Northeast
GOP hopes for holding House could come down to 6 races in key battleground state
In the 2024 showdown for the House majority, Pennsylvania will be a key battleground.
As Republicans defend their razor-thin majority in the chamber, they’ll be playing plenty of defense to try and retain GOP-held seats in the blue bastions of California and New York.
But in Pennsylvania, which holds primary elections on Tuesday, Republicans will be on offense, targeting three of the most vulnerable House Democrats in the country.
“If Democrats are to take back control of the House this November, they’ll need to hold the line in the Keystone State,” Erin Covey, House races analyst for top non-partisan elections handicapper The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, said recently.
THESE SIX HOUSE SEATS COULD FLIP FROM BLUE TO RED IN NOVEMBER
Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., speaks during a hearing before the Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill April 20, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Atop that list is three-term Democratic Rep. Susan Wild in the state’s 7th Congressional District, which is one of the most evenly divided House districts in the country.
In flipping the seat in 2018 and in her 2020 and 2022 re-elections, Wild’s races have come down to the wire. But Wild, in anticipation of another bruising re-election bid, has assembled a formidable campaign war chest, far ahead of her GOP challengers.
The GOP congressional primary is a three-way race between state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, National Guard veteran Kevin Dellicker and attorney Maria Montero.
“Both national parties are almost guaranteed to invest in this race,” Covey emphasized. “But the GOP candidates’ anemic fundraising has made some national GOP strategists less bullish on flipping this seat, and other Democratic-held swing seats could take priority in November.”
Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., speaks before President Biden takes the stage at a political event at the Marts Center Aug. 30, 2022, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Republicans are also taking aim at Democratic Rep. Matt Carwright in northeastern Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. And across the state, in the Pittsburgh-based 17th District, Rep. Chris Deluzio is being targeted by the GOP.
But neither district is expected to have competitive Republican primaries on Tuesday.
Wealthy construction company CEO Rob Bresnahan is considered the presumptive nominee in the 8th District, while state Rep. Rob Mercuri doesn’t face any major rivals in the primary in the 17th.
Six House seats held by Democrats could flip in the 2024 elections, expanding the Republicans’ slim majority in the chamber. (Getty Images)
While they play plenty of defense in Pennsylvania, Democrats are also eyeing an opportunity to flip a red seat. That opportunity is in the 10th District — anchored by the state capital Harrisburg in the central part of the state — where former Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry is up for re-election.
Republicans control the House 218-213, with vacant seats in three red districts and one in a blue district. The Cook Report rates 22 races as toss-ups, evenly split between the Democrats and Republicans.
Republicans controlled the House majority for eight years before the Democrats won back the chamber in the 2018 midterms. In the 2020 elections, the GOP defied expectations and took a big bite out of the Democrats’ majority. The GOP narrowly won back control of the chamber in the 2022 midterms, but hopes of a red wave never materialized.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Pittsburg, PA
About 5 pounds of bees removed from Acrisure Stadium scaffolding ahead of Morgan Wallen concerts
Acrisure Stadium is buzzing with excitement ahead of the back-to-back Morgan Wallen concerts. Except it’s not the fans generating all the excitement — it’s about 5 pounds of honeybees.
The Fine Family Apiary in Monongahela said it was contacted on Wednesday about a swarm of bees clustered on the stage scaffolding. The apiary put the swarm in a “nuc box” and took them home before moving the bees into full-size equipment.
Owner Al Fine estimates the swarm weighed about 4 to 5 pounds and consisted of 12,000 to 15,000 bees. All said, it took less than two hours to get the job done.
Why do bees swarm?
Swarming is how honeybees propagate, Fine explained. According to Penn State Extension, during swarming, the queen and about half the workers leave their home to establish a new nest. The bees will form a temporary cluster, hanging out while scouts search the surrounding area for a more permanent home in hollow spaces like tree cavities or, occasionally, the walls of a home.
Swarms can stick around for several hours or days until they’re ready to move, Penn State Extension says. Meanwhile, the colony left behind is temporarily without a leader until a new queen is established.
With the swarm at Acrisure Stadium removed, Morgan Wallen’s show is ready to go on. The country music megastar will bring his I’m The Problem Tour to Pittsburgh on June 5 and June 6, along with multiple acts like Brooks & Dunn and Ella Langley.
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This story will be updated.
The Maine Department of Transportation is moving to slash up to $400 million in projects from its agenda, a shocking and abrupt cutback that is rattling the state’s construction industry at the start of building season.
Roughly $50 million across six pavement projects have already been delayed, according to a memo exclusively obtained by the Bangor Daily News. The agency plans to cut or delay another $150 million in bridge, highway, intersection and multimodal projects later this month. A further $200 million or more in cuts are planned in the next three-year work plan.
Those figures were outlined by Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty in the May 18 memo to Gov. Janet Mills that has since circulated widely in the transportation sector, which has been getting drip-by-drip details on the wide scope of the cuts over the past three weeks.
It comes at the beginning of the state’s relatively narrow construction season. Companies have hired workers and ordered materials for projects they expected to begin this summer. The severity of the transportation budget problems was not raised to lawmakers during the 2026 legislative session.
Kelly Flagg, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, called the shortfall “deeply troubling” in a statement.
“We stand ready to work with policymakers, stakeholders, and industry partners to identify both immediate and long-term solutions,” Flagg said. “Maine cannot afford to fall further behind.”
Insiders saw this first.
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The cuts stem from a structural funding gap of at least $130 million in the state’s current work plan, according to Doughty’s memo. Losses are magnified because state money from the gas tax and other revenue sources is matched by federal funds. Lawmakers have long grappled with politically difficult long-term problems with the state’s transportation budget.
A Mills spokesperson said Wednesday morning that the administration was working on a response to questions from the BDN. The department says it needs roughly $240 million more in state capital funding annually to maintain the existing system, and that anything less than $200 million will erode it over time.
Doughty’s memo the only near-term solution is a series of bonds beginning as soon as possible. Lawmakers would have to return to Augusta to authorize that if one is going to appear on the November ballot.
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