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The high stakes of Pa.’s 2020 legislative races

Reformers seek independent redistricting process

  • Emily Previti/PA Post
Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pa

 Matt Rourke / AP Photo

Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pa

FiveThirtyEight just kicked off “When Women Run,” a six-part multimedia series focused on female candidates seeking elected office. A new chapter will post daily through Monday. Tuesday’s installment was titled, “The Way Most States Elect Candidates Isn’t Very Good for Women.” –Emily Previti, PA Post reporter
Shown is the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. on the Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

Matt Rourke / AP Photo

Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pa. (Matt Rourke / AP Photo)

  • State legislative races are particularly critical in 2020 because they coincide with the federal government’s decennial census. On the heels of every census, lawmakers in Pennsylvania are tasked with redrawing the state’s congressional districts. If Democrats regain a majority in one or both chambers, their hand will be stronger in designing those districts given Gov. Wolf is also a Democrat. But if Republicans maintain their majorities, Wolf will need to compromise with the GOP. One-party control of the process, which happened after the 2010 census, can produce big wins for the majority party — and plenty of legal headaches, as was seen when Pennsylvania’s congressional map was tossed out ahead of the 2018 election.

  • As for the state legislative districts, a five-member commission does that work in Pennsylvania, with four of its members comprised of the top Republican and Democrat from each chamber. A fifth member is chosen by the four leaders, but if they can’t agree, the state Supreme Court picks the member. Either way, four incumbent legislators are making decisions about how district lines are drawn — a fact that critics say makes the process ripe for abuse.

  • A bipartisan campaign to create a new, independent redistricting process is hoping to change state law before 2021. Members of the Pennsylvania Redistricting Reform Commission published an op-ed in Thursday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, writing: “Pennsylvanians are frustrated. They feel the political system is broken and that their interests are often overshadowed by those who work in it. They see gerrymandering in our state legislative and congressional districts — and specifically, the unnecessary division of their communities — as a prime example of what is wrong.”

  • As far as the 2020 campaign goes, plenty of incumbent legislators are retiring — 15, by the AP’s tallyThe Morning Call’s Ford Turner compiled this rundown of mini-bios of a dozen “newcomers” hoping to represent Lehigh Valley counties in the legislature.

  • Despite an ethics charge revealed since his last run, state Rep. David Zimmerman, R-Lancaster, secured an endorsement from the county GOP for a fourth term. So did the rest of the incumbent Republicans running in LancCo. More here from LNP.

  • Two Republican state senators from Erie and Delaware counties are the focus of a liberal super PAC seeking to flip their districts. Politics PA talked to the group about its strategy — including other Pa. districts that could be targeted — in this post.

  • Veteran and newcomer Democratic hopefuls alike will be vying for a piece of the $2.2 million remaining in Gov. Tom Wolf’s campaign account. Wolf, who can’t run again in 2022, gave about $4 million to other candidates during 2018 while spending $31 million on his own re-election bid that year, Marc Levy reports for the Associated Press.

Best of the rest

Rachel McDevitt / WITF

A small creek runs through the Shirk family farm in Caenarvon Township, Lancaster County on Wednesday, Jan. 8. 2020. (Rachel McDevitt / WITF)

  • Pennsylvania’s economy is 18 percent agriculture. But the industry faces challenges. The farming population is aging. And the nuanced, expensive endeavor of buying farmland presents a barrier to entry for younger farmers. WITF’s Rachel McDevitt recently talked to one 23-year-old farmer who has 25 different landlords for his 350 acres, but hopes a new state program will help. Her full story is here.

  • A terminally ill woman was sentenced to up to 10 months in jail by a Lebanon County judge last week. The woman’s family says she’s not receiving medical care for advanced-stage cancer and fear she will die in prison. The woman has had previous run-ins with the law, but she was put behind bars for shoplifting $100 in merchandise. PA Post’s Joseph Darius Jaafari reports on the case.

  • The auditor general says a five-year overhaul of Pennsylvania’s statewide radio network is going according to plan. The system — used by police and other emergency responders — had been plagued by problems and cost overruns for decades, WITF’s Katie Meyer reports.

  • Thank you PBS NewsHour for doing all the work to list all the questions asked by senators at the impeachment trial this week. Search the online spreadsheet for questions asked by Pa.’s Bob Casey (D) and Pat Toomey (R).

  • Candidates started circulating their nominating petitions this week for the April 28 primary election. Voter registration is open until April 13. Other important dates are here, courtesy of the Pa. Department of State.


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