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** 1. Dave McCormick won. Bob Casey should not drag the state through a pointless recount ([link removed])
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By Kyle Sammin

The race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania was tight. The race between Dave McCormick and Bob Casey was even tighter. But at the end of the day, both Republicans were leading by an amount unlikely to be overturned. By this afternoon, that “unlikely” is becoming “impossible.”

Casey’s people say their man hasa path to victory ([link removed]) if the few uncounted votes left are in their favor. They’re wrong, and should concede now and save the taxpayers the expense of a recount.

Why It Matters. But Pennsylvania’s election system, while stilldeeply flawed ([link removed]) , has improved since 2020. They started counting the mail vote at the beginning of the day, not after polls closed. That means they are already a day ahead of the 2020 pace. Moreover, with the pandemic ended, fewer people voted by mail, so there are fewer to count in the first place. The rules are more certain, thanks to state supreme court rulings, with less wiggle room to challenge the exclusion of improper ballots. An added thorn in Casey’s side is that this time, unlike 2020, Trump told his voters to vote early. The mail vote is still more Democratic than Republican, but not by nearly as much.

There is one final wrinkle that will seal the deal for McCormick. In Cambria County (which Trump carried by 37 percentage points in 2020)mechanical difficulties ([link removed]) mean that the whole county is still being hand-counted. Two-thirds of that deeply Republican county — around 40 or 50 thousand ballots — is still yet to be reported. Experts sayCambria will net McCormick 20,000 votes ([link removed]) .

It’s over — for Kamala and for Bob.

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 2. The biggest winner of this week’s election is the alternative media ([link removed])
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By Beth Ann Rosica

There were big winners and losers this week, but perhaps the most important victory goes to the alternative media outlets who do not succumb to being the mouthpiece for a particular political party. Even the mainstream media outlets are acknowledging they have a problem.

Brian Stetler ofCNN ([link removed]) wrote the morning after the election, “[Trump’s] defeat of Kamala Harris is raising questions about the media’s credibility, influence, and audience. Some of the questions might not be answerable for years.”

Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post, penned anop-ed ([link removed]) with a similar message. “In the annual public surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress. But in this year’s Gallup poll, we have managed to fall below Congress. Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not working.”

Why It Matters. Locally, I like to think that Broad + Liberty plays a similar role — of course, I am biased since I write here every week. Broad + Liberty ([link removed]) was founded on the principles to “promote innovative ideas, diverse and disruptive viewpoints, and positive policies that hit home for our readers, supporters and followers.”

While many of our editorial pieces are right-leaning, we are always willing and typically eager to publish both sides. Occasionally, we run point and counterpoint stories to illustrate different perspectives. And our investigative journalism is consistently focused on presenting the facts and uncovering information that other news outlets are often unwilling to write about. We diligently differentiate between fact and opinion.

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 3. Lightning Round
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* Christine Flowers: My new best friends ([link removed])
* Guy Ciarrocchi: McCormick is the leader Pennsylvania needs ([link removed])
* David P. Hardy: Philadelphia teachers — like their students — want educational choice ([link removed])
* Jeff Hurvitz: Philadelphia’s bike path to obstruction ([link removed])
* Thom Nickels: Philadelphia’s grande dame of the essay ([link removed])


** 4. In the News
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Broad + Liberty Chief Investigative Reporter Todd Shepherd was quoted in Columbia Journalism Review ([link removed]) , "I find it obscene that an outlet like [Courier] asks their readers for $10 and $20 contributions when they’re running million-dollar Facebook campaigns like this, like they’re asking their readers to support their ‘journalism.’”

Continue reading ([link removed])


** 5. What we're reading
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Where to begin, right? Like most of you, we’re reading our share of post-election analysis. Against all odds, Donald Trump is returning to the White House and everyone wants to tell us why. Dan McLaughlin at National Review writes this week that Democrats made a lot of bad choices that drove voters away ([link removed]) . Josh Barro writes a similar take at his Substack, arguing that Democrats “deserved to lose this election ([link removed]) , even if Trump did not deserve to win it.” At The Free Press, River Page breaks down Trump’s strategy of reaching young voters through alternative media ([link removed]) . Harris’s decision not to go on Joe Rogan’s show looks as consequential as Hillary not campaigning in Wisconsin. There’s so much more, and more to come in the coming weeks — including right here at Broad + Liberty. Stay
tuned!

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With gratitude,

— The Editors at Broad + Liberty
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