'Unresolvable': Pennsylvania primary date change efforts unravel in Harrisburg

Pa. Pressroom is a regular recap of politics in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C. To submit tips and news leads, contact USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania state capital bureau reporter Bruce Siwy at bsiwy@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @BruceSiwy.

Bipartisan calls for an earlier primary next year in Pennsylvania apparently won't be enough to a create change.

In a Thursday letter to House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery), Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) made his position clear: either March 19 or the current date of April 23.

"The date of March 19 was agreed to in the Senate afier much deliberation, as it respects the Jewish holiday of Passover and the Christian holiday of Easter," Pittman wrote. "While the date of April 2 has also been considered, the Senate cannot support such a move due to the disruption preparations would cause to the Easter holiday weekend observances."

Hosting an earlier primary would give Pennsylvanians a stronger voice in determining the parties' nominees for president, as these races are often decided long before commonwealth voters head to the polls under the current format.

At this point, according to the County Commissioners Association of Pennyslvania's Lisa Schaefer, it's already too late to make a change.

"We are now less than four weeks away from the November general election, which, while not garnering as much attention as a presidential election, is just as time-intensive to prepare for if not more so given the number of races on the ballot," Schaefer, the organization's executive director, said in a statement. "While we thank the General Assembly and the administration for their thoughtful discussions around this matter, there is simply not enough time at this late date to handle the tasks associated with moving the 2024 Presidential Primary ― such as rescheduling more than 9,000 polling places and thousands of volunteer poll workers ― much less contemplate adding those tasks as we prepare to administer the November election."

Beth Rementer, press secretary for the House majority leader, summarized the situation as follows: "Unfortunately, in light of the counties’ admonition last week, coupled with the Senate’s letter sent (Oct. 12), this issue seems unresolvable."

Inside the Beltway

With the speakership still undecided, some of Pennsylvania's Republican representatives have coalesced behind former President Donald Trump's preferred candidate.

Though U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania) briefly expressed support for U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) after his formal nomination by the House Republican conference, Scalise quickly dropped out of the running. Meuser had originally backed U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who's already received Trump's endorsement.

"I do believe it’s imperative we have Jim Jordan in our conference leadership," Meuser said.

"Therefore, I believe the best leadership team, moving forward, is Jim Jordan as speaker and Steve Scalise as majority leader. These two men embody the leadership qualities that are essential to moving our party and nation forward.”

Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, echoed this sentiment.

"We need to stay (and) get this DONE," Perry posted to the social media site X, formerly Twitter. "Jordan is a complete AND NECESSARY departure from the status quo. Full support. It’s Jordan time ― LET’S GO."

It's unclear when the House, which has only a slim Republican majority, will manage to agree on a new speaker after the historicic ouster of U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) on Oct. 3.

And the horse race

New polling suggests that young Pennsylvanians are standing with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Fellow Democrat and President Joe Biden is having no such luck.

This demographic drop-off helps to explain why Casey leads Republican challenger Dave McCormick while Biden trails Trump in Pennsylvania, Emerson College Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball said in a news release.

“Biden leads Trump 44% to 39% among voters under 40, however those under 30 within this group break for Trump 45% to 39%. Conversely, Casey leads McCormick 46% to 22% among voters under 40, and leads 42% to 23% with voters under 30,” Kimball said.

Casey has an overall 8-point advantage over McCormick, according to the Emerson College poll, with 8% supporting someone else and 18% undecided.

For president, Trump is up 9 points on Biden. An additional 11% want to vote for a third candidate and 8% are undecided.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: PA primary election date in 2024 still April 23