A Pa. county to watch for 2020

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Matt Rourke / The Associated Press

Protesters demonstrate in support of President Donald Trump near a Fox News town-hall style event with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in April in Bethlehem, Pa. The city is split between Lehigh and Northampton counties.

From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:

Trump and allies spending millions on digital ads

Matt Rourke / The Associated Press

Protesters demonstrate in support of President Donald Trump near a Fox News town-hall style event with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in April in Bethlehem, Pa. The city is split between Lehigh and Northampton counties.

• In ancient times — or at least in a Brad Pitt movie about ancient times — armies sometimes skipped a full battle and decided contests through single combat. I’m reminded of that custom as I and other reporters look for the bellwether counties that will decide the 2020 election. Maybe instead of campaigning across the country, the candidates could just pick one swing county, fight it out there and let the winner take their party’s nomination/the White House.

• In that alternate universe, Northampton County in the Lehigh Valley would be a pretty good place. The Guardian’s Tom McCarthy reported about Republican Donald Trump’s victory there in 2016 and how the changing electorate could mean trouble for his re-election. The latest piece is part of an ongoing series focused on the county.

• Speaking of 2020, PennLive’s Charlie Thompson looked back at the never-Trump movement and why it withered. The Associated Press describes why Democrats are worried about the millions that Trump and allies are spending on digital ads, including in Pennsylvania. And the lineup for the first Democratic presidential debates on June 26 and June 27 is shaping up.

Best of the rest

Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo

In this 2015 photo, several brands of cigarettes are on display at a Smoker Friendly shop in Pittsburgh.

• A Republican lawmaker from Erie County wants to ban smoking in all Pa. bars. “It’s thick with smoke in there and your clothes reek. …And I don’t think that’s fair to most people,” Dan Laughlin told me. A listener question prompted the story.

• The state House passed legislation that would make it easier for charter schools to buy or lease unused school buildings, and that would standardize the process for establishing charter schools, WITF’s Katie Meyer reports. Many Democratic lawmakers objected. The legislation, along with some less controversial charter school changes, moves on to the state Senate.

• LNP obtained video footage of a police officer pulling over Lancaster County’s president judge. “You better check the registration on this plate soon, mister,” Dennis E. Reinaker told the officer. LNP’s Carter Walker has more.