Fetterman calls out Dems who forced Biden off the ticket; Democrats win Pa. House; McCormick challenging Philly ballots

The sleepy, cul-de-sac streets around Gifford Playground in Northeast Philadelphia are home to one of the city’s hidden melting pots.

On Thursday afternoon, Georgian men cracked jokes while waxing a Toyota Corolla. Central Asian women in burkas walked their children home from school. A Colombian grocery store worker played with his dog, shouting commands in rapid-fire Spanish. And every street had at least one Ukrainian flag hanging from a window — or a “f — Putin” bumper sticker slapped on the back of a van.

Six out of every 10 residents in this part of the Somerton neighborhood were born outside the United States, according to the 2020 Census. But the area has also undergone a dramatic political shift: a place that broke Democratic not long ago, it‘s swung heavily Republican. And, talking to some residents, this is despite, or even because of, promises to seal the border.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) said in an interview with Semafor published Friday those who pushed President Joe Biden off the ticket in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris should “own the outcome and fallout” following her loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

Fetterman ultimately endorsed Harris, but was a fierce defender of Biden following his disastrous debate with Trump in June. At the time, Fetterman described Biden as the only person in the country “that’s ever kicked Trump’s ass in an election,” and he has stuck by that sentiment.

”For those that decided and moved to break Biden, and then you got the election that you wanted, it’s appropriate to own the outcome and fallout,” Fetterman told Semafor’s David Weigel. “The options: Double down on the only person that’s ever beat Trump, or demand an alternative. When the outcome didn’t support your thesis and actions, then own it.”

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case canceled any remaining court deadlines Friday while prosecutors assess the “the appropriate course going forward” in light of the Republican’s presidential victory.

Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump last year with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. But Smith’s team has been evaluating how to wind down the two federal cases before the president-elect takes office because of longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris means that the Justice Department believes he can no longer face prosecution in accordance with department legal opinions meant to shield presidents from criminal charges while in office.

Republicans flipped a Northeast Philadelphia state Senate seat Thursday, sending 29-year-old Joe Picozzi to Harrisburg as the first GOP state senator to represent Philly in more than two decades.

Philadelphia Democrats are reeling over the loss in the Northeast — which saw strong GOP turnout for the deep-blue city and where Republicans also almost flipped a state House seat — and several operatives said privately that the city and state parties did not appreciate the threat Picozzi posed until he had already gained traction in the district.

Picozzi will unseat incumbent Sen. Jimmy Dillon, a former Notre Dame University point guard who runs basketball academies across the city. Dillon was first elected in 2022 during a special election to fill the remainder of John Sabatina Jr.’s term after he was elected as a judge.

In continuing to prove its status as one of the most purple counties in Pennsylvania, Bucks County voters appear to have voted to reelect Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey by roughly the same margin by which they preferred President-elect Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Though Bucks County still has thousands of provisional, military, and overseas ballots left to tally, as of Friday morning Casey led in the county by 1,231 votes in his race against Republican Dave McCormick.

Trump, meanwhile, held a 1,323 vote lead over Vice President Kamala Harris — a lead that, if it holds, would make him the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the county since 1988.

A day after The Associated Press declared him the winner of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Dave McCormick said he would work with officials from both parties to secure the border, stop the flow of fentanyl into the country, and improve the economy.

“I don’t care who voted for me and didn’t vote for me,” McCormick told reporters Friday in Pittsburgh. “Today I turn the page. I am focused on serving every single Pennsylvanian.”

Votes are still being counted, and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) has not conceded the race. The narrow margin of McCormick’s lead — about 0.5% currently — may trigger Pennsylvania’s automatic recount process.

Pennsylvania Democrats managed to keep their majority in the state House, two years after flipping it for the first time in 12 years.

House Democrats retained their control of the lower chamber, staving off concerns over potentially losing the one-vote advantage they had going into this year’s election. With that narrow of a majority, they at times had to lean on moderate Republicans to pass bills that didn’t receive support from their full membership.

Democratic legislative leaders focused on a number of seats as top targets to flip to their party, particularly in Delaware and Bucks counties. Those suburban Philadelphia counties, House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) told The Inquirer in September, offered a “huge path forward” for the party because of an ongoing move from red to blue in the suburbs.

Republican Dave McCormick may have declared victory in his U.S. Senate race over incumbent Democrat Bob Casey, but in court, the race is still very much an ongoing concern.

McCormick filed a pair of lawsuits Friday morning in Philadelphia challenging 15,000 to 20,000 provisional ballots that city elections officials were set to consider counting this morning.

In a contest where McCormick narrowly leads Casey by roughly 30,000 votes, whether those ballots in Philadelphia — and similarly cast provisional votes from voters in other counties — are counted has the potential to “impact … the outcome of the election,” McCormick’s attorney George Bochetto wrote.

With her selection as President-elect Donald Trump ‘s incoming White House chief of staff, veteran Florida political strategist Susie Wiles moves from a largely behind-the-scenes role of campaign co-chair to the high-profile position of the president’s closest adviser and counsel.

The daughter of NFL player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, Wiles worked in the Washington office of New York Rep. Jack Kemp in the 1970s. Following that were stints on Ronald Reagan’s campaign and in his White House as a scheduler.

Wiles then headed to Florida, where she advised two Jacksonville mayors and worked for Rep. Tillie Fowler. After that came statewide campaigns in rough and tumble Florida politics, with Wiles being credited with helping businessman Rick Scott win the governor’s office.

Republican leaders projected confidence Thursday that they would keep control of the U.S. House as more races were decided in their favor, while Democrats insisted they still see a path toward the majority and sought assurances every vote will be counted.

The GOP picked up two more hard-fought seats in Pennsylvania, which became a stark battlefield of Democratic losses up and down the ticket. Democrats notched another win in New York, defeating a third Republican incumbent in that state.

Republicans also held on to a seat in California, where incumbent Rep. Young Kim defended her seat against Democrat Joseph Kerr.

While the AP has determined that Republican Dave McCormick won the Pennsylvania race for U.S. Senate, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, has not conceded the race.

Casey emphasized that not all of the ballots have been counted, and said that the process needs to play out to "ensure that every vote that is eligible to be counted will be counted."

“I have dedicated my life to making sure Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard, whether on the floor of the Senate or in a free and fair election,” Casey said in a statement. “ ... Pennsylvania is where our democratic process was born."

As Democrats Wednesday-morning quarterback Vice President Kamala Harris’ election night loss, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will take on a new role: presidential front-runner.

Welcome to the 2028 presidential election cycle.

Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s unusually popular first-term Democratic governor, was passed over as a running mate by Harris, who instead opted for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a decision that pundits have criticized for failing to broaden her base, and that some point to as a reason for her losing the crucial battleground state and the election.