The Inquirer’s 2026 General Election Endorsement Guide

Prior to each election, The Inquirer Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom, offers endorsements to help readers evaluate candidates for public office.

The Editorial Board believes all elections matter and is committed to weighing in on as many races as possible. However, given time constraints and operational capacity, it focuses its endorsements on races where its analysis can best clarify the choices facing voters. The lack of an endorsement is not a judgment on an office or those seeking it.

After researching the positions and professional records of each candidate, the Editorial Board hosts meetings — either in person or virtually — where members ask candidates about their stance on issues that concern the broadest public interest. The meetings are on the record, and The Inquirer’s political reporters and editors may be invited to observe the interviews, but they do not participate in the Editorial Board’s endorsement discussions.

Once the meetings conclude, the Editorial Board debates and decides by a majority vote who is best suited to serve their constituents.

Learn more about our endorsement process here.

We invite your comments on our endorsements at opinion@inquirer.com. If you’d like your comments to be considered as a letter to the editor, please email us at letters@inquirer.com.

If the polls are accurate, Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was twice elected Pennsylvania’s attorney general, should cruise to his fourth statewide election on Nov. 3.

In these divided political times, in one of the most evenly split states in the country, that says a lot about Shapiro’s ability to appeal to a broad swath of voters across the commonwealth.

While the two political extremes on the right and left generate the most noise, Shapiro sits in the moderate middle. That rankles many on the far left and the right, but it is smart politics in Pennsylvania.

While Shapiro is pragmatic, he is also tough and empathetic. He takes public service seriously but is also a regular guy from Abington who is passionate about Philly sports. He is welcome in boardrooms, Black churches, and even red counties.

Read the full endorsement of Josh Shapiro.

Bob Harvie, 54, is a Bucks County native who grew up in a blue-collar family (Bristol Borough) and was the first member in his family to go to college. He taught social studies in the public schools there for many years. He is humble, hardworking, and understands the affordability challenges facing Pennsylvanians.

He would bring some much-needed compassion and decency to a Congress that is turning into TikTok performance artists more interested in viral posts than making government work for the people they represent. Even better, Harvie will answer to the people, not Trump.

If elected, Harvie said his top priority would be to address affordability issues facing residents. He also wants to restore trust in government, starting with a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and a clampdown on corporate control of politics by passing a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

Read the full endorsement of Bob Harvie.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle is a rare breed amid the dysfunctional Congress controlled by a spineless Republican majority that kowtows to President Donald Trump.

Boyle is actually serious about the business of governing.

He works at legislating, rarely misses a vote, can talk lucidly about policy, understands the complexities of the sprawling federal budget, and represents his constituents with honor and decency.

Boyle, 49, has been in Congress for 12 years. He has kept his optimism through the grind of division, but don’t underestimate his toughness. Born and raised in Olney, he is the son of a SEPTA janitor and a school crossing guard.

Boyle strives to find common ground, but is not afraid to call out the incompetence, cruelty, and corruption of Trump — or the laziness of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, a fellow Pennsylvania Democrat. Boyle’s focus on substance over style offers a life preserver in a sea of congressional silliness.

Read the full endorsement of Brendan Boyle.

What firefighter and union leader Bob Brooks may lack in political acumen, he more than makes up for in his lived experience.

In a House of Representatives filled with a Republican majority that cares more about serving President Donald Trump than their constituents, Brooks, 53, may be just what voters in Lehigh Valley’s 7th District need.

Read the full endorsement of Bob Brooks.

In the 8th Congressional District, which covers the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, two-term GOP incumbent Rob Bresnahan, who is worth $37 million, faces challenger Paige Cognetti, a political outsider who became the first woman elected mayor of Scranton by challenging the corrupt political establishment.

Cognetti has a solid track record of improving the quality of life in Scranton by boosting the city’s financial health, bolstering public safety, fostering good governance, investing in parks, attracting jobs, and working with others.

The same cannot be said of GOP incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, who is running for reelection in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Harrisburg and York.

Fortunately, there is an excellent alternative in Janelle Stelson, a former TV news anchor who lost to Perry two years ago by about 5,000 votes. The Inquirer endorsed Stelson in 2024. She remains the best choice to help end the costly chaos, corruption, and incompetence in Washington.

Read full endorsement of Cognetti, Stelson and others.

The Cape May mayor is a pragmatist who is willing to work across ideological differences for the benefit of his constituents in the mostly working-class South Jersey district that includes Vineland, Atlantic City, and Cape May.

Mullock told the Editorial Board he has seen people’s economic struggles and his opponent’s hand in making things worse by voting for the Big Beautiful Bill Act. The district includes three of the state’s four poorest counties and a middle class that increasingly finds it harder to make ends meet as the cost of living continues to rise.

Read the full endorsement of Zack Mullock

The former Navy helicopter pilot and health technology executive told the Editorial Board she felt called to run for office for the same reason she joined the military, which is her love for America and the opportunity it stands for.

To put that opportunity back in people’s grasp, Bennett wants to rollback Trump’s tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and help make healthcare, housing, energy, and childcare more affordable — including capping families’ childcare costs at 7% of household income. She believes there should be federal guardrails for artificial intelligence development and strong community input on data center development.

Read the full endorsement of Rebecca Bennett