Kamala Harris’ first appearance with her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz—which will be held in front of a crowd in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening—was scheduled last week, long before she made the announcement that she was adding Walz to the ticket and, if reporting is to be believed, before she even made the decision to bring Walz on.
Because of the location of the first rally—and because Pennsylvania is such a crucial battleground state—there was a lot of speculation that these clues all added up to a vice presidential slot for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. He was already a front-runner: A rising star in the Democratic Party with high approval ratings in his state, Shapiro could have possibly guaranteed a win for Democrats come November in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
But Shapiro isn’t the only politician capable of exciting Pennsylvanians.
Let me be clear: Pennsylvania is incredibly important in presidential elections, with its 19 electoral votes and wide swath of residents who seemingly represent the rich, diverse makeup of the country as a whole. We know how to pick a winner, and we know a winner when we see one. But though Pennsylvania has voted for the winner of the presidential election in 48 of 59 elections, those winners have, historically … not been from here.
Advertisement
It’s been 144 years since a true Pennsylvanian was in any slot on a presidential ticket; 163 years since Pennsylvania had a president in the White House (James Buchanan); and 175 years since a Pennsylvanian was VP (George Dallas, vice president to James Polk).
Some may argue (as one of my fellow Slatesters attempted to argue) that Joe Biden—good ol’ Scranton Joe—should make the cut here. To that I say: Biden gets a fat asterisk on his Pennsylvania roots. From the age of 10, Biden lived in Delaware. He clerked at a Wilmington law firm. He was elected to represent the people of Delaware. Sure, he may occasionally rep the Philadelphia Phillies, but show me a professional Delaware sports team. He doesn’t really have much of a choice.
Yes, Philadelphians and Pennsylvanians will almost always go to bat for one their own—one of the big upsides for Harris if she chose Shapiro. Just look at what happened with Gritty. Philadelphians were … less than enthused about the new mascot for our city’s NHL team. But the moment other people started to bad-mouth Gritty, talking about how terrifying, creepy, and—dare I say—weird the Flyers’ orange, googly-eyed mascot was, we changed our tune and fast.
That type of loyalty isn’t inherited, it’s earned. You have to prove that you know what it takes to be one of us. Gritty didn’t back away from the criticism, Gritty told the critics (namely the Pittsburgh Penguins’ mascot) to sleep with one eye open.
It’s not a stretch to say Walz embodies this same spirit.
He has endeared many potential voters (and much of the internet) with his unfiltered, tell-it-like-it-is talking points. The stories of his time as a high school teacher and football coach who was also the adviser for the school’s gay-straight alliance prove his humanity. He has a dog who tends to get into some mischief. He has successfully branded his enemies as the weird ones. He drinks Diet Mountain Dew.
In other words, Walz looks and acts like a lot of Pennsylvanians. He doesn’t need to be from here to get the voters riled up, just as any other major-party ticket hasn’t relied on a candidate from the Commonwealth for nearly 150 years to get the PA vote. The stakes are high; democracy hangs in the balance. But Harris may have chosen the perfect running mate—with Big Gritty Energy to boot—to get Pennsylvanians to the polls.
More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.
In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”
The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.
Advertisement
SC
“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”
With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.
What are Money Match checks?
The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.
“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.
Advertisement
However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.
According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.
Unclaimed property scam
On its website, the state treasury has a warning about scammers using text messages to target potential unclaimed property claimants.
The department “never reaches out to people in regard to any program, including unclaimed property, via unsolicited text messages.”
A special weather statement was issued by the National Weather Service on Friday at 10:06 a.m. until 1 p.m. for Warren, McKean, Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Cambria and Somerset counties.
“Temperatures will drop below the freezing mark through midday with rain showers quickly changing to snow showers. Blustery winds may dry off roads and other paved surfaces, but any residual water from previous rain or melting snow could freeze up and result in slick spots through the afternoon,” explains the weather service.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.
