In the run-up to Election Day, President Donald Trump used many of the levers of presidential power to interfere in how Pennsylvania and other states run elections, only to be stopped repeatedly by the courts. On Tuesday, voters in the commonwealth and across the US made sure there was no ambiguity in their verdict.

Trump’s Republican party lost control of both houses of Congress and got clobbered in races up and down the ballot, even in places like Texas and Iowa. As the rout became clear, the president told The New York Times he was “absolutely willing to accept those results.” In a series of phone interviews with media organizations and in a social media post, he acknowledged the loss for his party and said he was willing to work with Democrats.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro easily held off a challenge from Republican Stacy Garrity. Big wins in Pennsylvania’s 1st, 7th, 8th, and 10th Congressional Districts helped Democrats regain control of the US House of Representatives.

And in Harrisburg, Democrats will control both legislative chambers and the governorship in state government for the first time since 1993, after flipping the Senate and increasing what was a razor-thin majority in the House. This means a clearer path to a $15 minimum wage, the legalization of adult-use cannabis, and other policy initiatives favored by Shapiro and Democrats. 

We’ve got a roundup of some of the big Pennsylvania races in this story.

With the Election Day results (mostly) in, we’d like to know:

How do you feel about the state of Pennsylvania and the state of our country going forward?

Share your response below. 👇

The University of Pittsburgh Bluegrass Ensemble performs at Calliope’s Roots Cellar in winter 2025. The ensemble’s repertoire ranges from old-time fiddle tunes and gospel classics to popular country songs and contemporary newgrass. (Long Hong/Calliope)

Appalachian culture threads through cities and coal towns, mountains, and river valleys of Pennsylvania. It stretches through metropolitan Pittsburgh, the Monongahela Valley, and the Laurel Highlands, across the Allegheny Mountains, and through the mountains of Central Pennsylvania.

Throughout this landscape, traditional music is alive in bars, community jams, and schools for folk music, still played, taught, and passed along. Though your mind might immediately go to the banjo, Appalachian music isn’t a single sound—it’s diverse, encompassing old-time string band music, bluegrass, gospel, and music shaped by the folk traditions of African American communities, as well as the fiddle and ballad traditions of European immigrants.

Our food and travel writer Kalena Thomhave is highlighting some of the best places to hear and learn about traditional music in Pennsylvania’s slice of Northern Appalachia, from folk festivals and community gatherings to workshops where you can learn to pick a banjo or strum an Appalachian dulcimer yourself.

• Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak has surpassed 1,400 confirmed cases, with hundreds of patients hospitalized and cases now reported across much of the state. We’ve got information on what to do if you’ve been exposed to measles in this story.

• The pilot of the Learjet that slammed into the ground in Florida, killing all nine people aboard, was from Montgomery County. He is remembered as a longtime aviator, husband, father, and devout Christian. Find out more here.

• A young Pennsylvania woman running the New York City Marathon for the first time to raise money for charity collapsed in Central Park, just over two miles from the finish line, and later died. Learn more details here.

• A public celebration of the life of western Pa. rock legend Donnie Iris will be held Thursday at a Chippewa Township funeral home. Get the details here.

(Gary Fleeger)

They say fishing is relaxing (I’ve never done it) and judging by this photo from Gary Fleeger, I can understand why. Gary took this shot while fishing on Lake Arthur in Butler County’s Moraine State Park at sunset.

SHOW US YOUR PENNSYLVANIA—a relaxing day on the lake, a gorgeous sunset or sunrise, or something purely Pennsylvania, like an intersection with a Wawa at one corner, a Sheetz at another corner, and a horse and buggy parked outside a Rutter’s at another corner.

Send us your photos with your name, location, and a brief description of what you’re sharing.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Patrick Berkery with stories from Kalena Thomhave, Sean Kitchen, The Associated Press, and USA Today via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Crystal Niforos.

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