Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcc5 There are 25 days until Election Day.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a governor\u2019s race at the top of the November ticket. But this week might have been the first time some Pennsylvanians heard of it \u2014 or, at least, learned who is challenging Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a>, as state Treasurer Stacy Garrity<\/a> lags behind him by 25 points in the latest statewide poll of likely voters and remains unknown by a quarter of her own party<\/a>. <\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa4 I\u2019m Gillian McGoldrick, The Inquirer\u2019s Harrisburg reporter, and I\u2019ve been following all the twists and turns of Pennsylvania\u2019s gubernatorial election that date back to late 2024. It was then when Republicans<\/a> were determining who they\u2019d choose for the top of the ticket, in hopes of avoiding the same downballot repercussions they saw with an unpopular gubernatorial candidate in 2022 \u2014 and with an overall goal to more seriously challenge Shapiro.<\/p>\n We sat down with Garrity last week to learn more about the retired U.S. Army colonel and business executive who has struggled to compete with Shapiro\u2019s deep pockets and multi-million dollar weekly ad buys \u2014 and why she thinks President Donald Trump<\/a> may still come to Pennsylvania to stump for her ahead of the Nov. 3 election<\/a>.<\/p>\n The two candidates also met on the debate stage on Wednesday,<\/a> in what was Shapiro\u2019s first debate since 2016. (Practicing for 2028, anyone?) Both gave even-tempered and well-rehearsed showings that could make or break their political futures, as Garrity needed to give an attention-grabbing performance to help salvage her campaign, while Shapiro wanted to dominate as part of his efforts to generate enthusiasm for Democrats<\/a> to help flip the U.S. House and get a trifecta in Harrisburg.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udce9It\u2019s up to you to decide how they did \u2014 drop me a line (gmcgoldrick@inquirer.com<\/a>) and tell me your favorite moments from the 2026 governor\u2019s debate, hosted by Harrisburg\u2019s abc27.<\/p>\n In this edition:<\/p>\n \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f Head-to-head: Shapiro and Garrity sparred over Trump\u2019s leadership, the state budget deficit, and more in their lone debate ahead of Election Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f’The cavalry will be coming\u2019: Why Garrity still expects help competing against Shapiro, as Republicans face strong national headwinds<\/a>. <\/p>\n \ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f House wars: Both House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are making trips to Pennsylvania, signaling how critical they consider four Pennsylvania congressional races in deciding which party controls the U.S. House<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 Gillian McGoldrick, Fallon Roth, Michelle Baruchman, Sam Janesch, (pa2026@inquirer.com)<\/a><\/p>\n The latest<\/p>\n We\u2019re approaching the final three weeks until Election Day and both parties are pouring all they can into getting their message out to voters<\/a> (read: back-to-back TV ads) in Pennsylvania\u2019s key swing districts. Let\u2019s follow the money:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa Out of the state\u2019s four competitive congressional races, the 7th District contest between Democrat Bob Brooks and U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who is considered to be one of the most vulnerable Republicans on the ballot this cycle, is by far the most expensive, with $27.8 million in total in ad spends and reservations between June and December, according to media tracking firm AdImpact.<\/p>\n Democrats have allocated roughly $10 million in advertising so far to the general election race in the 7th, which is based in the Lehigh Valley, and the party\u2019s top advertiser is the House Majority PAC. The GOP has earmarked about $17 million, and the Republicans\u2019 top advertiser in the 7th is the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC. <\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa Up in the Scranton area, where Democrat Paige Cognetti is challenging GOP U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, spending is pretty close between Democrats and Republicans \u2014 each allocating about $12 million in spending and reservations between June and December. In the Harrisburg-based 10th District, between Democrat Janelle Stelson and Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry<\/a>, it\u2019s also a pretty tight money race, as Democrats have spent $9.9 million on ad buys, while the GOP has spent $11.5 million <\/p>\n \ud83d\udcfa The least expensive is the 1st Congressional District (a total of $13.6 million in spends and reservations), but Democrats, with Harvie at the top of the ticket, are outdoing the GOP in ad buys at the moment by roughly $3 million, including a recent boost in attention from party leaders and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.<\/p>\n Fitzpatrick, the longtime GOP incumbent, is spending and reserving far more on ads than he has before \u2014 $4.5 million in total between June and December. <\/p>\n During the entirety of his 2024 reelection bid, Fitzpatrick\u2019s campaign spent roughly $460,000 on ads. <\/p>\n Campaign scrapple<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude81 High flyers: There\u2019s a new commonality between LeBron James<\/a> and Josh Shapiro, besides their love of basketball: The helicopter James is using to commute between Philadelphia and New York City<\/a> is provided by Fanatics, the multibillion-dollar sports empire led by Shapiro\u2019s longtime friend Michael Rubin. Rubin previously allowed Shapiro to use the same luxury helicopter with the same tail number \u2014 in addition to three others owned by Rubin \u2014 amounting to a total $68,000 in in-kind contributions in 2024, according to campaign finance and flight records<\/a>. (H\/t to SpotlightPA\u2019s Stephen Caruso<\/a> for first pointing it out.)<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc8d He went to Jarrett: Democrats are borrowing the popular jewelry store\u2019s motto in a new negative ad about State Sen. Jarrett Coleman<\/a> (R., Lehigh\/Bucks) as they target his seat in hopes of flipping the state Senate to their control for the first time in 30 years.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcf8 Behind the scenes snapshot <\/a><\/p>\n In an interview with The Inquirer last week, Garrity discussed her military background, policy positions, and the status of her campaign against Shapiro. She\u2019s been largely financially abandoned by state and national Republicans as they spend resources elsewhere. With less than a month until the election, she said she hopes they\u2019ll still come through<\/a>.<\/p>\n What we\u2019re watching<\/p>\n \ud83e\udd11 Candidates for Congress will file their latest campaign finance reports next week, offering insight into the kinds of crucial resources they\u2019ll need for the final weeks of their campaigns. Democratic challengers in Pennsylvania\u2019s four competitive districts have previously out-raised the Republican incumbents \u2014 except for one<\/a>: Harvie\u2019s campaign against Fitzpatrick in Bucks. Stay tuned as our team dives into the details.<\/p>\n