HARRISBURG — State Treasurer Stacy Garrity has been the Pennsylvania Republican Party’s endorsed candidate for governor since September, but few candidates have stepped up to run alongside her for lieutenant governor.
Only two candidates have officially thrown their hats in the ring for Republican lieutenant governor, as Garrity faces the uphill battle of running against a popular incumbent in Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. And despite amassing unusually early support from the state party, recruiting someone to run as her No. 2 has proven challenging, as some potential candidates have declined to run.
Garrity said Monday at the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon she’s in talks with “a lot of people,” and she’s confident she’ll find a running mate “perfect for the ticket.”
But time is of the essence, as she has less than a month until the state GOP meets for its winter meeting, where the party is expected to endorse a lieutenant governor candidate. Whomever she picks is likely to get the nod.
“In many respects, it’s up to Stacy Garrity,” said GOP strategist Charlie Gerow. “The lieutenant governor candidate has to not only be a good political fit, but has to be a good personal fit for her. Otherwise, the ticket falls apart before you get to Election Day.”
So far, the only two GOP candidates to formally announce their campaigns for lieutenant governor are State Sen. Cris Dush (R., Jefferson), who is one of the most conservative members of the Senate GOP caucus, and Bucks County businessman and political newcomer Brian Thomas. Dush said he’d likely pursue the GOP primary nomination even if he isn’t endorsed by the state party, while Thomas announced his candidacy last week in a press release and said he is now reaching out to party leaders seeking their support.
And more far-right Republicans have publicly floated a run, teeing up a potential battle among some of the state’s most conservative members to run alongside Garrity on the November ballot.
In Pennsylvania, candidates for lieutenant governor face their own primary races separate from the candidates for governor. After the primary, the winners are joined onto one ticket and run together in the general election.
Former State Rep. Rick Saccone, who previously ran for lieutenant governor and was on U.S. Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot but did not face criminal charges, has publicly stated his interest in the role. Saccone said he would not enter the race if the state party backed another candidate.
And State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a far-right Republican who lost to Shapiro in 2022 and last week ruled out a second run for the GOP nomination, later claimed on a local radio station that Garrity would need him as her running mate if she wants to win.
Few more moderate options have emerged.
Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello, a Republican from Shapiro’s home county, said in an interview that he had been approached about pursuing the role. DiBello said he received a positive reception when he traveled the state contemplating a run, but he implied Monday that he’d moved on. On Tuesday night DiBello lost his bid to be the next chair of the county party to his former running mate, Liz Ferry.
“I had a lot of support out there as far as potentially running for lieutenant governor, but I’m right now very dedicated to Montgomery County,” DiBello added.
A number of other officials are rumored to have withdrawn themselves from consideration or are still in talks with Garrity’s campaign, several Republican insiders said.
This time around, the sense among Pennsylvania state party members is that Garrity should be given leeway to choose her running mate and party faithful will endorse her choice.
Many hadn’t even heard who might be in the running. But several Republicans who spoke to The Inquirer said they think Garrity needs to pick someone who will appeal to Democrats and independents who voted for Shapiro four years ago.
“We’re a purple state, and my sense is a more moderate candidate that appeals to a bigger swath of the electorate would be, if I were selecting, would be a preference here,” said Jason Richey, the chair of the Allegheny County GOP.
Or, as Val Biancaniello, a Republican state committeewoman from Delaware County, put it, a candidate needs “statewide appeal.”
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity greets supporters following a campaign rally in Bucks County on Sept. 25, 2025. The GOP gubernatorial candidate visited the Newtown Sports & Events Center, in one of Pennsylvania’s top swing counties.
DiBello argued that Garrity’s running mate needs corporate and government experience, though he refused to name anyone else being considered behind the scenes. Garrity said she believed that DiBello was no longer “in the mix” for the job, but she did not expand further.
“I’m not putting my finger on the scale,” DiBello said before joking: “I’ve heard this Montgomery County commissioner would be awesome. I’ll put my finger on that scale.”
Garrity largely declined to comment on the candidates whose names have been circulating for her running mate, except for Mastriano.
“I didn’t even know he wasn’t running for governor until last week,” Garrity told reporters, noting her friendship with Mastriano. “We’re in discussion with a number of people, and I know that we will have the absolute best partner as lieutenant governor when the time is right.”
In his campaign launch Thursday, Shapiro tied Garrity to the extremes of her party, asking voters to choose between “getting stuff done” and “chaos.” A far-right running mate will make that message easier for Democrats as they work to secure the governor’s mansion for another four years.
Despite this, Mastriano was bullish Friday morning speaking on WEEO News Talk 103.7 FM in central Pennsylvania.
“That’s a possibility,” Mastriano said about a potential lieutenant governor run. “To be honest, that probably [is] the only way to generate some excitement for the Garrity ticket, and we know Garrity being on top of the ticket, that’s probably the only way the party would win if I did that.”
A Montgomery County office — which one county commissioner described as a far less controversial version of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — has helped the county find $14 million in savings within the past year and reduce the deficit by half.
Montgomery County’s Office of Innovation, Strategy, and Performance (OISP), announced in February 2025, spent the last year meeting with department heads to identify areas for cost cutting and streamlining services, such as eliminating almost a dozen vacant positions worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, saving $1.5 million on a prescription benefits provider, and conserving half a million dollars by bringing some county legal services in house.
In 2026, the office could consider integrating artificial intelligence into county services, with the support of all three commissioners, aimed at cutting red tape for residents and county employees.
“It’s kind of like DOGE,” said Commissioner Vice Chair Neil Makhija, a Democrat, noting that the office has “outlived” DOGE’s period of high activity when Musk was in charge before he stepped away last spring.
“We didn’t just take the richest person in the county and tell them to cut, you know, benefits for poor people, which is what the federal DOGE was,” Makhija said.
The office’s work comes on the heels of the county’s $632.7 million operating budget and a roughly $25.5 million deficit, resulting in a 4% property tax increase for residents.
Republicans have made looking for inefficiencies in government part of their brand. But Democratic leaders in Pennsylvania have also started taking on streamlining government.Gov. Josh Shapiro has touted how he’s cut processing time for licensesand accelerated the permitting process for building projects.
And in blue Montgomery County, a bipartisan group of leaders says that responsible government efficiency should be a pillar of good government, regardless of political party.
“What happened with DOGE at the federal level was hard to watch and certainly not the approach that we’re going to take in Montgomery County, but, any leader … has to go through this exercise of are we optimizing our resources? Are we leaving money on the table? Are there opportunities to improve the performance of our people?” said County Commissioner Chair Jamila Winder, a Democrat.
“Like all of those are just disciplines that are industry agnostic, and so I don’t think it’s a Republican or a Democrat thing,” Winder added.
Commissioner Tom DiBello, the only Republican on the board, agrees, saying that he has high expectations for the office and its ability to oversee the adequate spending of taxpayer dollars.
“I mean, that’s our job. It has nothing to do with Republican or Democrat. My feeling, it has to do with taxpayer money,” DiBello said. “We’re supposed to be stewards of taxpayer money.”
Jamila H. Winder (from left), Neil Makhija, and Thomas DiBello are seated together on stage at the Montgomery County Community College gymnasium Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, during ceremonies before they were sworn in as Montgomery County’s new Board of Commissioners.
Is artificial intelligence the next step?
The OISP was launched in February 2025 after the office previously served as the county COVID-19 pandemic “Recovery Office,” ensuring approximately $161 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act were being used appropriately.
When Stephanie Tipton, deputy chief operating officer, was hired in Montgomery County in September 2024 after more than 16 years in leadership in Philadelphia, county officials started discussing how to translate that oversight practice at the “Recovery Office” to every facet of county spending and performance.
That mentality helped the OISP cut the county deficit in half and focus on ways to reduce it in the long term, such as eliminating longstanding vacant positions around the county, including on the board of assessment, which does real estate evaluations. The office also helped develop performance management standards for departments.
“What we were really interested in is finding things that we could make repeatable year after year, and that would move forward, whether that was restructuring positions and eliminating vacancies that we don’t carry forward” to doing a trend analysis on spending, said Eli Gilman, project director of the 11-person office.He noted that the team was “kind of building a plane while we were flying.”
County governments are always trying to be efficient with taxpayer dollars, said Kyle Kopko, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, especially in the aftermath of last year’s state budget impasse. But Montgomery County’s decision to have a dedicated office for efficiency is fairly unique, he said.
“This is something that has become more and more of a focus of counties everywhere just because we’re not sure if we’re going to have the consistency of on-time state funds,” Kopko said.
The next phase for the office? Cutting red tape for residents. And part of that may be through enlisting artificial intelligence, something the county has been examining through the commissioners’ “Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence for Public Good” established in April 2025.
“The goal here is like, how can we leverage this new and emerging technology to help us make it easier for residents to access services,” Tipton said. “Make it easier, reduce the burden on our frontline staff, so they can spend more time in sort of customer-facing, client-facing activities.”
AI will be something that many counties across Pennsylvania will be grappling with moving forward, Kopko said. Though some counties are wary of using it for sensitive information.
Everyone has a different idea as to what they would want to see AI used for in Montgomery County.
Makhija wants to make court documents accessible by chatbot. Winder says she wants to see AI help county employees be more efficient in their roles. And DiBello, who worked in tech software, said as long as accuracy is prioritized, AI could one day be used in situations where residents don’t have to speak directly to someone.
But first, Tipton said, the county wants to internally test AI tools to “make sure that we have the right sort of governance and guardrails” before launching it to the public.
When Tipton joined Montgomery County she said she had a “clear mandate from the commissioners” to look at department spending. She also wants it to be a transparent process for residents and the office plans to launch an open data site to the public in the second half of 2026.
“We want to make sure that moving forward, when we are making investments in the budget we can really understand more clearly how that is impacting service delivery, so we can tie that more directly to work that we’re doing,” Tipton said.
Pennsylvania’s race for governor has officially begun. And 10 months before the election, the November matchup already appears to be set.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro formally announced his reelection campaign Thursday — not that anyone thought he wouldn’t run. And Republicans have rapidly coalesced behind thestate party’s endorsed candidate, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
The racewilldominate Pennsylvania politics through November,but it could also havea national impact as Democrats hope Shapiro at the top of the state ticket can elevate the party’s chances in several key congressional races.
Here’s what you need to know about the high-stakes contest.
Shapiro was elected state attorney general in 2016, a year when Pennsylvania went for Republican Donald Trump in the presidential contest. The position put Shapiro in the national spotlight in 2020 when Trump sought to overturn his loss in the state that year through a series of legal challenges, which Shapiro’s office successfully battled in court.
He went on to decisively beat Trump-backed Republican State. Sen. Doug Mastriano for the governorship in 2022. Despite an endorsement from Trump, Mastriano lacked the support of much of Pennsylvania’s Republican establishment and spent the election cycle discouraging his supporters from voting by mail.
Throughout Shapiro’s first term as governor, he has highlighted his bipartisan bona fides and ability to “get stuff done” — his campaign motto — despite contending witha divided legislature. His launch video highlights the quick reconstruction of I-95 following a tanker explosion in 2023.
A strong supporter of Trump, Garrity is one of the only women that has been elected to statewide office in Pennsylvania history. If elected, she would be the first female governor in state history.
Garrity is a retired U.S. Army colonel who was executive at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. before she was elected treasurer in 2020. Running a relatively low-key state office, Garrity successfully lobbied Pennsylvania’s General Assembly to allow her to issue checks to residents whose unclaimed property was held by her office, even if they hadn’t filed claims requesting it.
Anyone else?
While Shapiro and Garrity are the likely nominees for their parties, candidates have until March to file petitions for the race. That theoretically leaves the possibility of a primary contest open for both candidates, but it appears unlikely at this point.
The outcome of Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race could hold wide-ranging impacts on transportation funding, election law, and education policy, among other issues.
The state’s governor has a powerful role in issuing executing actions, setting agendas for the General Assembly, and signing or vetoing new laws. The governor also appoints the secretary of state, the top Pennsylvania election official who will oversee the administration of the next presidential election in the key swing state.
Throughout the entirety of Shapiro’s first term, he has been forced to work across the aisle because of the split legislature. Throughout that time the balance of power in Harrisburg has tilted toward Democrats who hold the governor’s mansion and the Pennsylvania House. But many of the party’s goals — including expanded funding for SEPTA and other public transit — have been blocked by the Republican-held Senate.
If Garrity were to win that dynamic would shift, offering Republicans more leverage as they seek to cut state spending and expand school voucher options (while Shapiro has said he supports vouchers, the policy has not made it into any budget deals under him).
Shapiro coasted to victory against Mastriano in 2022, winning by 15 points. The 2026 election is expected to be good for Democrats with Trump becoming an increasingly unpopular president.
But Garrity is viewed as a potentially stronger opponent to take on Shapiro than Mastriano, even though her political views have often aligned with the far-right senator.
When the midterms conclude, the 2028 presidentialcycle will begin. If Shapiro can pull off another decisive win in a state that voted for Trump in 2024, it could go a long way toward aiding his national profile. But if Garrity wins, it could endthe governor’s chances of putting up a serious campaign for the presidency in 2028.
Every other race in Pennsylvania
The governor’s contest is the marquee race in Pennsylvania in 2026. Garrity and Shapiro have the ability to help or hurt candidates running for Pennsylvania’s statehouse and Congress.
The momentum of these candidates, and their ability to draw voters to the polls could play a key role in determining whether Democrats can successfully flip four competitive U.S. House districts as they attempt to take back the chamber.
Democrats also narrowly hold control of the Pennsylvania House and are hoping to flip three seats to regain control of the Pennsylvania Senate for the first time in decades. If Democrats successfully flip the state Senate blue, it would offer Shapiro a Democratic trifecta to push for long-held Democratic goals if he were to win reelection.
Strong Democratic turnout at the statewide level could drive enthusiasm down-ballot, and vice versa. Similarly, weak turnout could aid Republican incumbents in retaining their seats.
The dates
The election is still months away but here are days Pennsylvanians should put on their calendars.
May 4: Voter registration deadline for the primary election.
May 19: Primary election.
Oct. 19: Voter registration deadline for the general election.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro officially launched his widely expected bid for reelection Thursday, spending his first day back on the campaign trail in one of the nation’s most politically divided states by touting his achievements for workers, seniors, and schools while contrasting himself against Republicans in President Donald Trump’s Washington.
The Montgomery County Democrat presented his opening argument to voters Thursday afternoon in a highly produced campaign rally at a Pittsburgh union hall, before appearing Thursday night before Philadelphia voters at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Nicetown.
Shapiro, 52, of Abington Township, will pursue his reelection bid by crisscrossing the state, boasting a high approval rating that Republicans hope to damage as talk of his potential 2028 candidacy continues to build.
Shapiro took the stage in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia following speeches from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and a parade of public officials, labor leaders, and community advocates who touted his first term accomplishments, all delivering a similar message: Shapiro shows up and delivers for residents across the commonwealth.
At the Sixth Man Center, supporters and local leaders packed the event space in the youth sports center where Shapiro delivered a speech next to a huge mural of 76ers star Joel Embiid. Shapiro joked about his midrange jumper as he praised the center’s work.
“I am proud to be here on today to say that Josh Shapiro as governor of the commonwealth has delivered for us in a way that some thought … was impossible,” said Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker to an excited crowd.
The rollout signaled Shapiro’s campaign will be anchored in his administration’s motto, “Get S— Done,” emphasizing that state government should be able to solve residents’ problems effectively.
“You deserve someone who goes to work every day focused on you and on getting stuff done,” Shapiro said.
He is not expected to face a primary challenger, just like in 2022, when he later cruised to victory in the general election against far-right State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin). Mastriano, who had been teasing another run, announced Wednesday he would not join the race for governor.
This time, Republicans hope to take a stronger swing at Shapiro by coalescing around one candidate early. The state GOP endorsed State Treasurer Stacy Garrity more than a year in advance of November’s midterm election.
State Treasurer and Republican candidate for governor Stacy Garrity holds a rally on Sept. 25, 2025 at the Newtown Sports & Events Center in Bucks County.
State Republican Party Chair Greg Rothman said in a statement Thursday that Pennsylvanians have had “enough of Josh Shapiro’s lack of leadership and broken promises,” noting several of Shapiro’s missteps in his administration such as his reneging on school vouchers, a $295,000 payout over a sexual harassment claim against a former top aide, and failing to send a month’s worth of state agency mail.
“[Garrity] actually gets stuff done, she doesn’t just talk about it on the campaign trail,” Rothman added.
Garrity has contended that Shapiro — a former attorney general, county commissioner, and state representative — is more focused on running for president in 2028 than leading the state.
“Josh Shapiro is more concerned with a promotion to Pennsylvania Avenue than serving hardworking Pennsylvanians,” Garrity said in a statement earlier this week, noting the state fared poorly in U.S. News and World Report rankings on the economy and education.
But that’s part of the appeal for some of Shapiro’s supporters.
Fernando Rodriguez, who works at Fox Chase Farm in Philadelphia, was eager to hear Shapiro’s stump speech. The 37-year-old didn’t vote for Shapiro in 2022 and had cast only one ballot for a presidential election, voting for President Barack Obama in 2008.
But he wanted to see Shapiro win reelection and, more importantly, go on to run for president in 2028.
“There seems to be some maturity, some presidential qualities to him,” Rodriguez said, noting that is particularly important given the direction of national politics.
Shapiro has already raised $30 million to support his reelection, which is likely to boost the entire ticket.
State Democrats hope Shapiro will be able to leverage his popularity and growing national brand to bring more voters out to the polls, in what is already likely to be an advantageous midterm year for the party.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and it’s not just about reelecting the governor,” Eugene DePasquale, the chair of the state Democratic Party, said Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s supporters cheer as he makes his way to the stage during a reelection announcement event event at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.
‘The hard work of bringing people together’
Offering an opening pitch to voters, Shapiro highlighted key themes he is expected to repeat during the next 10 months on the campaign trail: He’s protected Pennsylvanians’ freedoms and created jobs, with more work to do.
He noted several bipartisan achievements passed by the state’s divided legislature during his time in office, including a long-sought increase to the state’s rent and property tax rebate, historic funding increases for public education, and more. Pennsylvanians, he argued, have a simple choice in November.
“Will we continue to do the hard work of bringing people together to get stuff done, or will we descend into the chaos and extremism that has gripped too many other places across our nation?” Shapiro asked in his stump speech in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
In Philly, the crowd gave this question a resounding “No.”
Shapiro’s launch drew a distinction between his style of leadership and that of Trump — whom Shapiro repeatedly called a danger to democracy prior to his reelection in 2024. Shapiro did not name the president during his announcement, but alluded to Trump — while noting his legal challenges against the Trump administration.
The move followed Shapiro’s oft-repeated tactic since Trump took office for a second time: Criticize his policies, while not alienating Trump’s supporters in Pennsylvania, as the state swung in favor of Trump in 2024.
In addition to his two campaign rallies, Shapiro kicked off his reelection bid in a video advertisement posted on social media. He led that off with footage from one of his biggest accomplishments from his first three years in office: rebuilding a collapsed section of I-95 in 12 days, in what was expected to take months.
The quick rebuild also featured in his speech in Philly, where he heaped praise on organized labor for its role in the reconstruction.
Rob Buckley with Buckley & Company, Inc., shakes hands with Gov. Josh Shapiro (right) at the end of a 2023 news conference before the reopening of I-95.
For the first time in more than half a century, Marie Scott is free.
Scott, 72, who served more than 52 years in prison for felony murder, was released from custody on Wednesday after Gov. Josh Shapiro commuted her life sentence in June. Despite opposition from the victim’s family, community advocates had pushed for her freedom for years, saying she had served enough time, was a model inmate, and no longer posed a threat to society.
Scott, known as “Mechie,” has been incarcerated since 1973, after she and her then-16-year-old boyfriend, Leroy Saxton, robbed a Germantown gas station. She was 19 and addicted to heroin when she helped Saxton restrain the cashier, Michael Kerrigan, and then rummage through the store’s cash register and safe. Her attorneys say she was acting as a lookout when — to her surprise, she says — Saxton shot Kerrigan, 35, in the back of the head.
Philadelphia firefighter Michael Kerrigan, left, was killed in 1973. His family, shown in a 1973 photograph, was never the same. In the photo, from right to left, is Kerrigan’s son Kevin, wife Florence, and daughter Erin holding 8-month-old Angela.
Saxton was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Scott was convicted of felony murder and handed the same fate.
But Saxton was released on time served in 2020 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned mandatory life sentences for juveniles.
Scott had remained behind bars ever since.
Until Wednesday, when hours before dawn, she walked out of her cell in State Correctional Institutional Muncy for the final time, stepped into the back of a van, and was driven three hours toward her new life in Philadelphia.
There, for the first time in her life, she hugged her daughter, Hope Segers, outside the prison walls.
“I just covered my face and lost it,” Scott said of seeing her Wednesday. “That was the first time I have seen my daughter and grandson in the real world. … To feel them, to smell them in the free air.”
Marie Scott had her life sentence commuted after 52 years in prison.
Segers was born in SCI Muncy 45 years ago. During one of the three times Scott escaped from prison between 1975 and 1980, she reunited with a man who worked in the prison kitchen and with whom she had fallen in love, and she got pregnant.
Segers has known her mother only through prison visits often years apart, and short calls via phone and Zoom. Now, she said, she is eager to begin building a true relationship with her.
“It’s still not real,” she said of sitting next to her mother. “I’m still in shock.”
Scott, who will be on parole for the rest of her life, will move into her daughter’s home in Northeast Philadelphia after living in a halfway house for a year, as is required by the prisons.
Scott’s health has deteriorated in recent years. She uses a wheelchair, suffered from Stage 2 breast cancer, and had a double mastectomy last year. She was not ill enough to qualify for compassionate release, her attorneys said.
But she has since learned she is cancer free, she said.
Marie Scott, 72, survived Stage 2 breast cancer while in prison.
Scott had been serving a mandatory life sentence under Pennsylvania’s felony murder law, which allows people to be convicted of second-degree murder if a death occurs during the commission of a felony such as robbery — even if they did not kill the victim or intend for anyone to die. Pennsylvania is one of only two states where a felony murder conviction automatically carries a life sentence, a punishment Shapiro has called unjust and unconstitutional. (Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court is currently weighing the issue.)
Other than the decades-old escapes, her attorneys said, she has been a model inmate. She is deeply remorseful for her actions, and has written books about healing, directed plays, and led drug and alcohol treatment courses for inmates, they said. She became a mentor and mother figure to dozens of women at Muncy.
Rupalee Rashatwar (from left, Hope Segers, Bret Grote, and Sam Lew worked to free Marie Scott through their work at the Abolitionist Law Center.
For years, Scott and her attorneys at the Abolitionist Law Center applied for a commutation from the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, asking that her life sentence be reduced. Her applications were repeatedly denied without explanation, lawyer Bret Grote said.
She applied last year with renewed hope after the leadership at SCI Muncy said they would support her petition.
Still, Grote said, Laurel Harry, secretary of the state Department of Corrections, told officials she would not support Scott’s petition because of the prison escapes decades ago. Harry’s support was typically a requirement of the board’s approval for release, he said.
Grote, his colleagues, and a collection of volunteers drafted a social media, phone, and letter writing campaign to persuade Shapiro and prison officials to support her commutation. Members of Philadelphia City Council, alongside state senators and representatives, called for her release, as did Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill.
It worked. In May, the Board of Pardons voted to recommend a commutation of her sentence, and the following month, Shapiro formally approved her release. The board then required that Scott spend six additional months in prison for the prison escapes.
Her release comes amid opposition from the victim’s family.
Michael Kerrigan holding his granddaughter, Angela Kerrigan Hightower. His wife later adopted Angela to be one of her seven children.
Initially, two of Kerrigan’s daughters said they supported Scott’s release and could forgive her, but later changed their minds and asked the board of pardons and parole not to release her. They said they do not believe she has taken enough responsibility for the crime.
Angela Kerrigan Hightower, a grandchild of Kerrigan’s who was later adopted by his wife and would have been his seventh child, said Wednesday that “the system failed the victims in this case.” She said she does not believe Scott has shown sufficient remorse, and that she and Saxton should have had to serve a life sentence for the suffering they brought her family.
“I want to know,” she said, “where is the justice for the victims in this case.”
Scott has said she deeply regrets what happened. She said Wednesday that she hopes to use her time outside of prison to tell the story of the cycle of drug and sexual abuse and codependency that she has said contributed to her actions.
She also wants to push for the release of other women who she said have been reformed in prison and don’t deserve to die there.
Marie Scott, 72, joined a Zoom call with the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration alongside her daughter, Hope Segers, and grandson Dashawn Green.
Scott’s grandson, Dashawn Green, 28, said he wants to get his grandmother’s health and diet back on track, introduce her to his girlfriend and miniature schnauzer, and maybe even plan a road trip.
Scott said her first order of business is to find a church.
Seated on the couches in the Abolitionist Law Center in North Philadelphia Wednesday night, she recalled gathering for her final Sunday service inside the prison last week and saying goodbye to the women in the facility who raised her.
“You’re my family,” she said she told them. “I don’t make promises because they’re made to be broken, but if you don’t have your word, then you don’t have anything. And I give you my word, I am going to die trying to get all of my women out.”
“It feels like I’m on another planet,” Marie Scott, 72, said of her newfound freedom.
Gov. Josh Shapiro officially announced his widely expectedreelection bid for Pennsylvania governor Thursday, as speculation over a 2028 run for president continues to build. The question now: How will the Democrat’s rumored presidential ambitions bolster or detract from his must-win election at home in 2026?
Shapiro will kick off his reelection campaign with not one but two rallies— first stopping in Pittsburgh, then in Philadelphia. In a campaign video posted to social media Thursday morning, he touted his three years of leading a divided legislature and his bipartisan achievements in a politically split state, via a campaign that has already amassed a record $30 million war chest.
He coasted to victory in 2022, elevating his profile within the national Democratic Party, and is not expected to face a primary challenger. In the general election, he will likely face Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who largely consolidated GOP support early.
But that’s not the only race on the line in November.
As Shapiro looks to potential parallel runs, he’ll need to continue to build a national profile without outwardly focusing too much on the presidential picture.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is interviewed by TV news in the spin room at the Convention Center following the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
“The challenge, of course, is you have to take care of your next election first,” said Christopher Borick, a pollster at Muhlenberg College. “Of anything he does, he knows this is the most important thing for his potential success in 2028 if he was to run.”
In the governor’s race, Shapiro will likely face a more formidable opponent in Garrity than he did in state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin) in 2022, but he’ll also be running in a far more favorable political atmosphere for Democrats amid souring attitudes toward President Donald Trump and the GOP. If he can retain the governor’s mansion decisively and bring a ticket of Democrats vying for the statehouse and Congress to victory with him, that’s a narrative that could be strong in a Democratic presidential primary.
“Having a win, and maybe an impressive one in Pennsylvania, the key swing state heading into that cycle, is about as big of a boost as any that you can have,” Borick added.
Running local
The 2028-curious Democrats include several other sitting governors generating buzz: California’s Gavin Newsom, Kentucky’s Andy Beshear, Maryland’s Wes Moore, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, and Illinois’ JB Pritzker. Shapiro has formed alliances with several of them.
But unlike some of his peers, Shapiro hasn’t been a frequent guest on cable news or podcasts with national reach.
On Oct. 4, 2024, nearly a month before Harris lost the presidential election to Trump, Shapiro confidentially requested that the state ethics commission determine whether he would violate any state ethics laws for accepting royalties from a book about his life in public service, according to the filing.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (right) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before the Eagles played the Detroit Lions at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia, PA.
His book, Where We Keep the Light, will publish later this month, recounting his political upbringing, his vice presidential vetting, and the firebombing of his home last year. He’s not alone. Harris published a memoir about the 2024 election last year, and Newsom is due out with Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery in February.
But in the coming months, several Democratic strategists predict Shapiro will be squarely focused on the governor’s race he has to win in Pennsylvania — simultaneously proving he has what it takes to capture the vote of the nation’s most important swing state.
“He’s such a careful politician. He’s not taking anything for granted,” said former Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat who also once faced scrutiny for having potential presidential ambitions.
Shapiro is likely to follow the same campaign playbook in Pennsylvania as he did in 2022: Stump in every region of the state, including areas where Democrats don’t usually show up. That helped him run down the margins in longtime GOP strongholds like Lancaster or Schuylkill Counties toward his resounding victory over Mastriano. Those stops in most of Pennsylvania’s 67 countieswon’t give him as much time to visit South Carolina, Iowa, and New Hampshire, as the other Democratic presidential hopefuls start their sojourns.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro waves goodbye to the crowd after speaking during graduation ceremonies at Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills on Thursday, June 12, 2025.
“The No. 1 caveat is stay focused on the race you’re running,” echoed Alan Kessler, a national fundraiser based in Philadelphia who has supported and fundraised for Shapiro.
Still, the campaign is likely to generate attention beyond the Keystone State.
Shapiro will still court donors in blue states as he fundraises for reelection, Kessler added.
Come November, he will be the only governor with rumored 2028 aspirations up for reelection in a swing state. And his brand as a popular, moderate Democratic governor trying to restore trust in government — as well as his potential to help boost Democrats down ballot — will easily capture a wider audience and bring national media into Pennsylvania.
As Democrats seek to flip control of the U.S. House in 2026, targeting several congressional districts in the state, the election may once again come down to Pennsylvania, and in turn, increase the spotlight on Shapiro. The governor is widely seen as someone who can boost the congressional Democratic candidates also on the ballot, having won three of the four districts that Democrats are targeting in the state by double digits in 2022.
Republicans have targeted several weaknesses to try to erode Shapiro’s popularity in Pennsylvania and boost Garrity. They point to a lack of rigorous electoral challengers in his past. They question his record of “getting stuff done” — his oft-repeated motto — including three late state budgets. And they’ve harped on a lack of transparency as governor, including claims he used tax dollars for political benefitas well as a sexual harassment scandal involving a former top aide. They’ve also criticized his support for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who recently dropped his third gubernatorial bid following a fraud scandal among the state’s Somali refugee population totaling $1 billion, according to federal prosecutors.
Among the emerging attacks: Republicans want to highlight Shapiro’s presumed presidential ambitions, as they try to cast him as an opportunist more interested in a future White House bid than the problems of everyday Pennsylvanians.
“Josh Shapiro is more concerned with a promotion to Pennsylvania Avenue than serving hardworking Pennsylvanians,” Garrity said in a statement, noting the state fared poorly in U.S. News and World Report rankings on the economy and education. “In the military, I learned the importance of putting service before self. Pennsylvanians are the hardest-working, most compassionate, strongest people in the nation, and together we will return Pennsylvania to our rightful place as a national and global leader.”
State Treasurer and Republican candidate for governor Stacy Garrity holds a rally in Bucks County Sept. 25, 2025 at the Newtown Sports & Events Center.
Mastriano, the far-right Republican state senator who announced Wednesday he won’t run for governor, said in a statement earlier this week that Shapiro “owes [Pennsylvanians] straight answers” over his use of the state plane, security updates to his personal home in Abington Township, and more.
“Pennsylvanians deserve accountability, not ambition,” he added, making a nod to Shapiro’s potential longer-term plans.
House Speaker Joanna McClinton, back center left, Gov. Josh Shapiro, front center, and State Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, right, celebrate the signing of the CROWN Act, which prohibits discrimination based on a person’s hair type, during a press conference at Island Design Natural Hair Studio, in West Philadelphia, November 25, 2025.
Borick, the pollster, was skeptical that attacks on Shapiro’s potential wider ambitions could reverse hislargely positive public sentiment.
“If that’s all they got, they don’t got a lot.”
Republicans insist they see a path to victory for Garrity in a politically divided state with months to go until the election. But behind the scenes, some Republicans are already acknowledging the goal is to lose by less and prevent big losses in state legislature or congressional races.
If Shapiro does look poised to cruise to victory, it might mean less media attention on the race, and it could mean he’s less vetted ahead of a much bigger stage.
“I think Josh is better served if the [Republican Governors Association] puts $100 million into this race because then it’s nationalized,” said a Democratic political strategist based in Pennsylvania who did not want to be named speculating on Shapiro’s presidential run. “If it’s a cakewalk, CNN’s not gonna cover it …If he wants to be governor for another four years, he should pray for a cakewalk. If he wants to be president, he should pray for a difficult campaign.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, the strategist noted, cleaned up in his 2022 reelection, but failed to gain traction in the GOP presidential primary that Trump dominated.
Beyond 2026
Shapiro speaks Pennsylvanian very well. Raised in Montgomery County, he’s lived here almost all of his life, and has built an image as a popular moderate focused on problem-solving in a purple state. That’s earned him the support of about 30% of Trump voters in the state.
But winning a general election in Pennsylvania is different than winning a Democratic presidential primary.
He’s tried not to alienate the MAGA base, focusing on issues with bipartisan appeal like funding for apprenticeship and vocational-training programs. He’s taken on Trump in court, but has picked his personal battles with the president more carefully.
But being a strategic, self-described “progressive pragmatist” can end up alienating voters on both sides.
Gov. Josh Shapiro leaves after an event at the Port of Philadelphia Thursday, Apr. 10, 2025, the day after President Trump paused some tariffs.
Becky Carroll, a Democratic political consultant in Chicago who has worked with Pritzker, said Shapiro seems less on the radar of voters in the Midwest. As she’s followed Shapiro’s career, she said she sees a “damn fine governor,” but someone who’s taken a more muted approach to Trump than blue state governors like Pritzker and Newsom.
When it comes to a Democratic primary, candidates may be judged in part on their pushback to Trump, she said. “I think we’re in a moment where you can sulk in a corner and hope it’ll all go away or fight …,” Carroll said. “And if you’re gonna put yourself out there for a primary battle, you better show you have battle scars to prove you can fight for the most vulnerable in the country right now.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro is interviewed by TV news in the spin room at the Convention Center following the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
But other national strategists see Shapiro’s moderate appeal as a potential asset in 2028. Jared Goldberg-Leopold, a former communications director for the Democratic Governors Association, thinks Shapiro’s biggest asset is his electoral track record in a state the nation knows is critical on the path to the White House. Primaries have previously been won by moderates whom the party thinks have the best chance at winning the general.
But the first step, Goldberg-Leopold stressed, is the governor’s race ahead.
“It would be easy for the Eagles to look past the 49ers to the next week of playoffs, but they’ve gotta focus on only one thing. And the same is true for the governor,” he said. “You can only prepare for what’s ahead of you, and the way people get in trouble in politics is planning too many steps ahead.”
Staff writer Katie Bernard contributed to this article.
In Pennsylvania, just over 2% of Gen Z students believe elected officials act in their best interests. Three-quarters say they don’t.
These findings come from more than 2,800 conversations across 16 colleges and universities in the state. Project 26 Pennsylvania collected them without a script, giving students space to speak freely.
Young Pennsylvanians believe the commonwealth’s institutions are slow to respond and are detached from daily realities. They pointed to artificial intelligence and its workforce implications, social polarization, and global issues that feel increasingly vital to confront on a local and regional level.
In my role withthe United Nations Association of the USA, I meet regularly with young Americans across the country. They’re not apathetic — far from it. They know what it looks like when institutions function — and when they drift.
A few weeks ago, I visited a campus in Bethlehem and heard from students who were deeply engaged and informed. They focused on conservation, economic growth, healthcare access, and local governance. But when the conversation turned to institutional performance, their confidence plummeted.
They described government bodies that move slowly, communicate inconsistently, and prioritize politics over problem-solving.
There is a clear contrast between what they see at home and what I see globally.
The U.N. has expanded youth engagement at a historic pace. It created a dedicated Youth Office and invited young people into negotiations. Leaders expect a direct report on the concerns and ideas of young Americans.
Pennsylvania’s institutions should view this as a model if they want to start restoring trust.
That’s because the risk of inaction is more than disengagement; it’s dislocation. Young adults are moving to places that do pay attention to and meet their needs.
A Pennsylvania State Data Center analysis found that almost half of Pennsylvanians moving out of state were between the ages of 18-34. Many of them are opting for faster-growing places like Florida, North Carolina, and Texas.
If a global system of 193 member states that agree on little else can coalesce around the need to build structured pathways for youth involvement, then Pennsylvania’s agencies and local governments can do the same.
This shift does not require a redesign of government — just consistency and intention. There are steps the Keystone State can take now.
Several Pennsylvania cities already show what youth engagement can look like.
Allentown created a Council of Youth by resolution, though all 16 seats appear vacant. Pittsburgh has a youth coordinator who runs its Youth Commission, and Philadelphia operates a Youth Commission of its own. These are promising starts, and all townships and boroughs should follow. But they are often tucked deep into municipal websites rather than positioned as visible civic priorities.
Gov. Josh Shapiro should create a statewide youth advisory cabinet with a direct line to major agencies. States like Iowa, North Carolina, and Massachusetts already run strong statewide youth councils.
In fact, Pennsylvania does have a strong model already in the NextGen Advisory Council, which brings young leaders into decision-making on conservation and public lands. That same approach should be extended across agencies.
These steps are practical. They also reflect respect for young people, who are not the “next” generation, but are active contributors shaping our commonwealth.
They organize events, testify at meetings, vote in local elections, and devote time to issues that affect their communities. They have shaped mental health advocacy, launched small businesses, and pushed for housing initiatives in cities across the state.
If institutions want to restore trust, they need to match that level of seriousness.
Trust does not return through campaign outreach or social media posts. It grows when young people see their work is taken seriously and leads to outcomes — and when institutions welcome their involvement with regularity and purpose.
Pennsylvania has a window to rebuild confidence. The Project 26 findings should not be dismissed as youth discontent, but read as a statement of expectations — and an opportunity.
Half of the students surveyed said they would be motivated to take political action “if they felt it would make a difference.” They are engaged, ready, and eager to help build a stronger Pennsylvania.
The question is whether the commonwealth’s leaders will invite them into the process.
Jarrett James Lash serves as the 14th UNA-USA youth observer to the United Nations and is a municipal planner in Montgomery County.
Mastriano’s announcementWednesday now clears the way for State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who was endorsed by the state GOP last fall as the party’s best pick to challenge Gov. Josh Shapiro this November.
“We believe, with full peace in our hearts, God has not called us to run for governor,” Mastriano said in a Facebook Live video stream alongside his wife, Rebbie.
He did not endorse Garrity as part of his announcement, nor did he mention her by name.
“For you to have a Republican governor here, the grassroots is going to have to back the candidate,” Mastriano said, referring to Garrity.
Republicans chose Garrity early — endorsing her more than a year before the 2026 election — in an effort to avoid a crowded primary like the one that eventually led to Mastriano’s nomination in 2022. They hope that a candidate like Garrity, who has won statewide elections twice and dethroned Shapiro for receiving the most votes of any state-level candidate, will have a better chance at beating Shapiro, or at least, preventing a down-ballot blowout in an election that already is likely to favor Democrats.
Mastriano, a two-term state senator representing Gettysburg and the surrounding area, publicly criticized the state party for endorsing Garrity so early, and has repeatedly said that their endorsement would not deter him from getting in the race.
In a statement, Garrity said she respected Mastriano’s decision not to run, calling him a “strong voice for faith, family and freedom.”
“I look forward to working with him to restore integrity, fiscal responsibility, and common-sense leadership in our commonwealth,” Garrity added.
Mastriano, a former U.S. Army colonel with top-secret clearance, built a grassroots online following during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic for his resistance to business shutdowns. That support continued to grow after the 2020 presidential election as he promoted President Donald Trump’s false claims that Pennsylvania’s election results were rigged. He has remained a staunch supporter of Trump ever since.
Trump’s advisers, however, feared that Mastriano’s presence on the ticket would hurt Republicans up and down the ticket despite him leading Garrity in private polling by 21 points, Politico reported in July.
Mastriano and his wife spent much of his 20-minute announcement on Wednesday reminiscing on their movement since 2020: their daily virtual fireside chats during COVID-19 closures and their other attempts to reopen the state’s businesses amid the pandemic, their efforts to overturn Pennsylvania’s 2020 election results for Trump, Mastriano’s 2022 gubernatorial run, and the GOP’s electoral successes in 2024.
However, things are different now, the couple said. The grassroots supporters aren’t as unified as they once were, and the state party overstepped in its early endorsement.
“Bottom line is: They don’t have the last say,” said Rebbie Mastriano, in a reminder to their supporters. “You have the last say.”
In the 2022 primary, the state GOP declined to endorse candidates in the gubernatorial or U.S. Senate races. That led to a crowded, nine-candidate GOP primary ballot for governor that was advantageous for Mastriano, who had built name recognition through his anti-lockdown and 2020 election efforts.
The state Democratic Party responded to Mastriano’s announcement with fresh attacks on Garrity, calling her a “far-right, toxic candidate” and noted some of the areas where she and Mastriano agree, including that she denied the 2020 election results and her past opposition to abortion. (She now says she would not support a state abortion ban.)
As of Wednesday, no GOP candidate had announced their candidacy for lieutenant governor. Garrity told The Inquirer last month she was vetting candidates and planned to announce who she’d endorse as her running mate in February, ahead of the next state GOP meeting.
Five years after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Gov. Josh Shapiro and other Pennsylvania Democrats on Tuesday marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by sharply criticizing President Donald Trump.
Trump, who was impeached for inciting the riot in the final days of his first administration, pardoned nearly every Jan. 6 defendant and commuted sentences for a handful of violent offenders as one of his first actions upon returning to office last year.
“Law enforcement officers literally gave their lives to protect our country and our democracy — yet one of the first things Donald Trump did when he took office was pardon people who were convicted of assaulting police officers,” Shapiro said in a post on X Tuesday morning.
“The President may not respect our law enforcement officers’ courage and commitment to service — but here in Pennsylvania, we remember the sacrifices they make and will always have their backs.”
Shapiro played a key role as state attorney general in defending the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania in the weeks leading up to the attack, which took place the same day that Congress was certifying former President Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump has downplayed the events of Jan. 6, and on Tuesday the White House unveiled a webpage dedicated to the events, falsely describing the riot as a peaceful protest and blaming Capitol Police for the violence that unfolded.
Pennsylvania Senate Democrats hold an event in the state Capitol Tuesday to commemorate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Shapiro was one of several Democrats who marked the anniversary of the attack for the first time since Trump returned to office.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, of Philadelphia, introduced a resolution alongside other House Democrats to designate Jan. 6 as the “Democracy Observance Day for Education, Remembrance, and Vigilance.”
AndPennsylvania Senate Democratsheld an event in the state Capitol Tuesday.
State Sen. Art Haywood, who represents parts of Montgomery County and Philadelphia, described the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as an “attempted coup” orchestrated by Trump.
He recounted the events in minute-by-minute detail drawing from what has been reported about the day, from Trump’s direction to rally-goers to go to the Capitol to former Vice President Mike Pence’s evacuation from the Senate chambers and rioters’ success breaking into offices.
State Sen. Jay Costa, of Pittsburgh, said Tuesday’s anniversary eventwas aimed at drawing attention to the “lawlessness” of the day. Trump’s decision to pardon those involved, he said, was a “slap in the face” to law enforcement.
Costa contended that other incidents of political violence in the years that have followed could be traced back to Jan. 6.
“We cannot pick and choose, as our president has done, when we think about what we’re going to do and say about our law enforcement officers,” he said. “We need to stand with them all the time.”
Scott Sauer would like nothing better than to make SEPTA an afterthought.
He doesn’t mean that the Philadelphia region’s mass transit agency should be neglected, but rather that it will come to do its job so seamlessly that its nearly 800,000 daily customers can rely on the service without worrying about breakdowns, delays and disruptions.
Given the cascading crises that hit SEPTA in 2025, many people wondered if the place was hexed.
“I hope not, because I don’t know how to get the curse off me,” Sauer said in a recent interview. “But listen, truth be told, there were days when I scratched my head and thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, what is going on?’”
“We just couldn’t seem to get more than a day or two of relief before something else was causing a headache,” said Sauer.
A bus passes the stop near Girls High at Broad and Olney Streets on Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. Thirty two SEPTA bus routes were cut and 16 were shortened, forced by massive budget deficits.
Back to basics in 2026
In the end, help from above and a new labor contract bought SEPTA at least two years to recover from its annus horribilis and stabilize operations.
When the Pennsylvania legislature couldn’t get a transit funding deal done, Gov. Josh Shapiro shifted $394 million in state-allocated funds for infrastructure projects to use for operations — the third temporary solution in as many years. The administration also later sent $220 million in emergency money in November for the Regional Rail fleet and the trolley tunnel.
And, early in December, SEPTA reached agreement on a new, two-year contract with its largest bargaining unit, Transport Workers Union Local 234.
Scott Sauer, general manager of SEPTA, admits that 2025 was an extremely challenging year.
Sauer compared SEPTA’s position to football refs. When they are doing their jobs right, fans don’t have to think about them when watching the game. And when things are going well on the transit system, it becomes part of the background.
“Let’s make sure we do the basics, and we do them really well, because at the end of the day, people want SEPTA to move them from one place to the other, right?” he said.
The test of the focus on fundamentals comes soon, with millions of visitors expected in the region for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, World Cup soccer, and other big events.
Sauer, 54, began his career as a trolley operator more than 30 years ago. He had no political experience, though, and would quickly be thrown headfirst into those murky waters to swim with sharks.
Storm clouds were already rolling in. Weeks before Sauer took the reins, Shapiro had flexed $153 million in state highway funds for SEPTA operations after a broader deal failed amid Senate GOP opposition.
It’s a legal move, but often controversial, and Shapiro’s opponents were furious.
Richards and her leadership team had been warning of a looming fiscal “doomsday scenario” for months. Officials were drafting a budget with service cuts and fare increases.
On Feb. 6, a Wilmington-bound Regional Rail train caught fire as it was leaving Crum Lynne Station in Delaware County. It was worrisome, but at the time, nobody knew it would get worse.
More than 300 passengers were safely evacuated after a SEPTA Regional Rail train caught fire near Crum Lynne Station in February.
Familiar battle lines were drawn. Senate Republicans, in the majority in the chamber, opposed Shapiro’s proposal to generate $1.5 billion for transit operations over five years by increasing its share of state sales tax income.
They preferred a new source of income for the state’s transit aid and said SEPTA was mismanaged, citing high-profile crimes, rampant fare evasion, and lax enforcement.
On a mid-August night, the Senate GOP came up with a proposal that would take money from the Public Transportation Trust Fund, a source for transit capital projects, and split it evenly between transit operations subsidies and rural state highway repairs.
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, a Republican from Indiana County, was a key player in budget negotiations, which ultimately did not yield additional funding for mass transit.
“It was kind of quiet … and then we got alerted that a proposal was coming within minutes. And so everybody was scrambling to try to read through it,” Sauer said.
In a quick news conference with Shapiro, Sauer opposed the idea of taking capital dollars for transit operations, as did the governor. Then he spoke with Senate Republicans and told reporters it could be worth considering, but he had questions. And by the end of the night, he walked that back and opposed the measure.
“I guess if there was a lesson to be learned for me in August, it was I should have taken some [more] time reading through that proposal,” he said.
There was not much time to reflect on what happened, though, because the hits kept on comingas the federal government ordered SEPTA to inspect all 223 Regional Rail cars.
SEPTA’s Regional Rail fleet is the oldest operating commuter fleet in the country, and the fires highlighted the difficulty of keeping them maintained while needing to stretch limited capital funds to address multiple problems.
The Market-Frankford El cars, though younger than the Silverliner IVs, have been beat up and unreliable. SEPTA is moving forward with replacing them, as well as the Kawasaki trolleys that are more than 40 years old.
SEPTA had ordered new Regional Rail coaches from a Chinese-government-related manufacturer, but canceled the contract after the first few models, built during the pandemic, showed flaws. Now the agency is advertising for bids on a new fleet of Regional Rail workhorses — but it has to make them sturdier to last for at least seven more years before new cars would be on the way.
Officials plan to use $220 million received from the state on that effort.
Some of the money, about $48 million, is slated to help fix the trolley-tunnel issue. SEPTA is contending with glitches in the connection between the overhead catenary wires and the pole that conducts electricity to the vehicle.
What SEPTA got done
SEPTA has made some progress on some of its persistent issues, officials say, though the accomplishments understandably have been largely overlooked amid the urgent, existential crises of 2025.
For instance, serious crimes on the SEPTA system dropped 10% through Sept. 30 compared to the same period in 2024, according to Transit Police metrics.
And there had already been a sharp improvement. Serious crimes in 2024 dropped 33% compared to 2023 — from 1,063 to 711, year over year.
SEPTA transit police police patrol officers Brendan Dougherty (left) and Nicholas Epps (right) with the Fare Evasion Unit ride the 21 bus.
“If you think back to where we were in 2021 and 2022, the perception was bad things were happening on SEPTA, and you should steer clear of them,” Sauer said.
The Transit Police have been hiring new officers, including a recently graduated academy class of nine, and has about 250 officers.
SEPTA also installed 42 full-length gates designed to thwart fare evasion on seven platforms in five stations during 2025, spokesperson Andrew Busch said.Another 48 gates are coming in the first quarter of the year.
Police are also issuing citations with an enhanced penalty of up to $300 for fare evasion.
Prepare for déjà vu
Andyet, in 2027, it will be time to start the old SEPTA-funding dance once again, as transit agency advocates and supportive lawmakers work at getting a stable state funding stream for transit operations.
State Democrats have said the transit issue could help them take control of the Senate from Republicans — a longtime goal but one that is difficult to achieve. One wild card is whether President Donald Trump’s slumping popularity will cause GOP congressional candidates to get swamped in the 2026 midterms, and whether that will translate into voters’ local senators.
It likely would have to be a huge wave, and it’s a closely divided state.
By 2027, Shapiro is expected to be running for president (if he is reelected next year), and it’s anyone’s guess how that could affect budget politics.
“Not everybody wants to see us. I didn’t make a lot of friends,” Sauer joked after the TWU settlement.
