Pennsylvania

Even Gov. Josh Shapiro couldn’t have saved Pennsylvania for the Democrats

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2024

Even Gov. Josh Shapiro couldn’t have saved Pennsylvania for the Democrats

Elections often tell you less about the winners than the losers. Victory has many fathers, as the saying goes, but defeat shows you exactly what went wrong.

Pennsylvania’s 2024 results offer a master class in Democratic collapse: while Trump edged out Kamala Harris by 2 points in the presidential race, Republicans romped to victory in every down-ballot statewide contest.

Dave McCormick pulled out a narrow victory over three-term Senator Bob Casey; Dave Sunday trounced Eugene DePasquale by 5 points in the attorney general race; and incumbent Tim DeFoor beat Malcolm Kenyatta by an even wider margin for auditor general.

The story of how Democrats fumbled Pennsylvania reveals itself in the campaign’s final weeks. Trump’s operation blanketed working-class neighborhoods with simple, direct messaging: “Trump: Safe Borders/Kamala: Open Borders,” “Trump: Low Inflation/Harris: High Inflation.”

His team’s “Kamala is for they/them” ad sparked legal threats but achieved its intended effect — the Democrats are worried about boutique issues rather than kitchen-table concerns like inflation. Harris, meanwhile, released a series of slickly-produced but culturally tone-deaf ads attempting to portray Pennsylvania working-class life.

Harris’s response proved telling. Her team launched what they considered their October surprise: a series of joint appearances with unpopular former Republican Liz Cheney focused on “saving democracy.” The rallies, held primarily in affluent suburban enclaves, epitomized the campaign’s fundamental misread of the state’s political geography.

Her campaign’s last notable attempt at working-class authenticity — a commercial featuring a supposed working-class local who seemed like an actor delivering focus-grouped lines about Trump being a “little silver spoon boy” — landed with my working-class relatives about as well as vegan bulgogi tacos at a union hall.

This messaging disconnect infected every Democratic campaign. DePasquale, running for attorney general, leaned heavily on his record as a fiscal watchdog and government reformer — but not as a prosecutor, because he never was one. A compelling pitch in theory, but it withered against career prosecutor Sunday’s relentless focus on fentanyl seizures and declining crime rates in York County. While DePasquale talked process and oversight, Sunday’s team plastered social media with bodycam footage of drug busts and arrests.

Kenyatta’s auditor general campaign highlighted the party’s deeper problems. The 34-year-old progressive rising star, known mainly for viral speeches and an unsuccessful Senate bid, campaigned on transforming the office into a vehicle for social change — which made sense when one realized he had no experience in the role. Against incumbent DeFoor’s straightforward non-partisan message about cutting waste and protecting taxpayers, Kenyatta’s ambitious agenda read like a DEI solution in search of a problem.

Even Casey, who built his career on careful moderation and labor support, couldn’t find enough votes to secure a fourth term in office. After decades positioning himself as a blue-collar, Blue-Dog Democrat, Casey’s recent selective embrace of progressive causes provided perfect fodder for McCormick’s advertising team.

While Republican ads hammered Casey’s voting record and association with flip-flopping presidential candidate Harris, his campaign responded with a barrage of increasingly desperate fundraising emails, each one predicting imminent doom. The horrendously off-key messaging — subject lines included “To avoid a catastrophe” and “The worst news yet” — became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Who wants to vote for a loser?

The results expose the bankruptcy of Democrats’ coalition-building strategy. Harris’s team believed they could unite urban progressives and anti-Trump suburbanites while holding just enough working-class voters through careful messaging and strategic positioning. Instead, they achieved a rare political feat: speaking convincingly to absolutely no one.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, floated as Harris’s potential running mate, embodied these contradictions. His “Get Sh*t Done” gubernatorial slogan had promised pragmatic results but delivered historic inaction, as the Commonwealth Foundation has reported — just 111 bills signed in 18 months, the fewest of any Pennsylvania governor in 50 years. For comparison, Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin pushed through 1,654 bills in the same period with a part-time (and divided) legislature.

The implications stretch beyond a single election cycle. Despite its slowly-dwindling population, Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes and competitive Senate seats make it essential to any future Democratic coalition.

Yet Tuesday’s results suggest the party has lost its ability to communicate effectively with voters outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The state office margins — larger than the presidential gap – indicate problems deeper than any individual candidate’s shortcomings.

Much as they have since 2016, Democrats continued to try to thread an impossible needle: mollifying progressives with substance-free identity politics while also wooing suburban Republicans and maintaining their working-class base in the absence of genuine working-class policy proposals.

The result was messaging so carefully calibrated it became meaningless, every bit as insubstantial as Kamala Harris’ final cameo appearance on SNL.

Unless and until Democrats can craft a message that resonates beyond their urban strongholds — and find experienced, competent candidates capable of delivering said message without sounding like McKinsey consultants explaining steel manufacturing to career steelworkers — Tuesday’s results may augur a permanent realignment in a state they once considered to be winnable.

Here in the Keystone State, as elsewhere in the country, the party’s obsession with building the perfect coalition has left them with hardly any coalition at all.

Oliver Bateman is a historian and journalist based in Pittsburgh. He blogs, vlogs, and podcasts at his Substack, Oliver Bateman Does the Work.

Reprinted with permission from RealClearPennsylvania.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 2 Day results for Feb. 27, 2026

Published

10 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Friday, Feb. 27, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

11-18-39-43-67, Mega Ball: 23

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 4-7, Wild: 5

Evening: 8-8, Wild: 0

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 6-7-7, Wild: 5

Evening: 0-0-3, Wild: 0

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 7-2-1-4, Wild: 5

Evening: 5-7-3-1, Wild: 0

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

Day: 8-4-5-4-4, Wild: 5

Evening: 1-1-9-8-7, Wild: 0

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

04-14-16-20-38

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

02-04-08-13-30

Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

10-12-23-31-33-46

Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from Feb. 27 drawing

03-04-13-28-42, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.

When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

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.

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Pennsylvania

Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania Helps Homeowners Protect Their Investment Across Generations » NCRC

Published

22 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania Helps Homeowners Protect Their Investment Across Generations » NCRC

For the past 17 years, the Affordable Housing Centers of Pennsylvania (AHCOPA) has provided a range of programs designed to build wealth within low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. AHCOPA provides services to approximately 3,000 people each year via their pre-purchase, post-purchase and mortgage prevention counseling programs.

When Kenneth Bigos joined AHCOPA as their Executive Director in 2013, he set out to expand the organization’s offerings beyond first-time homeownership counseling services. He identified estate planning as an urgent need for the region’s LMI communities as well.

A 2022 Consumer Reports survey found that 77% of Black and 82% of Hispanic Americans do not have a will in place, which is needed to ensure that their home investment continues to build generational wealth. Consequently, the state court steps in upon the owner’s passing to decide how assets will be distributed, with property not being able to be transferred to an heir until that lengthy process is complete. In Philadelphia alone, there are approximately 10,000 properties with titles that have not been legally settled.

In response to this, AHCOPA launched the Will Power program in 2022 by leveraging existing relationships with pro-bono lawyers in the creation of wills and trusts for community members. The program has created an opportunity to serve a larger portion of Philadelphia’s population.

While the first-time homebuyer program initially attracted people in their mid-30s, Will Power participants are generally in their late 60s, prompting AHCOPA to think about what housing support looks like across an individual’s lifetime.

“Elderly households are more vulnerable,” Bigos said. “To reach these homeowners, we had to develop relationships with trusted agencies, such as senior centers, churches and other institutions that we would not typically work with in our first-time homebuyer program.”

As a result of that work, AHCOPA marked a major milestone in October 2025: the signing of 1,000 wills. Thanks to the success of Will Power and the first-time homebuyer program, AHCOPA has solidified its reputation as the go-to financial advisor for working-class residents.

Looking ahead, they are planning to add a new program designed to support people beyond the initial purchase of their home, which will include coaching to help owners develop their financial literacy. This would encompass how to build savings to buy a first home and avoid foreclosure in the event of a crisis.

For Bigos, NCRC membership is key to ensuring the success of these programs, especially in terms of organizing at the federal, state and local levels advocating for continued funding.

“Engaging with decision makers is very important and being an NCRC member has helped facilitate those relationships,” Bigos said. “Their support has been very impactful.”

Jesse Rhodes is a Contributing Writer.

Photo courtesy of the AHCOPA team.

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Pennsylvania

How gambling revenue helps Pennsylvania fire departments

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

How gambling revenue helps Pennsylvania fire departments

It is hard to imagine that money spent and collected at casinos and in slot machines around the state can wind up being used at local volunteer fire departments throughout the commonwealth, but it’s true.

In Pennsylvania, a portion of the state’s gaming revenue is allocated to support fire departments and emergency management services to the tune of about $30 million each year.

Departments can apply for those funds through a series of state grants, and most departments say that the money from gaming is vital to help them pay for equipment, vehicles and even improvements to their buildings.

“This time we put in for a grant to finish our second floor of our facility here,” said Derry Township Fire Chief Mark Piantine.

Piantine says that gambling revenue has purchased many things for his department in the past like swift water rescue boats as well as a new equipment washing station. Now he hopes that money can give his company a place to sleep when they are working long shifts in bad weather.

“The last storm we had, the Snowmageddon here a couple of weeks ago, we had people staying overnight,” Piantine said. “They were laying across the seats of the trucks and on the floor sleeping because our second floor is not finished.”

Piantine says every little bit helps both their department and other departments, because when it comes right down to it, running a fire department is expensive.

“When you buy a regular pair of gloves, you may pay $25 for them. We buy a pair of gloves, they’re $75 to $100,” said Piantine. “You can buy a pair of boots for $50, ours cost $600.”

Just a few miles away, in the city of Latrobe, Chief John Brasile says that while the city does a lot for them financially, gaming revenue helps a lot. It even helps them make payments on their rescue unit.

“We have about a year’s worth of payments left on it,” Brasile said. “And we use our money for debt reductions on that truck.”

“And that’s essentially from gambling revenue?” Chris DeRose asked.

“Yes. It comes from the State Fire Commissioners’ Office,” Brasile said.

“When is that truck paid off?” DeRose asked.

“About this time next year,” Brasile replied. “And then we can use that money for other stuff then. We would like to get new rescue tools for that truck and they’re expensive.”

The fire departments KDKA has spoken with about using state grant money from gambling revenue say that gambling money is great, but it is not a cure-all. And in fact, on Thursday night, the Latrobe Fire Department was holding yet another fundraising event to help them once again raise money for new fire equipment.

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