Dems’ working-class conundrum | Morning Newsletter
🐄 And Penn Maid’s legacy.
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The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly.
The city is still deep blue, but Democrats stand to lose ground among working-class voters — a phenomenon that cuts across racial lines but is most acute in Philadelphia’s Latino-majority neighborhoods. Today’s lead story is the latest in our series on the trends and places that will decide who wins the swing state, and possibly the November election.
And Penn Maid, the iconic dairy brand whose sour cream jars might have been your family’s drinking glasses, is no more. But the brand lives on in the region’s collective memory.
Here’s what to know today.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The battle for Pennsylvania could come down to Philadelphia’s working-class neighborhoods, Democratic strongholds that have shifted right over the past two presidential elections.
That’s due to both more votes cast for former President Donald Trump in some wards, and to lower turnout overall in others. Either way, it could be a problem for Vice President Kamala Harris as both parties seek to position themselves as the champion of the working class.
Lagging allegiance: Though Dems still outnumber the GOP seven to one in Philly, Republicans are outpacing their competitors in new voter registrations — 10,300 registrants since the end of 2023 versus Democrats’ 9,800.
Income indicators: From 2016 to 2020, the more impoverished a Philadelphia precinct, the more Republican it got.
A key group: The rightward shift is most pronounced among the city’s Latinos, who are also the fastest growing demographic group in Philadelphia.
🗳️ Pennsylvania has never elected a woman as the state’s chief executive. Leaders weigh in on how gender might impact the presidential election.
🗳️ A Trump ad criticizing Harris for saying she’d support taxpayer-paid gender transition surgery for inmates includes an image of Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s former physician general, seemingly implying she is an imprisoned criminal.
🗳️ Some Philadelphia voters report the envelopes accompanying their mail-in ballots were already sealed. There are solutions to ensure votes are counted.
🗳️ State Rep. Frank Burns, a Democrat in Cambria County, is running a Trump-style campaign by railing against refugees.
🗳️ Advocacy group Nuns on the Bus kicked off a cross-country tour in Philly to steer Catholics from being single-issue voters.
What you should know today
A former Philly anti-violence advocate was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison for gun trafficking.
Former labor leader John Dougherty surrendered to begin serving a six-year prison sentence today. A judge had rejected his third request for a delay.
The alleged inappropriate behavior of a Delaware County director was an open secret, but county officials didn’t act to protect female staffers, according to a lawsuit.
Port workers all along the East and Gulf Coast are striking. If it isn’t settled quickly, it could cause shortages and impact inflation.
The longtime director of Montgomery County’s deep-pocketed SPCA has stepped down after protests over rampant understaffing, squalid kennels, and euthanasia.
Thirty-one Girard College students headed home Tuesday after being stranded by Hurricane Helene during a North Carolina trip.
Eastside High students are adjusting to much smaller, temporary home at a former elementary school while their Camden school is rebuilt.
The deadline to appeal the city’s assessment of the market value of a property, and to potentially lower its tax bill, is Oct. 7.
Philly will host a week-long RockyFEST in December, complete with an ice-skating date night, bus tour, and Rocky movie marathon.
The cartoon cow’s name was Queenie. With luscious lashes, a demure expression, and fabulous outfits, her image graced glass sour cream jars that became a staple in dairy-loving homes. For many Philly-area families, she now represents mid-century nostalgia.
🐄 The company that invented Queenie, Penn Maid, grew from a horse-drawn delivery carriage in South Philadelphia in 1927 to acquisition by a multibillion-dollar conglomerate, which quietly shuttered it last year.
🐄 But Queenie’s legacy lives on.
🐄 “I remember the cow on the Penn Maid label as a detail from my childhood summertime dinner table,” one Wayne native told The Inquirer. “Grilled burgers, dogs, Herr’s ripple potato chips, Penn Maid French onion dip, iced teas, and watermelon.”
🧠 Trivia time
Which convenience store chain was named the best in the country, according to an American Customer Satisfaction Index survey?
A) 7-Eleven
B) Buc-ee’s
C) Sheetz
D) Wawa
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
📽️ Planning: Our itinerary for the Philadelphia Film Festival 2024, including that Wing Bowl doc.
🇵🇱 Trying: Little Walter’s smoky kielbasa and Polska-Philly cocktails.
👏 Applauding: Penn law professor Dorothy E. Roberts, just named a MacArthur Fellow.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
The former world leader who celebrated a big milestone yesterday
MARJY METRIC
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Lauren Settles, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Dikembe Mutombo. The Hall of Fame center, who is most remembered locally for helping Allen Iverson and the Sixers reach the 2001 NBA Finals, recently died at 58 of brain cancer.
Photo of the day
🌱 Enjoy your Wednesday. See you back here tomorrow.
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