This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Two rising stars within the Pennsylvania Democratic Party had speaking roles at the Democratic National Convention. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis gave a speech centered around building bridges and improving infrastructure on Day One of the convention, while state Rep. and Democratic nominee for auditor general Malcolm Kenyatta ripped into the radical right-wing agenda outlined by Project 2025 and said it’s time for a new generation of voters and leaders to make an impact.

The congressional race in Pennsylvania’s 7th district between U.S. Rep. Susan Wild and challenger Ryan Mackenzie is living up to the incumbent’s last name. Former President Donald Trump endorsed GOP state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie on social media Monday night and Mackenzie, who’s looking to make the jump from the state House to U.S. House after 12 years in Harrisburg, has enthusiastically embraced Trump on the campaign trail.

A jury sided with a former social studies Allentown teacher in Allentown in a lawsuit over his attending the Jan. 6, 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally. Jason Moorehead was awarded $131,500 in damages after he alleged the school district violated his constitutional rights and the teachers union collective bargaining agreement when it suspended him without cause for seven months before ultimately terminating him – even as he asserted he didn’t attend the post-rally riots. 

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showed up too late to testify at a Pennsylvania court proceeding centered around challenges to his candidacy, which could decide whether the scion of the Kennedy family will appear on the ballot this fall. According to The Associated Press, Kennedy cited a canceled flight as the reason for appearing an hour and 40 minutes late and later ripped Democrats for mounting legal challenges against his campaign. And in the days following, it’s been reported that Kennedy plans to drop out of the race by the end of the week and endorse former President Donald Trump. 

A proposed ballot referendum that sought to ban the City of Pittsburgh from investing in or doing business with the State of Israel failed to garner enough valid signatures and won’t appear on the ballot this fall, according to WTAE. The effort would have barred the city from investing in entities that conduct business with Israel, though critics of the proposed ballot measure said the referendum would have violated state and federal laws.

False flags to law enforcement don’t fly. A Montgomery County Republican leader, Matt McCaffery, was reportedly the victim of “swatting” – when someone files a false report with police to get officers to show up at their property – after someone claimed that McCaffery had locked a girl in a closet and was pointing a gun at her head, just hours after McCaffery appeared on CNN to explain why he’ll be voting for Kamala Harris.