Appreciated the invite from PCN this morning to talk for a few minutes about my latest story breaking down the fundraising reports for some closely watched U.S. House races in Pennsylvania. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb4f...

ICYMI: The campaign finance reports are in for the final quarter of 2025 and it looks like Pennsylvania will be home to quite a few expensive congressional races this year. Here’s the story breaking a few of those races down: penncapital-star.com/government-p...

Q4 takeaways: Fitzpatrick has millions more on hand than other Pennsylvania congressional candidates

Tucked away in the story is how one incumbent in a deeply red district slightly outraised one of the Democratic challengers attempting to unseat him. Rep. Dan Meuser’s campaign also has the lowest cash on hand among the 16 U.S. House members seeking reelection in Pa.

For the second consecutive quarter, Democrat Janelle Stelson raised more than any other congressional candidate in Pennsylvania. Here's a story breaking down the latest about the fundraising races for five U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

Q4 takeaways: Fitzpatrick has millions more on hand than other Pennsylvania congressional candidates. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

In what national ratings outlets view as the tightest U.S. House races set to take place in Pennsylvania this year, fundraising efforts are in the spotlight in races that could determine which party holds the majority next year. From @johnlcole.bsky.social

ICYMI: On Tuesday night, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) held a telephone town hall. Nearly half of the callers wanted to talk about ICE funding and law enforcement. He said two investigations are underway into the death of Alex Pretti. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) held a telephone town hall on Tuesday evening. Of the 11 calls he fielded, five of them were related to ICE funding and law enforcement. He said two investigations are underway into the death of Alex Pretti. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

Two separate investigations are underway into the Saturday shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti at the hand of Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, according to U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA).  From @johnlcole.bsky.social

President Donald Trump has endorsed Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the race for governor.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is scheduled to be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight. He also appeared on the show in July. www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-entertai...

ICYMI: A decision to remove an exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia is resulting in pushback from Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

The Berks County Democratic Committee out with a pair of statements today on social media promoting Gisele Fetterman’s comments about ICE and urging U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) to oppose a DHS funding bill.

Aidan Miller, Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford, and Aroon Escobar are the players in the Phillies organization listed on Keith Law's top 100 MLB prospects for 2026. www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Gov. Shapiro accuses President Trump of attempting to “whitewash history” U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick also voiced his disagreement with the decision to remove a slavery exhibit at Independence Park in Philadelphia. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

Gov. Josh Shapiro accused President Donald Trump's administration of attempting to “whitewash history” following a decision to remove an exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historic Park. U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) also disagrees with its removal. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

Gov. Josh Shapiro vowed on Saturday to take legal action against the federal government for a decision to remove an exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia. “It is important that we do not allow them to succeed,” he said. From @johnlcole.bsky.social

“What we are seeing in Minnesota is absolutely unacceptable," Shapiro said. "What’s happening in Minneapolis could happen here in Philadelphia, or in Pittsburgh, or in Lancaster ... And I will just tell you this: We are prepared for that.” From @ejprev.bsky.social

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Allegheny) is one of three Democrats that voted to advance the resolutions holding both former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress. thehill.com/homenews/hou...

Inbox: 18 Philadelphia Democratic state legislators, including Speaker Joanna McClinton, call in a joint statement for an end to ICE raids and detentions, accountability for its agents, and for "our Commonwealth and all local governments to renounce collaboration with ICE."

In a Facebook post, the Washington County GOP announced that they have "lost confidence" in GOP state Sen. Camera Bartolotta and "support seeking new representation" in this year's primary election.

One area of bipartisan agreement in Harrisburg? Opposition to Trump's AI preemption executive order. Both Senate tech committee chair Tracy Pennycuick (R., Montgomery) House tech committee chair Joe Ciresi (D., Montgomery) put out critical statements on it yesterday.

Sen. McCormick said “at this point, I’m opposed to rescheduling marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.” Here’s his full response on the matter below:

Earlier this evening, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) held his 16th telephone town hall since being sworn-into office. Here’s a thread highlighting some topics he discussed during the nearly hour-long call.⬇️

Names on Fitzpatrick's discharge petition for health care: Golden #ME02 Lawler #NY17 Bresnahan #PA08 Mackenzie #PA07 Kiley #CA03 Suozzi #NY03 Bacon #NE02 MTG #GA14 Davis #NC01 Van Drew #NJ02 Kiggans #VA02 MGP #WA03 Gonzalez #TX34 Goodlander #NH02 Peters #CA50

Two hours ago, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) held his 15th telephone town hall of the year. Here's a thread of a few issues he addressed during the 50-plus minute discussion. ⬇️

Under Pennsylvania law, if an election is tied, the contest goes to a process called the “casting of lots.” This is effectively a game of chance to determine the winner.

Student journalists: Want a hands on opportunity to learn government and political journalism alongside a crew of veteran reporters, diving into the machinations of a key swing state? Then apply to the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents' Association internship!

News: Pennsylvania has a budget, four months late, after lawmakers passed a $50.1 billion deal that continues to fund public schools, creates a tax credit for working families, reforms permitting, and pulls the state out of a plan to cap carbon emissions from power plants.

Heading to Wisconsin for the next few days to catch the Birds game at Lambeau Field and see Wisconsin vs Washington on Saturday. If anyone has any recommendations for Madison, Milwaukee, or Green Bay, let me know!

State Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia) shared this post from 50 Cent on his Facebook story after the results of the New York City Mayoral race.

One year away from the 2026 midterm election, Roll Call released a list of the the 10 most vulnerable House members. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-7th District) is the lone Pennsylvanian to make the list and is ranked as the the 4th most likely to flip. rollcall.com/2025/11/04/m...

In my final story for the Capital-Star, I wrote about a bipartisan push to revive cancelled federal farm and food bank program in Pennsylvania. Give it a read! penncapital-star.com/agriculture-...

this is a huge loss for the Capital-Star! John is an extremely talented journalist and no one works harder or with more enthusiasm. He was absolutely key to our 2024 election coverage and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Philly politics. Any newsroom would be lucky to have him

After two years of reporting for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, my final day was on Friday. I appreciated the opportunity to cover a wide range of stories impacting politics and policy throughout the state during my time there.

Nearly 190 farms and 13 regional food banks across the state participated in this program. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which includes U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-8th District), have crafted legislation that could revive the intent of this program. @johnlcole.bsky.social

The PIAA is one vote away from implementing a shot clock for high school basketball. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania may soon have to factor the shot clock into their game plans. If the PIAA approves the 35-second shot clock for high school varsity and junior varsity games, it will be added in three years. From @johnlcole.bsky.social

Philadelphia FOP Lodge 5 announced their 2025 endorsements earlier today and are backing Kevin Dougherty, a Democrat’s, bid for retention on the State Supreme Court, while also supporting GOP district attorney candidates Pat Dugan in Philly and Jen Schorn in Bucks County.

The amount of fentanyl seized in Pennsylvania this year set to surpass last year’s figures. penncapital-star.com/criminal-jus...

Standing alongside various law enforcement officials, Pa. Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that as of the beginning of September, the state had seized over 50 million doses of fentanyl. For perspective, Pennsylvania seized 50 million doses during all of 2024. From @johnlcole.bsky.social

Last night, I was at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg for a state dinner recognizing the contributions of over a dozen Pennsylvanians to their respective communities. Gov. Josh Shapiro also talked with me about the security updates made there. penncapital-star.com/government-p...

“After the attack, the First Lady and I really wanted to get this building repaired as quickly as possible, so that we could open it back up to be a place that all Pennsylvanians could come,” Gov. Shapiro said. “We want this place to be warm and welcoming for all.” From our @johnlcole.bsky.social

As the federal government shutdown reached its 27th day, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) re-upped his calls for the passage of a continuing resolution (CR) and pointed at Democrats for the ongoing stalemate. From @johnlcole.bsky.social

ICYMI: U.S. Sen. John Fetterman's campaign raised just under $330,000 during Q3, which is the lowest fundraising total over a three-month stretch since he announced his candidacy for the office in 2021. His campaign has spent more than it's raised in 2025. penncapital-star.com/campaigns-el...

For the first time in the 2026 cycle, a Democratic challenger in Pennsylvania has outraised an incumbent in what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the country. From @johnlcole.bsky.social

For the first time in the 2026 cycle, a challenger in Pennsylvania has outraised an incumbent in what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the country. Janelle Stelson’s $1.24 million haul in Q3 led all candidates in PA. penncapital-star.com/campaigns-el...

V.J. Edgecombe's 14 points in the first quarter is the most points in the first quarter of a player's debut from at least 1996 on (as far back as our quarter scoring goes). Lebron James was the previous most with 12.

"It’s the third consecutive quarter where Fetterman’s campaign spent more than it raised. His campaign used $1.54 million, while gaining $1.23 million so far this year" penncapital-star.com/campaigns-el...