HARRISBURG \u2014 During Pennsylvania\u2019s general election this November, voters will be asked to weigh in on critical races for governor, Congress, and the General Assembly.<\/p>\n
All congressional districts are on the ballot. So are all 203 districts in the state House, and half of the 50 state Senate seats \u2014 those in even-numbered districts.<\/p>\n
At the top of the ballot will be the race for governor. Democratic incumbent Josh Shapiro<\/a> and Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity will face off for the highest office in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania currently has a divided government with a Democratic governor, a Republican-controlled state Senate, and a Democratic majority in the state House. This year\u2019s election will determine who gets to set policy in the Keystone State.<\/p>\n Spotlight PA\u2019s nonpartisan election coverage will focus on connecting the stakes of select races to the lives of Pennsylvanians, and monitoring and explaining the systems that underpin Pennsylvania elections and their administration.<\/p>\n We will provide essential election information on the candidates in key statewide races, share how to participate in the electoral process, and explain how election systems are supposed to work. All of this coverage can be found on the Spotlight PA Election Center website<\/a>.<\/p>\n We will create interactive tools and resources to help voters to choose the candidates who best reflect their needs and values. We will continue to publish our election content in Spanish. We aim to reach, educate, and empower voters in new ways.<\/p>\n This voter-centric approach builds upon the years of election reporting at the core of our public-service mission. Regardless of political affiliation, trusted and nonpartisan election reporting is the bedrock of an informed electorate and an informed vote.<\/p>\n As always, all of Spotlight PA\u2019s public-service election coverage will be free and available to all on spotlightpa.org<\/a> and through the more than 125 community newsroom partners across the state that republish our work.<\/p>\n Skip to sectionThe races we will cover and why<\/p>\n Candidates for governor, Congress, and the state legislature will be on the ballot this November. We\u2019ll cover each one a little differently based on our resources and what we expect other media coverage to capture.<\/p>\n Governor<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s race is central to our mission to report on Pennsylvania\u2019s government. The governor wields significant power, approving or vetoing legislation, managing a massive state employee workforce, and overseeing state agencies that spend billions of taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n Our team of dedicated reporters will dig into the candidates\u2019 records and policy stances, examine who is spending money on these races and why, and explain the important role a governor plays in the lives of everyday Pennsylvanians.<\/p>\n State House and Senate<\/p>\n There will be a whopping 228 state legislative races on the ballot this year, making it impossible for us to provide in-depth coverage of every race. Instead, we\u2019ll focus on the most contested legislative races and those that carry statewide importance. We\u2019ll also publish a guide to vetting these candidates so you can make an informed decision.<\/p>\n Congress<\/p>\n Previously, Spotlight PA has only covered congressional races in a limited way. But that changes this year. Through a new partnership with the Associated Press, readers will receive regular reporting on these candidates and the state of the races, as well as dedicated reporting from our team focused on select competitive races.<\/p>\n How we will cover candidates<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve done in previous years, Spotlight PA will provide in-depth information about gubernatorial candidates, their policy positions, and what those policies would mean for Pennsylvania. These reports will be informed by our newsroom talking with elected officials, candidates, campaign staffers, and you.<\/p>\n What we will not do: regularly publish \u201chorse race\u201d coverage \u2014 stories that focus on campaign stops, the latest attacks, or who is winning or losing in the polls. Other news outlets will provide that coverage, and we don\u2019t see a need to duplicate it. If you\u2019d like to follow the granular developments on the campaign trail, sign up for Spotlight PA\u2019s daily newsletter, PA Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Horse race coverage has also been shown to exacerbate the extreme partisanship we see today. Research compiled by the Journalist\u2019s Resource<\/a>, a project of Harvard and the Carnegie-Knight Initiative, shows that these stories can lead to distrust in news outlets and politicians, as well as create an \u201cuninformed electorate.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, Spotlight PA does not publish any editorial or opinion content, nor does it take a position on any particular political party or policy. The newsroom also does not endorse candidates.<\/p>\n How we will cover voting, the electoral system, and misinformation<\/p>\n Our effort to empower voters has three planks: to provide reliable information about where candidates stand on the issues; to explain how elections in Pennsylvania are run; and to educate voters on how to protect themselves against misinformation.<\/p>\n We call this a voter-centric approach.<\/p>\n We will produce voter guides for the election that provide critical information about deadlines, where to vote, how to vote, and how to get involved in the process. All of this coverage will be available as part of the Spotlight PA Election Center website<\/a>, and some of it will also be available in Spanish.<\/p>\n ELECTION 2026<\/p>\n En Espa\u00f1olEscr\u00edbenos<\/p>\n In English<\/p>\n Spotlight PA is covering Pennsylvania’s 2026 election \u2014 and we want you to help shape our stories. Tell us what you want to know about the races on your ballot, and send us any questions you have about the voting system. Use the form below to reach our election team.<\/p>\n \u00bfTienes informaci\u00f3n que debemos saber? Escr\u00edbenos.<\/p>\n After the 2020 presidential election and in the years since, Pennsylvania\u2019s voting process \u2014 in particular, its mail voting law \u2014 has come under intense scrutiny and attack by Republicans, some of whom have advanced false or misleading claims put forth by President Donald Trump. Our coverage will help readers parse the noise from the facts.<\/p>\n This approach, called \u201cprebunking,\u201d is an alternative to traditional fact-checking by news organizations. Instead of chasing down every false claim, we educate and empower voters to better recognize these efforts and guard against them. In doing so, we monitor for areas of voter confusion and explain how processes and government work. Confusion is often the precursor to mis- and disinformation taking hold.<\/p>\n We aim to support readers in their search for facts.<\/p>\n If you are concerned about confusing or false information being disseminated about this election or the voting process, please contact us using the form below. Your observations on the ground may help shape our reporting on the election.<\/p>\n How we will cover election results<\/p>\n News organizations have traditionally collected voting results in hopes of reporting on a winner or projected winner in a race on the night of the election. For many reasons, this approach is no longer viable in Pennsylvania during some high-turnout elections, and can contribute to confusion and mistrust.<\/p>\n By state law, Pennsylvania counties cannot process mail ballots before Election Day, and many have different procedures for counting votes and in what order.<\/p>\n For those reasons and more, we will not publish results stories until the vast majority or all of the ballots are tabulated, and then report on the projected winner. What matters to us is being right, not first.<\/p>\n For voters interested in seeing rolling tallies, Spotlight PA will publish and make available for free a tool that displays Associated Press results. Learn more about how the AP calls races here<\/a>.<\/p>\n How we connect our coverage to voters<\/p>\n In 2026, Spotlight PA will continue past efforts and launch a set of new projects designed to engage voters \u2014 especially younger ones who primarily get their information from social media \u2014 and connect them with crucial election information.<\/p>\n Spanish-language resources and outreach<\/p>\n Spotlight PA will continue to offer some of our election content, voter resources, and guides in Spanish to reach the growing Latino voting bloc that resides in the state. Part of this endeavor includes growing our Spanish-language partners across the state to distribute this content.<\/p>\n Interactive tools<\/p>\n Spotlight PA will publish interactive tools to help voters better understand the races on their ballot. That includes a candidate quiz focused on the governor\u2019s race, modeled after our popular row office quiz.<\/a><\/p>\n Spotlight PA is also regularly updating a tool that tracks and visualizes voter registration changes across the state.<\/a><\/p>\n Social videos<\/p>\n During the past several election cycles, Spotlight PA has produced social media videos focused on important election information. Our team has produced explainers on Pennsylvania\u2019s closed primary system<\/a> and how to vote by mail<\/a>, as well as detailed candidate guides and more.<\/p>\n For the November general election, we will continue to expand our presence on social media with the help of a grant from the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. A dedicated reporter, Kate Huangpu, will translate our important election stories, explainers, and guides into a video format, building off her election video work from the primary election. We will also launch a video series, modeled after our reporting on the gubernatorial candidates\u2019 policy positions, called 1 Vote, 2 Pennsylvanias, which breaks down the issues that matter most to voters \u2014 from rising energy costs to Medicaid, immigration and more \u2014 and explain where the candidates stand.<\/p>\n Follow our accounts on Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> to see our work as it is published.<\/p>\n How you can help guide our coverage<\/p>\n Spotlight PA\u2019s coverage aims to put voters first.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Estrada, Pennsylvania’s first and only democracy editor, leads our Democracy Initiative. Estrada\u2019s mission is to identify the information voters need to make an informed decision and make sure it reaches them.<\/p>\n She will ensure Spotlight PA\u2019s Election Center is a one-stop resource for all voter and candidate guides, watchdog coverage, and public-service tools and explainers.<\/p>\n If you have ideas for the Democracy Initiative and how Spotlight PA can better serve you this election, contact Estrada at eestrada@spotlightpa.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spotlight PA also wants to hear your questions about the races. We won\u2019t be able to answer all of them, but our team of reporters will get to as many as possible. Send a message using the form below (if you can\u2019t see the form, click here<\/a>):<\/p>\n ELECTION 2026<\/p>\n En Espa\u00f1olEscr\u00edbenos<\/p>\n In English<\/p>\n Spotlight PA is covering Pennsylvania’s 2026 election \u2014 and we want you to help shape our stories. Tell us what you want to know about the races on your ballot, and send us any questions you have about the voting system. Use the form below to reach our election team.<\/p>\n \u00bfTienes informaci\u00f3n que debemos saber? Escr\u00edbenos.<\/p>\n Where you can find our coverage<\/p>\n All of Spotlight PA\u2019s election coverage will be available on our site and through more than 125 newsroom partners across the state. All election-related content, from stories to voter guides and interactive tools, will also be available in our Election Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to one of our newsletters, you\u2019ll also get periodic Voter Alerts letting you know about our latest coverage, key developments, and important upcoming dates. Sign up at spotlightpa.org\/newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n BEFORE YOU GO\u2026 If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you<\/a> who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n