The latest podcast from PA Political Digest, hosted by GOP political consultant Christopher Nicholas, features a chat with Erin Covey of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter about one of PA's 4 hot congressional races - this one, PA-8, up in NEPA.

The seat features a tight matchup between freshman Republican incumbent Rob Bresnahan and Democratic challenger, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti. While the Northeast Pennsylvania district has historically trended Republican on paper, Covey notes that a favorable national political environment for Democrats, driven locally by Governor Josh Shapiro's popularity, has made the race intensely competitive. Additionally, Bresnahan faces heavy Democratic criticism over his frequent stock trading. Nicholas wonders what the prevailing anti-Scranton sentiment in the region will mean for Mayor Cognetti. Ultimately, both candidates are expected to remain equally well-resourced.

Join the latest PPD pod where we chat with Muhlenberg College Prof. and pollster, Chris Borick, about his new poll on healthcare in Pennsylvania.

• While more people still favor legalizing recreational marijuana in PA, its support has dropped considerable in the past 5 years, from 58% in favor to just 47% now according to a new poll via Muhlenberg College's Institute for Public Opinion…and the number of folks who are ambivalent about it has also jumped considerably.

As pollster Chris Borick, who conducted the poll, remarked:

"If I was a Republican legislator and I'm looking at this [legalizing recreational marijuana], I'm certainly not diving in headfirst. It's not the slam dunk that some folks would tell you, that's for certain."

PA residents do not like the direction of healthcare here in the state but yet hold their own Primary Care Physician (PCP) in very high regard. And a majority don't trust either HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. or chatbots.

We also chat about the big-time Democratic primary in PA's 7th Cong. District in the Lehigh Valley.

Thanks to TruthonWeed.com for sponsoring this podcast. Enjoy...

PA's changing demographic kaleidoscope

Welcome to our latest PPD pod, with Univ. of Pittsburgh's Chris Briem, part of their Center for Social and Urban Research, and an expert on the state's demographics.

Can we still say that the Central PA - Lehigh Valley - Philly 'burbs region is the state's only true growth area, while the rest is either flat lining - or worse?

Is it just easier to posit that East Coast PA is growing while mid-west PA is not?

As Briem recounts, during the de-industrialization of western PA in the early 80's, tens of thousands of people left the region, taking with them their kids and their future grandchildren. It's never quite recovered.

Did you know that Beaver County's unemployment rate topped 28% then, higher than it was in the Depression?

What's up with the region outside Pittsburgh, what Nicholas refers to as Greater Non-Urban SW PA (GnuSWPA!

That's coming, even though both Philly and Pgh's populations have rebounded somewhat…and did the state's 3 western TV markets - Erie, Johnstown-Altoona and Pittsburgh - all lose voters in the past 3 years?

Will the state be forced to move a state senate seat from western PA to the eastern part of the state in 2030's state reapportionment?

Can we redefine success without job growth?

Did you know that the Steel City is now home to more jobs than ever before?

Listen as Nicholas quizzes Briem on the state's top municipalities - Briem does pretty good but, like everyone else, cannot figure out the state's #6 largest town.

Enjoy our pod and learn more about PA's politics and demographics - that's always the goal of PA Political Digest!

Briem's new book, Beyond Steel: Pittsburgh and the Economics of Transformation, debuted earlier this year and is available wherever you buy your reading material.