I was back on the campaign trail this week.
New Jersey will elect a new governor in November and while Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial election is not until next year (and the current governor hasn’t revealed his re-election plans yet) the state Republican Party just endorsed their candidate, potentially bypassing a primary contest.
Heading into the homestretch in New Jersey, Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill faced off in a debate last Sunday.
A democracy depends on the active, thoughtful participation of its citizens. So it’s always good to see an engaged electorate.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity made the first stop on her endorsement tour in the swing county President Donald Trump won in 2024.
While I enjoy photographing the candidates, meeting voters is one of the aspects of campaign events I like most.
Take Kevin Puls, a concerned resident who follows Bucks County politics. That’s him with his smart phone camera at the top of this column.
We both arrived early at the Garrity event - him to schmooze and me to avoid traffic and get a good parking space.
His T-shirt is “personal clickbait” with a URL to direct people to the website for the Travis Manion Foundation, created to empower veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations.
The image on the shirt is Greg Stocker, one of the hosts of Kayal and Company, billed online as “a fun and entertaining conservative spin on politics, news, and sports,” which airs mornings on Philadelphia’s Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.
Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color: