How Fetterman won | Morning Newsletter
And a flipped state House?
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The Morning Newsletter
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Election night came and went. For weeks, there was speculation that we wouldn’t know who would win the Pennsylvania Senate race by Wednesday because of how tight it was expected to be.
But by early yesterday morning, we knew Lt. Gov. John Fetterman would become Pennsylvania’s next senator. The race wasn’t a cake walk for Fetterman, but as of Wednesday he led celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz by a surprisingly large margin.
Fetterman managed to trim losses in Republican strongholds across the state and turned out large numbers in Democratic pockets like the Philadelphia suburbs.
Our lead story details Fetterman’s campaign strategy and how it worked.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
John Fetterman knew his strategy from the beginning: “Every county, every vote.”
As the former mayor of Braddock, a tiny struggling steel town, he knew going into rooms with people from similar places was the way to go.
His first campaign event after declaring his run for Senate in 2021 was in red Mercer County in Western Pennsylvania and he has stopped everywhere from Clinton to Venango to Westmoreland over the past two years.
The result: It paid off. With more than 90% of the results in Wednesday, Fetterman led Oz by 3 points.
He had a higher percentage of the vote for his U.S. Senate race than Biden did in the 2020 presidential election in 61 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, many of them GOP strongholds.
Continue reading to see how Fetterman’s strategy helped him clinch one of the nation’s most closely watched races.
Pennsylvania Democrats believe they’ve taken control of the state House for the first time in more than a decade, but the outcome is not yet confirmed by independent analysts.
Meanwhile, Republicans think the declaration is premature.
What we know: As of Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press had called 195 of the chamber’s 203 seats and Democrats had a razor-thin advantage.
Eight seats remain uncalled. Both Republicans and Democrats said control would likely be determined by five or fewer races.
The (potential) path forward: The Republicans will still have the majority in the Senate but if Democrats control the House, it would strengthen Governor-elect Josh Shapiro’s ability to negotiate with the legislature.
It would also all but guarantee abortion laws in Pennsylvania remain unchanged.
Keep reading to understand why Pennsylvania Democrats are confident they flipped the state House.
What you should know today
Six Pennsylvania election takeaways, including Josh Shapiro’s win, Fetterman’s plan, and Donald Trump’s rough night.
State Rep. Summer Lee will become Pennsylvania’s first Black woman to serve in Congress.
Democrats won four open seats on Philadelphia City Council in special elections.
U.S. Reps. Andy Kim, Jeff Van Drew, and Donald Norcross won reelection to Congress in South Jersey.
The owner of Famous 4th Street Deli in Queen Village plans to open a new deli-restaurant in Cherry Hill.
Sen. Pat Toomey blamed Donald Trump for the GOP’s election failures in Pennsylvania.
Voters approved the preservation of Crebilly Farm, one of Chester County’s biggest unprotected properties under threat of development.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
Taylor’s pick
We’re in the latter part of the week and the news hasn’t even tried to slow down. You have to love Election Week.
I take walks most mornings around my block. Yesterday I made a point to go to a proper park, and being around all that green space was exactly what I needed. Also, seeing so many pets was a major plus.
Consider this my push for you to do the same if you need it. If you need a break from the overstimulation of news, take it.
Can you guess the park I visited? (The picture is a hint)
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
📰 Reading: A retrospective on how Doug Mastriano’s run for governor went awry.
🧀 Craving: Some of this Lehigh Valley cheese.
⚾ Deciding: Which of these Phillies should stay or go.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: Pizza
DOWH ORNTN
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shout-out goes to Stacy Stone, who correctly guessed McGillin’s as Wednesday’s answer.
Photo of the Day
And that’s your Thursday. I’m starting my day with tea ☕. Make the day count and I’ll see you tomorrow.