This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

The underdog of this year’s Pennsylvania Senate race suddenly found himself on top. Republican challenger Dave McCormick, who has steadily lagged three-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey in a tight race, took a narrow lead in several polls last week, prompting the Cook Political Report to reclassify the contest as a toss-up. McCormick’s momentum was bolstered by a flood of super PAC spending and, according to some reports, a rightward shift from the commonwealth’s Jewish voters.

Move over, Jack Skellington: The true pumpkin king lives right here in Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania pumpkin growers Dave and Carol Stelts recently won a “Grower of the Year” award at the 29th annual Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers weigh-off, thanks in part to a 2,731-pound pumpkin. The pumpkin may have fallen 18 pounds short of the U.S. and world record, but it still left people saying: “Oh my Gourd!”

In a bright spot for bipartisanship this week, a measure making Diwali, the South Asian Festival of Lights, an official state holiday was signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro – just in time for this year's festivity, which begins next week. The bill, co-sponsored by state Sens. Greg Rothman and Nikil Saval, recognizes a holiday celebrated annually by more than 1 billion people worldwide, including hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. 

It’s not election season without a little voter registration drama. The Pennsylvania Department of State and the Lancaster County Commissioners are in a back-and-forth over student voter registration after out-of-state students accused the county of requiring proof of deregistration before they could vote in Pennsylvania. Several students at Franklin & Marshall College filed complaints with the department, though county officials claim the issue has been misrepresented. The true losers here? Confused students caught in the crossfire.

Federal officials charged Philadelphia man John Courtney Pollard with a felony count of transmitting interstate threats this week after he reportedly threatened to kill – and skin alive – a political campaign operative who was working to recruit volunteer poll watchers in this year’s election, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Now, however, it’s Pollard’s hide on the line, as he faces up to five years in prison if convicted. 

A sudden barrage of vitriolic reviews for McDonald’s Feasterville-Trevose location – where former President Donald Trump cosplayed at the takeout window last weekend – prompted Yelp to briefly freeze reviews, most of which were spicier than the food. “Senile old man got bronzer on my fries” was a typical comment from critics who were not lovin’ it, while user photos – formerly entrée close-ups – now mostly show Trump doing his best at the fryer.