Common Sense Weekly

Welcome to Common Sense Weekly! This is the Commonwealth Foundation's weekly news roundup of policy issues being debated in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania.



Josh Shapiro and the Election Heist

Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey refuses to concede his re-election loss to Republican challenger Dave McCormick. Because Mr. McCormick leads by less than 0.5 percentage point, an automatic recount begins Wednesday.

It’s a mess. In four counties—Bucks, Philadelphia, Centre and Montgomery—election officials openly defied a 2023 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision by counting undated or misdated ballots in an effort to drag Mr. Casey over the finish line. On Monday afternoon, the state supreme court issued an unsigned order to the counties: They “SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified that mail-in and absentee ballots that fail to comply with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Election Code . . . SHALL NOT BE COUNTED” (capitalization in original).



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Casey Won’t Admit Defeat, But Here’s Why He Lost

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey's final days in office read like a cautionary tale about the dangers of political evolution. His inbox overflows with increasingly desperate fundraising pleas – "Some bad news," "More bad news," "To avoid catastrophe" – while his campaign has embraced an unlikely role: election truther. The three-term senator now spams supporters daily, begging for $5 contributions to fund recounts against Republican Dave McCormick, whose narrow victory most media outlets have already confirmed.

The collapse of Casey's careful political balancing act

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offers a masterclass in how not to navigate America's shifting electoral landscape. Commonwealth Foundation

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polling captured this decline in real time: Casey's favorability ratings cratered from 50% to 44% between the second and third quarters of 2024, while his favorable-to-unfavorable margin shrank from a comfortable 14 points to a precarious 3. These weren't just numbers – they were warning signs of an expired political brand in free fall.



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How the Republican Party Should Change Washington

With their recent victories, President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans received a new mandate to act.

But what does this mandate entail? Hints from the campaign trail provide insight on what this new administration must tackle first.

By reining in executive authority, extending tax relief, cutting federal spending, and slashing red tape, the Trump administration and Congress can usher in a new era of economic prosperity and fiscal responsibility.



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People First Energy Policy Is a Winning Issue for Trump and the GOP

In a historic 2024 election that returned Donald Trump to the White House, Americans decisively voiced their preference for a positive, people-first energy agenda prioritizing security, reliability, and affordability. Voting with their ballots and wallets, Americans rejected the left’s depressingly pessimistic and costly energy deprivation agenda that prioritizes carbon emissions over their wellbeing.

In an election shaped by pressing economic concerns, the energy issue emerged as a critical tipping point, especially in pivotal energy-producing states like West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Montana. With wins in West Virginia and Ohio and likely victories in Pennsylvania and Montana, the GOP will control the U.S. Senate. It has firmly positioned itself as the party committed to energy dominance to the benefit of all Americans, starkly contrasting the Democrats’ costly emissions-focused policies rooted in energy deprivation.



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Low-achieving Pennsylvania Schools Failing to Tell Parents About School Choice Funds

Schools are failing and help’s available, but few know about it.

That’s apparently what’s happening in Pennsylvania to tens of thousands of students trapped in low-achieving schools.

Schools in the Keystone state that score in the bottom 15% on annual math and reading tests are classified as low-achieving. Of 382 such schools across the state, 255 have had that designation for the last six years, according to the Commonwealth Foundation

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, a Harrisburg think-tank.



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