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Who has fundraising edge in state AG race?

Plus, key Jan. 6 riot case centers on ex-PA cop.

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Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Today: AG money, Act 40, SCOTUS divided, Fetterman on Biden, lax laws, and Pittsburgh's 'Sudden Little Thrills' lineup. Thanks for checking in.
FUNDRAISING REPORTS

The five Democrats running to be Pennsylvania’s next attorney general raised almost $1.2 million in the weeks leading up to the April 23 primary, mostly from Philadelphia trade unions, lawyers, elected officials, and other monied interests based in the city, Spotlight PA reports.

In the two-way Republican race, the party-backed candidate outraised his opponent while getting a major spending boost from a conservative political group backed by Pennsylvania’s wealthiest man, Jeff Yass.

Read the full rundown: Pa. election 2024: What the latest fundraising reports tell us about the attorney general race.

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NOTABLE / QUOTABLE

"I love Kevin Boyle, and I want him to get the help he needs."

Pa. House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) on state Rep. Kevin Boyle; hours after the quote published on Tuesday, reports said an arrest warrant for Boyle (D., Philly) had been issued
🗳️ ELECTION ESSENTIALS

📅 UPCOMING EVENTS

BROKEN PRIMARIES: Join us Friday from 6-7 p.m. ET on Zoom for a Spotlight PA members-only event with Nick Troiano, author of The Primary Solution, a new book on how our partisan primaries are fueling the political divide in America and what we can do about it. Sponsored by Ballot PA.

Become a Spotlight PA member here and you'll be automatically registered for the event.
 
📷 POST IT
The newly restored cupola on Chambersburg Borough Hall, via Jeffrey S. Have a Pennsylvania photo to share? Send it to us by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania
A shiny bronze dome on a tower overlooking hills.
DAILY RUNDOWN
Today's top news story in Pennsylvania.KEY RACE: How would the primary candidates for Pennsylvania attorney general use the office if elected? The Inquirer (paywall) reports the Democrats are vowing legal fights over everything from gun violence to pollution, while the Republicans are focused on driving down crime rates or curbing the illicit opioid supply. Today's second top news story in Pennsylvania.
ON ACT 40: A state law (Act 40) allowing Pennsylvania's attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor with jurisdiction over Philadelphia public transit crimes divided Democratic candidates for AG in a Monday forum, Capital-Star reports. Some dismissed it as an anti-democratic "stunt." Others were more supportive.
  • Court fight begins over Act 40's constitutionality, via NBC10
Today's third top news story in Pennsylvania.
J6 FELONIES: The case of a former Lebanon County policeman charged with rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 reached the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. At issue: whether federal prosecutors improperly charged hundreds of accused Capitol rioters. The justices appeared divided, per ABC News.

Today's fourth top news story in Pennsylvania.
BIDEN CRITICS: U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) is panning "uncommitted" protest voters for abandoning President Joe Biden over the Israel-Hamas war while simultaneously criticizing Biden over the conflict himself — just from the other direction, Business Insider reports. Fetterman insists that isn't a fair comparison.

Today's fifth top news story in Pennsylvania.
FULL(ER) DISCLOSURE: Two bills that would tighten Pennsylvania's lax campaign finance laws have cleared the state House. One requires more finance reports of legislative candidates, avoiding last-minute data dumps. The other requires federally registered 501(c)4 nonprofits, aka "dark money" groups, to disclose their spending here.
IN OTHER NEWS
DEFUNDING NPR: U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R., Pa.) has signed onto a bill that would bar federal funding for NPR and PBS, via @CPotterPgh. Reschenthaler's support follows a "right-wing revolt."

OFFICIAL CHARGED: The longtime manager of Newville Borough in Cumberland County is facing felony charges a year after "financial discrepancies" prompted his ouster, WHTM reports.

TAX RELIEF: Twenty years after then-Gov. Ed Rendell promised to quickly reach $1 billion in property tax relief, PennLive (paywall) reports casino gambling revenue is close to bringing that pledge to fruition.

PLAY LIST: The Killers and SZA will headline September's two-day Sudden Little Thrills music festival in Pittsburgh. Melanie Martinez, Wiz Khalifa, and others will be there too. General admission tickets are $249.

GAME ON? Philly is on a list of potential WNBA expansion markets announced by commissioner (and Lehigh University alum) Cathy Engelbert this week. City & State says plans for a Center City arena could factor in.  
 
SCRAMBLER
Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted.
 
A C C T I A G L

Yesterday's answer: Abrogation

Congrats to our daily winners: Don H., Barbara F., Daniel M., Bob C., Beth H., Jon W., Jane R., Stacy S., Tom M., Kimberly D., Val F., Vicki U., Richard A., Alan B., Ada M., Craig E., Malachy M., David W., Giovanni C., Betty S., Wendy A., Janet S., Susan N.-Z., Jeffrey F., and William Z.
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