Hi, Ya Tuesday. Shapiro Vows Minimum Wage Hike, Abortion Protections With Pennsylvania’s Democratic Trifecta. Texas Won’t Replace Pennsylvania As the ‘Ultimate Swing State.’ Big Corporations Dodge Taxes as Pennsylvania Families Pick Up the Tab. Winning at Monopoly
Your Morning Pick Me Up. Ants Marching. Dave Matthews Band
PA Weather
Pittsburgh | Sunny, 64 Harrisburg | Sunny, 69 Philadelphia | Sunny, 66
PA Sports 
Sixers (9-1) | Tue vs. Boston
Flyers (5-10-5) | Vancouver 3-1 | Wed at Edmonton Penguins (6-10-2) | Wed at San Jose
What’s Happening Today. The State House convenes at 11 AM for a voting session.
What We’re Listening To. The midterms are over. What did we learn? What does it mean for the national scene? What does it mean for Pennsylvania? Today on Voices of Reason, Steve Ulrich talks to two political scientists, Berwood Yost and Christopher Borick, about their thoughts on last Tuesday’s election results.
Tips. PoliticsPA is Pennsylvania’s premier source for nonpartisan political news and analysis. Tips or press releases can be sent to steve@politicspa.com.
The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. For the web version, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Top Story
“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Sunday vowed to deliver measures like raising the state minimum wage and protections for abortion following his party locking down the state House and Senate.
“We’re going to more than double Pennsylvania‘s minimum wage. Codify abortion rights into our state Constitution. Fund mass transit. Build more housing,” Shapiro wrote on social media Sunday afternoon.” | The Hill
Elsewhere
McCormick Said the GOP Needs More Time to Digest the ‘Worst Election Results in Decades’ “After Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in a rout last week, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick has urged his party to take a close look at its mistakes and not rush to select new leadership on Capitol Hill.” | Philadelphia Inquirer
PA Pollsters Point to Trump, Economy As Driving Reasons For Nationwide Blue Wave. “A group of pollsters and political consultants gathered Monday morning in Harrisburg to report results of polling before and after Election Day and give their takes on the Democratic blue wave that swept across the country Nov. 3.” | LNP
House Dems Size Up 2028 Senate Map After Midterm Landslide. “A huge field of Democrats is gearing up to potentially run for the seat held by Democratic Sen. John Fetterman.” | Axios
State
“Democrats’ blue wave blew up the 2028 battle map. But Josh Shapiro insists Texas isn’t going to replace Pennsylvania as the “ultimate swing state.”
He needs it to be true.” | Politico
Elsewhere
What Is The National Popular Vote Compact and What Would It Mean For Pennsylvania? “As Pennsylvanians consider what a Democratic trifecta will mean in Harrisburg, one item that may have slipped through their cracks is the National Popular Vote Compact. The what?” | PoliticsPA
Democrats Have Gained Control in More States. That Could Change the Way the US Elects Its President. “The sudden blue tint to so many more statehouses opens the door to enough states joining 18 other Democratic-run states in a deal that would effectively neuter the Electoral College.” | AP
Labor Leaders See Opportunity For Worker Victories Under Josh Shapiro. “Gov. Josh Shapiro ran a gubernatorial campaign that put labor front and center. Now, union leaders across Pennsylvania are looking forward to him using Democratic majorities in the Pennsylvania House and Senate to pass worker-friendly legislation.” | The Keystone
PA Secures Historic $7.8M Settlement With Major Retailer Over Child Labor Violations. “The Labor Department began investigating the reports of child labor in February 2025, after getting multiple reports that minors were injured while working at Walmart stores in Pennsylvania. Investigators completed 10 audits across eight Walmart locations and found an average of 65 violations per audit.” | PennLive
Penn State Expecting $124M Budget Shortfall. “Penn State officials said on Monday that they are taking steps, including a series of targeted budget reductions, to address an expected shortfall of $124 million for the current fiscal year.” | StateCollege.com
Around The Commonwealth
“From the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol, looking out toward the Susquehanna River, North Street runs off to the right — quieter than the avenues that feed the statehouse, more suburb than seat of power.
That is where Andrea Grove built Elementary Coffee, the shop she opened at Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market in 2014, when she was 26.
Grove pays her taxes. What she doesn’t have is what the coffee giants have. “We don’t have accountants that will tell us about loopholes and these ways to get around these things,” she said. “The expectations for small businesses, particularly in coffee, is to live up to what these big corporations are producing but with way less resources — so you’re hustling harder than ever.”” | Capital & Main
Elsewhere
Rep.-Elect Chris Rabb’s Silence on Antisemitic Protest Frustrates Philly’s Jewish Community. “The newly elected congressman’s relationship with Philadelphia’s Jewish community is starting off on a sour note after many other elected officials inside and outside the state spoke out” | Jewish Insider
Cognetti Confirms Timeline For Resignation As Mayor, Says Voters Must Choose Long-Term Successor. “Congresswoman-elect Paige Cognetti will continue to serve as Scranton’s mayor until the day she’s sworn into Congress Jan. 3, triggering a replacement process at the city level that’s expected to involve a temporary appointment by city council and a subsequent special election to fill her unexpired term.” | Scranton Times-Tribune
Facing Dire Financial Straits, Mayor Corey O’Connor Sounds An Optimistic Note in His First Budget Address. “Though the challenges are mounting and unpredictable, and the solutions unpopular, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor sounded a confident note during his first budget address Monday as his administration confronts what they say were years of budget malpractice.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Longtime Philly Political Strategist Kellan White is Running to Unseat City Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr. “Kellan White has spent more than a decade working behind the scenes on Philadelphia political campaigns. This week, he’s launching a campaign of his own.” | Philadelphia Inquirer
Readers Share Their Wishlist For Pennsylvania Dems. “Raising the minimum wage is at the top of Axios readers’ wish list for Pennsylvania’s new Democratic-led state government to address.” | Axios Philadelphia
Editorial
1 Thing
“I wrote a Monopoly simulator and ran 1,000,000 four-player games. Every player’s first turn (4,000,000 in all) is sorted by the square where it ended. Each bar shows how often those players went on to win the game.
What stood out: “Advance to Boardwalk on turn one,” and “Don’t roll a 4 on your opening turn.” | Reddit
Thank you for starting your Tuesday with us.
Sun’s out. Enjoy the day.
