose coordination skirts the spirit of the law, Weiner said it often goes unenforced.
“In theory, super PACs are supposed to be independent from candidates, but in practice, they work hand-in-glove with them,” he said.
Former staffers of Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, another potential 2028 contender, have established the Unity First PAC. Moore has headlined fundraisers for the group, but is not technically in control of the PAC.
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who may also run for president, launched a super PAC called Campaign for Democracy. The PAC has poured $1.7 million into state party and legislative committee races, mostly in South Carolina, where Democrats will hold the first contest of the presidential primary race in 2028.
There are no official records that Shapiro, or those associated with him, have created a super PAC, according to FEC filings.
Super PACs have earned a negative reputation in some circles, particularly among Democrats who view them as a means to give wealthy donors outsized influence on elections. But in 2028, Shapiro and other Democrats will be under pressure to use all the tools available to them, Weiner said.
It’s a difficult bind, said Faith Williams, who works on anti-corruption and accountability efforts at Common Cause, a democracy-focused nonprofit.
“Our system is not good,” she said. “But at the moment everyone is playing in it, and that I think that makes it even harder to reform it because it’s hard to have the genuine desire to reform a system that currently benefits you.”
Shapiro could also develop a nonprofit organization with his campaign funds. The 501(c)(4) groups, which can spend on political ads but cannot make electoral activity their primary focus, are under no legal obligation to disclose their donors. In some cases, this opens the door to donations from so-called “dark money” groups, or those that obscure the role of their funders.
Experts pointed out that he could also use his leftover money for his second gubernatorial inauguration or donate it to charity. And, in an unlikely maneuver, Williams said Shapiro could refund his donors and ask everyone to donate again to a federal campaign.
But the best way to get from Pennsylvania to Pennsylvania Avenue, Erickson said, would be to ensure success in the statewide elections this year.
“Playing a large role in flipping the state Senate will put him in the best position going into 2027 and beyond for any larger aspirations,” he said.
Brothers Desmond DeBaun, 5, and David Hayman, 16, after a rally with Gov. Shapiro and Democratic Pa. Senate candidate Chris Thomas in Montgomery County Sunday, Sept. 29, 2026. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
After another high-wire financial rescue from the state, SEPTA leaders are determined to flip their script in the transit funding debate from warning of calamity to showing what the system could be with more investment.
“I wanted to get away from the doom and gloom message,” SEPTA general manager Scott A. Sauer told The Inquirer.
The transit system has been chronically underfunded, but “we never pivoted to ‘Imagine what we could be if we got more than just enough,’” Sauer said.
And so on Tuesday, SEPTA is putting out “Accelerate,” its strategic vision for the next decade with investments in a new trolley fleet with stations instead of corner stops, new subway cars for the El, and a reimagined Regional Rail service with more frequent service on critical lines, many in the city.
When those and other, smaller changes are in place, SEPTA says two million people in the region will be within a quarter mile of frequent transit service — up from 900,000 today — and 100% of all trips will go through an accessible station. Today only about 60% of rail and subway stations are accessible.
It’s an ambitious goal, and that’s deliberate, Sauer said.
“You can inspire people to action when you show them what they could get for their investment,” he said.
The idea for a message shift developed as SEPTA representatives and supporters advocated for more state funding last year and lawmakers said that they didn’t have a concrete picture of what SEPTA wants to be and what that would take.
Instead of a demand, the report is framed as a menu of choices for legislators, local officials, business leaders, and the public.
SEPTA projects a structural operating deficit of $192 million in the coming fiscal year. If the state meets that, current levels of service would be preserved along with some improvements.
Beyond that — including a plan to reorganize Regional Rail so trains run every 15 minutes on lines in the city and some suburbs — would require more funding. As would making 50 old stations ADA accessible.
“If you ask me how much do you need, I would say I need enough to do what the people want us to do,” Sauer said.
Last year, Harrisburg lawmakers and the Shapiro administration failed for the third straight year to agree on a steady source of new state funding for SEPTA and other transit agencies.
The transit agency also says it has found about $30 million in annual savings, as well as increased income from advertising, parking, and real estate, and a spike in ridership during a busy summer of big events.
Sauer said SEPTA needs to chip away at changes right away, using what’s at hand, rather than waiting to accomplish a big project in a decade.
“We can’t have everything all at once, so we are trying to move methodically,” he said. “We have to show people continual improvement.”
Twenty-five years ago, my father handed me an envelope filled with documents. As he passed it to me, he said, “Now you’re in charge of the mineral rights.”
Before my father, the envelope had been entrusted to my Uncle Peter, who, in turn, had received it from my grandmother. The contents represented everything our branch of the family possessed relating to mineral rights bequeathed by my grandmother’s great-grandfather, Jonathan Thorne.
Jonathan’s estate plan reflected remarkable foresight. He instructed his executor to sell his land at a discount so he could retain the ownership of the oil, gas, and minerals beneath it for future generations. Each deed that went to the buyers of these properties included a clause showing they were purchasing only the surface property, and not the mineral rights.
My father handed me that envelope in 2001, seven years before the Marcellus Shale boom. This is not a story with a happy ending about families passing down a legacy from hardworking forebears. Instead, it is something every Pennsylvanian should be shocked by and want to stop.
We discovered that an out-of-state entity was making claims to our rights. It claimed to have purchased tens of thousands of acres of Pennsylvania mineral rights in 2000 for a total of $1. Their unwarranted claim was based on a distorted interpretation of a legal theory called “title washing.”
Others, including the Proctor family, faced a strikingly similar predicament: They had retained their valuable mineral rights and followed the law, only to find that other groups were now claiming them.
Like my family, the Proctors traced their ownership back generations. After preserving their mineral rights, most of their surface property ended up with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The Game Commission knew through its own deeds and title research that it was buying only the surface. The mineral rights remained separate. Yet, 100 years after the fact, they sued the Proctors to try to take those rights — twice.
In this 2008 photo, a drilling rig used to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, located in the Washington County borough of Houston, Pa.Keith Srakocic
Last year, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the Proctor family’s favor, confirming that they continued to own their mineral rights, even noting that the scheme “if not positively fraudulent, is at any rate an attempt to evade the law, to which the courts will lend no countenance.”
That should have been the end of the story for all our families.
Instead, Pennsylvania lawmakers quietly inserted a provision into an unrelated property tax bill that retroactively changed the law and effectively overturned the court’s decision. Late in the evening of Saturday, July 11, an amendment changing pre-1947 tax laws was introduced in the Senate. It passed the legislature and was quickly signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro the very next day.
Stunningly, there were no hearings or opportunities for affected families to speak out. Pennsylvania taxpayers (and much of the legislature) had little opportunity to understand what the amendment even meant and what was at stake.
Now the only way to assure rightful ownership is to go back to court and fight again, not only over property rights that were already settled, but also over whether a government can retroactively change laws to benefit certain parties and take property the Supreme Court had already ruled belongs to families like mine.
That is deeply troubling.
The Proctor family spent more than 10 years in litigation and won. Yet, lawmakers, the governor, and certain oil and gas interests decided that wasn’t the outcome they wanted. The Game Commission, in close coordination with those energy firms, started this fight. It lost. Families like ours should not have to spend the next 10 years relitigating.
The General Assembly can undo this harm. It can reverse this retroactive change to tax laws and ensure these properties are not taken from families who have owned them for generations. If not, we are all targets of this wrongheaded move. If they are willing to rewrite property laws to effect transfers to the state, no one’s property is safe.
What happened to my family is, I believe, unconstitutional. The litigation created by this secretive 24-hour rapid legislation approval process could end up costing Pennsylvania more than $1 billion if it is forced to reimburse families for property taken from them. That’s also not fair to state taxpayers.
Pennsylvania can do better. We can protect resources, support responsible energy development, and safeguard public lands without sacrificing the basic principle that private property rights mean something.
Jeff Sloan is a member of the Thorne family and lives in Berwyn.
The Trump administration will be overhauling the SNAP program in two major steps, forcing Pennsylvania to pay more for the federal food program and jeopardizing those in need, according to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.
The first phase begins Oct. 1, when states will have to pay for 75% of the expense of administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, an end to the 50-50 cost-sharing relationship between the federal government and the states that existed for decades.
The second and more dramatic change is scheduled to commence a year from now, when the Trump administration demands that states pay for a portion of SNAP benefits — an unprecedented arrangement that could put Pennsylvania on the hook for as much as $400 million of the approximately $4 billion the state receives in SNAP benefits annually.
That’s a price the state is not ready to pay.
“Pennsylvania’s state budget cannot make up for huge cuts to federal SNAP funding that will shift these costs onto states,” Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said in a statement. “And those cuts risk leaving hungry Pennsylvanians without food assistance.”
The Trump administration plan, part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is roiling Democrats and SNAP advocates who view it as an effort to weaken the food benefits program by saddling Pennsylvania and other states with the responsibility of paying for something they cannot afford.
In anticipation of the first new rule going into effect in two weeks, Shapiro earmarked $87 million in the state budget to administer the SNAP program in the state, which includes paying for operating expenses.
Burdening states with increased financial demands is “catastrophic,” said St. Joseph’s University sociologist Maria Kefalas.
Kefalas said it will force states to make drastic moves to make up for lost dollars, including making eligibility rules harder and shrinking benefits.
“The pressure on states to push people off SNAP will be tremendous,” she said. “The Trump act was written to shift blame for cuts to safety-net programs from the federal government to the states. Now, the states will be seen as the bad guys.”
The original even split for administrative costshad the state and the federal government each paying $250 million in SNAP administrative costs, according to the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO), anonpartisanlegislative agency that analyzes budgetary issues.But after Sept. 30, the state could be looking at as much as a $125 million increase in payments annually, IFO figures show.
Shapiro’s $87 million budget infusion covers that increase for a portion of the state fiscal year, said Brandon Cwalina, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which oversees SNAP.
The Trump administration says that by forcing states to put skin in the game, it is incentivizing them to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in the program.
“President Trump is strengthening SNAP for the Americans who need it by ensuring these programs are sustainable for future generations,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
She added that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act implements “reasonable” cost-sharing measures with states.
Kelly also said that by signing the bill into law, Trump is “uplifting every American’s financial situation by passing the largest tax cut in history.”
But concern is growing that by compensating for SNAP shortfalls, states will pull funds from other sources.
“Does this mean money will be taken from police, courts, and other critical functions to pay for SNAP?”asked State Sen. Art Haywood, the top Democrat on the Health and Human Services Committee, who represents part of Philadelphia and Montgomery County.
Error rates
How much the state will have to pay in SNAP benefits in October 2027 depends on its payment error rate, a measure of overpayments and underpayments of benefits.
Error rates are largely unintentional and are not fraud, according to the Food and Nutrition Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the SNAP program.
“It’s like doing your taxes and accidentally switching numbers,” said Ann Sanders, director of public benefits policy and programs for Just Harvest, a Pittsburgh-based anti-hunger nonprofit. “Not a crime, just a mistake.”
In fiscal 2025, Pennsylvania’s error rate was 9.2%, mostly representing overpayments, said IFO director Matt Knittel.
Even though it is below the national error rate of 10.6%, if the 9.2% level holds, Pennsylvania could be made to pay as much as $400 million a year when the new rule takes effect, IFO figures show.
“These are costs Gov. Shapiro has made clear we cannot backfill,” Cwalina said. The Shapiro administration, which has had some success lowering error rates, has introduced new technology that helps flag potential errors before incorrect payments are made.
The reorganization of SNAP’s functions and financing comes during an ongoing affordability crisis, said George Matysik, executive director of the Share Food Program, which supplies many food pantries in the Philadelphia area.
“Instead of the federal government helping to solve it, it’s just passing the buck onto the consumer,” he said. “Prices are going up, while Washington punches down on the working class.”
While the new changes have yet to kick in, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has already altered SNAP to help pay for his tax cut.
The administration has expanded work and documentation requirements for SNAP recipients, resulting in millions of people seeing their benefits lowered or eliminated.
Nationwide, between July 2025 and May, SNAP rolls have decreased by more than 5 million people, or 12%, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning Washington-based think tank.
As of July, the latest Pennsylvania DHS estimates show that 94,200 people have lost benefitssince Trump’s law took effect.
The changing contours of the SNAP program worry legislators accustomed to its normally steady rhythms.
“There was a 60-year-long partnership between the federal government and the states on SNAP, without problems,” Haywood said.
“SNAP worked well since it got its start in 1964.But now, unfortunately, the current administration is dramatically changing it.”
In a video shared to his social media platform on Friday, President Donald Trump reinforced his endorsement for Republican Stacy Garrity in her bid for Pennsylvania governor, while panning Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro as an incumbent “who does not have what it takes.”
“Stacy has been really special [and] has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump said in the video, posted Friday afternoon to Truth Social, praising her tenure as the state’s treasurer and applauding her military service and career in business. “She’s somebody that is going to do a fantastic job.”
The video was posted in a string of more than a dozen similar endorsements on Friday afternoon for Republican congressional candidates in Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas.
President Donald Trump visits Mack Trucks in Macungie in the Lehigh Valley Tuesday, June 23, 2026.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Trump followed the endorsement videos on Truth Social with a post about his approval ratings, and another post featuring a video touting his own accomplishments in office. The endorsement blitz came less than seven weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, in which Democrats are vying to retake control of Congress.
In Pennsylvania, Shapiro — who has maintained a double-digit lead over Garrity in multiple public polls and has a commanding fundraising advantage — is seeking to use his advantage to secure Democratic wins in four nationally watched congressional seats, and to flip the state Senate to Democratic control for the first time in more than 30 years.
In the video Friday, Trump swiped at Shapiro, who is viewed as a likely contender for the 2028 presidency and who has been critical of the president’s administration.
“Your current governor does not have what it takes,” Trump said. “His reputation is far better than he is — that I can tell you and everyone knows it.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses the audience during a rally for congressional candidate Bob Brooks at the United Steelworkers Union Hall in Bethlehem, Pa. on Sunday, July 26, 2026.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
It remains to be seen whether Garrity will receive additional national support or financial backing in the weeks before the election.
In June, he seemed to forget her altogether duringa speech in Macungie, Pa., where he celebrated Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser and even name-checked Shapiro but did not mention Garrity.
On Friday, Trump said Garrity “will work tirelessly to grow Pennsylvania’s economy, cut your taxes, slash regulation and bring jobs, opportunity, and wealth to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
A spokesperson for Garrity did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s video, but she reposted his endorsement video on her X account.
Developer Brian O’Neill has sued the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors over its rejection last month of his proposed 4.6 million-square-foot data center campus.
In lawsuits filed Wednesday in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, O’Neill said Upper Merion officials have stated in recent years that data centers — which house the equipment that powers AI — qualify as warehouses and are therefore permitted under its zoning code. They changed their tune, according to O’Neill’s team, only after residents pushed back against the plans.
“The township issued a zoning officer’s determination letter that the proposed use was a permitted use, and then when the people started to bombard them, they did a 180,” said Marc Kaplin, an attorney representing O’Neill. “This is what happens when there is public pressure.”
Brian O’Neill has proposed five data centers in Upper Merion Township and one across the river in Plymouth Township.John Duchneskie
Township Manager Anthony Hamaday said Thursday that Upper Merion officials had been informed of O’Neill’s land-use appeals but that the documents had yet to be delivered to them. They declined to comment, pending a full review of the filings.
O’Neill is asking a judge to reverse the supervisors’ denial, give his plans preliminary approval, and appoint an independent third-party “referee” to conduct an evidentiary hearing and oversee the rest of the process. In the lawsuit, O’Neill says the board acted in bad faith and denied his plans over “minor technical items.”
At a contentious Aug. 13 meeting, the supervisors unanimously rejected O’Neill’s five data center plans on the grounds that the proposals lacked specificity, including on fire-safety-related issues, and did not meet zoning requirements. They said O’Neill’s team failed to address their many questions and concerns during the review process.
O’Neill had said his team needed more time to respond and requested an extension until Sept. 30, a request township officials denied.
A day before the supervisors’ vote, the developer sued the township, its planning commission, and its board of supervisors, saying they violated his legal right to an extension. In response, Montgomery County Court Judge Garrett D. Page ordered a pause on township proceedings and decisions related to the data centers. That decision was vacated the next day, just hours before the supervisors’ vote on Aug. 13.
A building at 2701 Renaissance Blvd., as seen in May, is one of the sites that Brian O’Neill wants to turn into a data center in Upper Merion Township.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
O’Neill has said the centers would emit little light and noise, operate on a closed-loop system that requires no outside water, and provide their own power. They would also be an economic engine for Montgomery County, according to O’Neill, who released an economic impact study saying the project would result in more than 10,000 jobs during construction, more than 700 permanent jobs, and more than $55 million a year in local tax revenue.
Neighborhood groups have rallied against O’Neill’s plans, organizing on social media, packing township meetings, and displaying bright orange lawn signs opposing the project. About 18,000 people had signed a Change.org petition against the Upper Merion data centers as of Friday. Opponents have expressed concerns about pollution, light, noise, electricity prices, property values, and quality of life.
The pushback in Upper Merion mirrors the opposition seen across the Schuylkill River in Plymouth Township, where O’Neill has spent a year trying to get the OK to build another 2 million-square-foot data center on a shuttered steel mill outside Conshohocken. The project was set to be the subject of a Plymouth Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting on Thursday, but the meeting was canceled due to what the township called “an administrative oversight.”
The closed Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill in Plymouth Township, outside Conshohocken, that Brian O’Neill wants to turn into a 2-million-square-foot data center. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Plymouth Township officials failed to post the meeting agenda 24 hours in advance, in violation of the Sunshine Act.
“Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of legal compliance and public transparency, the board will not convene as scheduled,” Plymouth Township officials said Thursday in a statement, adding that the meeting will be rescheduled.
O’Neill has also faced off with Plymouth Township officials in recent months. In July, he filed a legal challenge to the Plymouth Township zoning ordinance, which prompted township leaders to accuse O’Neill of “throwing a tantrum” in an attempt to bully and intimidate them. O’Neill called their statements “a bald-faced lie.”
Despite pushback, O’Neill’s team remains bullish on data centers.
“Everybody is against data centers but everybody wants their Amazon order delivered instantaneously,” Kaplin said. “We want all these things that are powered by data centers, so you can’t have it both ways.”
Two decades ago, Kaplin said he worked for a developer trying to get several of the region’s Walmarts approved. At the time, there was great public opposition, he said, but now “everybody is like, ‘Walmart is part of the community.’”
“This too shall pass,” Kaplin said. “We have to have this computing power to compete in the world.”
