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<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tI report on how decisions made in Pennsylvania\u2019s state Capitol ripple across communities throughout the commonwealth. My coverage centers on the General Assembly, the Governor\u2019s Office and the broader landscape of Pennsylvania politics.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m especially interested in the development and regulation of artificial intelligence, how public officials manage taxpayer dollars and policy ideas aimed at addressing everyday \u2014 and sometimes overlooked \u2014 challenges.<\/p>\n
I grew up just north of Pittsburgh in Beaver County, Pa., and graduated from Bucknell University in 2023. My first reporting gig was at LNP | LancasterOnline as a politics reporter, before I started at WITF in the summer of 2025.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Republican](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP24268078372414-1617x1080.jpg\")
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Ed Fry Arena in Indiana, Pa., Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Droke)<\/p>\n
Two of Republicans\u2019 strongest issues in 2024 \u2014 the economy and immigration \u2014 may be among their weaknesses in this year\u2019s midterms, as the party looks to hold onto three Pennsylvania congressional seats key to maintaining a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll released this week<\/a>, economic concerns, including unemployment, the cost of housing and real estate, and rising gas and utility prices, topped voters\u2019 list as the most important issue facing Pennsylvania.\u00a0<\/p>\n And 45% of those surveyed who said the economy was their largest concern said Democrats are best suited to handle it, while only 25% said the same about Republicans. (F&M researchers noted Democrats were more likely to cite the economy as their top concern.)<\/p>\n Those results could signal a problem for Republicans in the midterms. President Donald Trump has hosted several events across the country, including in Pennsylvania, to tout what he called in his State of the Union a \u201croaring economy\u201d sparked by his leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t talk people into things that run counter to what they\u2019re experiencing every day,\u201d said Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research and the Floyd Institute for Public Policy at F&M. \u201cIf people are paying more for basic goods, if they\u2019re feeling like their wages aren\u2019t keeping up with those increases \u2014 whatever the top line economic growth numbers might be \u2014 those personal assessments are going to outweigh them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pennsylvania voters don\u2019t seem to be feeling a \u201croaring\u201d economy.<\/p>\n More than one-third (36%) of respondents said they were \u201cworse off\u201d financially than a year ago, while just 20% said they were \u201cbetter off.\u201d And one quarter said they expect to be \u201cworse off\u201d next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Voters\u2019 approval of Trump has also fallen since last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Overall, 61% of voters said Trump is doing a \u201cfair \u201cor \u201cpoor\u201d job as president, while 39% said he is doing an \u201cexcellent\u201d or \u201cgood\u201d job.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s his overall job approval ratings or his ratings on specific issues, there\u2019s just been an erosion of support for the president among voters,\u201d Yost said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The results of F&M\u2019s poll could spell trouble for three Republican Congressional members widely considered among the most vulnerable nationwide this year, as Democrats look to flip the GOP\u2019s slim majority in the U.S. House.<\/p>\n Among them is Republican Scott Perry, who representsthe 10th Congressional District covering Dauphin and parts of Cumberland and York Counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the March 2026 poll, researchers at Franklin & Marshall College surveyed 834 registered Pennsylvania voters \u2014 353 Democrats, 347 Republicans and 134 independents. The poll\u2019s sample error is +\/- 4.1%. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Immigration, ICE split voters<\/p>\n According to the poll results, Pennsylvania voters are growing increasingly critical of Trump\u2019s immigration policies \u2014 another one of the Republican Party\u2019s strong points in the 2024 election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since F&M\u2019s October 2025 poll, researchers found that approval ratings for Trump\u2019s handling of immigration slipped from 47% to 42% among Pennsylvania voters.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the most recent poll, a majority (55%) opposed the administration\u2019s deportation and enforcement actions, while 45% said they approved of them. And while those numbers largely split along party lines, some specific tactics by ICE drew bipartisan scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n A large majority (76%) disapproved of ICE officers\u2019 use of deadly force against protestors, while 75% disapproved of ICE entering a home without a judicial warrant, as previously reported on by WITF<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Narrower majorities believe ICE officers should not wear face masks to conceal their identity (57%) or use unmarked vehicles to arrest suspects (53%).\u00a0<\/p>\n These numbers, Yost said, should worry Republicans in contentious districts this year because disapproval of Trump\u2019s immigration policy has \u201cprobably generated more enthusiasm among Democratic voters to get out and express their concern about the issue\u201d at the polls in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n F&M found that 54% of Pennsylvania voters think non-citizens in the U.S. for less than five years \u2014 even if they do not have a criminal record \u2014 should be targeted for deportation. But for those in the U.S. longer than five years, voters were essentially split on whether they should be targeted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Voters disapproved of targeting immigrants with asylum or protected status (76%), a visa or a green card (86%); as well as people who have completed or are in the middle of the naturalization process (89%).<\/p>\n Bigger than politics<\/p>\n Though a majority of respondents (65%) said they were dissatisfied with how American democracy is functioning today, Yost noted that Pennsylvanians were \u201ccommitted to democratic ideals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been consistent \u2014 trial by jury, presumption of innocence, freedom of the press,\u201d Yost said. \u201cAs we debate policies, we also have to understand that people in the state are committed to democratic principles and practices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A large majority (92%) of respondents said they support freedom of speech, 96% believe all citizens deserve equal say in government, and a majority (53%) said there should be no barriers to voting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Pennsylvanians surveyed agreed that Congress has given away too much power and authority to the presidency, and 55% said the same about the judiciary. A majority (69%) also believed Trump has either pushed or overstepped limits placed on the presidency.<\/p>\n Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps<\/a> funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting<\/a>, a private corporation funded by the American people.<\/p>\n
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