Pennsylvania
Republican wunderkind who helped Trump win Pennsylvania sets sights on flipping another long-blue state
The Republican wunderkind credited with helping President-elect Trump claim pivotal Pennsylvania in his decisive Election Day win is now setting his sights on New Jersey.
Scott Presler, an indomitable voter-registration activist and founder of the Political Action Committee Early Vote Action, said the long-blue Garden State is ripe to turn red.
“New Jersey is trending to the right. There’s momentum,” Presler, 36, told The Post. “We have already rehired 23 staff. So whereas Republican parties in the past will pack up, go home, not renew contracts, Early Vote Action already right now, in December of 2024, has staff on the ground.”
Vice President Harris won New Jersey by only 6 points, compared to Biden’s 16-point victory in the state in 2020.
Trump’s performance was the best for a Republican in the state since George W. Bush’s re-election contest 20 years ago. Trump seized Gloucester County and Morris County — both of which he narrowly lost to Biden in 2020. Trump also won Passaic County, which Biden carried by more than 16 points in 2020 and Republicans haven’t won since 1992. Trump’s victories in Cumberland and Atlantic counties were the first for a GOP candidate since 1988.
Presler, who has more than 2 million followers on X, has already promised to bring a show of force to Edison, NJ next week after its city council banned American flags from their meetings.The ban was reversed earlier this week.
“We will have a presence at the December 11th meeting, peacefully with beautiful American flags, and we’re going to make sure that every single person that attends also registers to vote,” Presler said.
He said he will “thousands” of volunteers fanning the state in coming months.
“You’re going to see us at New Jersey truck stops. . . . You’re going to see us at gun shows and gun stores courting Second Amendment voters. You’re going to see us knocking on doors at fraternity houses and sorority houses. You’re going to see us going to American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars halls courting veteran votes. And you’re also going to see us at Wildwood Boardwalk,” he said.
Early Vote Action has more than $2.2 million in the bank and no debts, according to Federal Election Commission records. In August, they received a $1 million from Trump confidante and Department of Government Efficiency co-head Elon Musk.
“I would love for Elon Musk to continue to see the work that Early Vote Action has done,” Presler said. “We delivered the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we delivered a Senate seat. We helped flip house seats from blue to red. And I would argue confidently and also very humbly that our work helped give President Trump the narrow majority in Congress.”
The first big GOP test in the Garden State will be the governor’s race next year.
In 2021, businessman Jack Ciattarelli came within four points of beating Democrat Phil Murphy. Ciattarelli, 62, is taking a second stab at Murphy and is considered the frontrunner to win the GOP primary in June.
“Our greatest challenge was the pandemic. It’s not easy to campaign when there’s a shelter in place order. We don’t have to contend with that this time around,” Ciattarelli told The Post.
“I really believe New Jersey has always been a purple state. It’s been tough on our Republican presidential nominees but Donald Trump changed that this past election day with his performance,” said Ciattarelli.
Presler is not officially backing Ciattarelli and said he will support whoever wins the GOP primary.
Ciattarelli is hopeful Presler’s lightening will strike twice.
“Scott’s going to be in an excellent position to take a great many voters and register them Republican,” Ciattarelli said.
Pennsylvania
Police hunt for masked suspects who looted a Pennsylvania Lululemon overnight
Pennsylvania police are searching for at least two masked suspects believed to have looted a Lululemon store overnight.
At least two masked men broke into a Lululemon in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, around 2 a.m. Tuesday, police told NBC 10 Philadelphia. Ardmore, a suburb of Philadelphia, is home to about 14,000 people.
The suspected thieves used a sledgehammer to break the glass on the store’s front door, according to police.
Once they gained access, the masked individuals grabbed handfuls of merchandise, security footage shows. The men went in and out of the store several times, grabbing handfuls of items that included coats, vests and shirts from the men’s section, police told local outlet WPVI.
“This is taking it to another level,” Lower Merion Police Superintendent Andy Block told WPVI.
The suspects then loaded the merchandise into a U-Haul truck. Their truck was last seen at the intersection of Bryn Mawr Avenue and Woodbine Avenue, just a few miles from the store, police said.
The entire incident lasted about five minutes, which Block said is longer than usual for this type of burglary.
“Usually, it is because in a smash-and-grab situation they want to get in and get out before they’re identified or anybody’s notified on it,” Block told CBS Philadelphia.
Block told WPVI the store is a popular target for robbers, given that many of its items cost more than $100. Now, he expects the alleged thieves have sold or exchanged the items.
“They’re using it on the market, maybe they’re exchanging it for drugs, or they’re selling it on the black market. It’s a highly sought-after item,” he told WPVI.
Even though police say Lululemon is a popular target, Lt. Michael Keenan of the Lower Merion Police Department still called the incident “out of character.”
“This is an out of character, out of type incident where we don’t normally see people smashing windows in the middle of the night. But, certainly this is something that is distinct,” Keenan told NBC 10 Philadelphia.
The store still opened Tuesday, with a banner covering the smashed glass on the door, according to Fox 29. Gina Picciano, a general manager at a restaurant across the street, said it was a frightening incident.
“I walked out here with my bartender and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Picciano told Fox 29.
The same store was previously robbed in May 2024. Thieves stole more than $10,000 worth of merchandise during that incident, NBC 10 Philadelphia reports.
The Independent has contacted the Lower Merion Police Department and Lululemon for comment.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro has $30 million for his reelection bid, a new state record
Pennsylvania
3 winning scratch-off lotto tickets totaling $7.5M sold in Pennsylvania
RADNOR TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Three winning scratch-off tickets totaling $7.5 million were sold in Pennsylvania, lottery officials announced on Monday.
One winning “MONOPOLY Own It All” ticket worth $5 million was sold in Delaware County at the GIANT on the 500 block of East Lancaster Avenue. The grocery store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
“MONOPOLY Own It All” is a $50 game that offers top prizes of $5 million.
In Erie County, a $1.5 million-winning “Cash Spectacular” scratch-off was purchased at a Sheetz on Perry Highway. “Cash Spectacular” is a $30 game that offers top prizes of $1.5 million.
And in Luzerne County, a $1 million-winning “Millionaire Loading” scratch-off was sold at Schiel’s Family Market in Wilkes-Barre. “Millionaire Loading” is a $20 game that offers top prizes of $1 million.
Scratch-off prizes expire one year from the game’s end-sale date posted at palottery.com.
Winners should immediately sign the back of their ticket and call the Pennsylvania Lottery at 1-800-692-7481.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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