The Pennsylvania disaster that could have been avoided



Democrats just scored a shocking win in Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s state Senate special election. This is a seat in a district that President Trump carried by 15 points in November. A deep-red district. A “safe” seat. And yet we lost.

Let me say something few in politics have the courage to admit: I got this one wrong.

We cannot afford to sit out the mail-in game and hope for a red wave to appear by magic on Election Day.

I want to make sure every patriot understands exactly what happened — and what it means for the future of freedom in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Citizens Alliance offered to activate the PA CHASE program to protect the 36th Senate District seat. We were prepared to mobilize ballot chasers, execute our mail-in voting strategy, and ensure that Republican turnout matched the intensity of the left. But we were told it wouldn’t be necessary. GOP insiders said the special election would be “a cakewalk.” Consultants assured us that the Republican candidate would cruise to victory by double digits.

They were wrong. And I was wrong to believe them.

Let’s be very clear about why this happened. The Democrats crushed us in mail-in voting.

Democrat mail-in votes totaled 8,869, while Republican mail-in votes lagged at 3,547.

That means that the GOP candidate earned just 28.5% of the mail-in vote.

Our internal modeling for Pennsylvania has been consistent and accurate: To win statewide or in swing districts, Republicans must hit 33% of the mail-in vote. In 2024, President Trump got 34.5% of the mail-in vote, thanks in part to our PA CHASE efforts. But in this race, we came up short.

The proof is right in front of us. The rules in Pennsylvania give Democrats a 50-day head start on voting. They use every one of those days to chase ballots, engage low-propensity voters, and dominate the mail-in process. Republicans have been asleep at the wheel.

Do I like mail-in voting? No. I believe in one day of voting with ID. But that’s not the system we have. And until it changes, we must compete under the rules in place.

We cannot afford to sit out the mail-in game and hope for a red wave to appear by magic on Election Day. That’s a losing strategy, and the Lancaster loss is proof. Democrats are building momentum, infrastructure, and habits that will carry them through every cycle unless we match them with precision and resolve.

The good news? We know how to fix it.

We officially relaunched the PA CHASE program for 2025. Our mission is clear: Knock on 500,000 doors every year and deliver victories at every level of government. We've built the data models. We’ve trained the teams. We’ve proven it works.

But we need more patriots to step up.

We can’t let complacency cost us any more seats.

Let Lancaster County serve as a wake-up call. If Republicans don’t get serious about mail-in voting, we will keep losing seats that should be safely in our column. We will keep watching the Democrats run laps around us while we pretend it’s still 2004.

I’ll take the hit for this one. I should have pushed harder. I should have raised the funds and targeted this critical special election despite the naysayers. That won’t happen again.

The path forward is clear. Fight fire with fire. Chase every ballot. Win.

Machete-wielding male takes hostage at bank he robs, threatens killings, DA says. It comes to deadly end when cops catch him.



A machete-wielding male took a hostage at a Pennsylvania bank he robbed and threatened to kill people there, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.

But once police caught up to him, the suspect refused their orders to drop his weapon — and turned toward a group of nearby utility workers, officials said, after which an officer fatally shot the suspect.

Fuentes exited the vehicle, waved the 28-inch machete at police, and appeared to beat himself on the chest, the station said.

Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams told WGAL-TV this week that the Lancaster City police officer's fatal shooting of 39-year-old Luis Fuentes on Jan. 24 was justified.

You can view the district attorney's video here. It includes several police bodycam clips as well as other images and videos showing the suspect.

Adams said Fuentes — armed with a machete and carrying a duffel bag — entered the Fulton Bank on South Duke Street around 10:10 a.m., the station said, adding that four employees and one customer were inside.

Fuentes took one employee hostage and was inside for about five minutes, Adams told WGAL, which added that an employee managed to call 911 and left the line open.

"Fuentes could be heard repeatedly threatening to kill multiple people inside the bank," the DA's office said in a statement, according to the station. "Fuentes exited the bank at 10:15 a.m. with a sum of money."

Fuentes then jumped into an SUV and fled north on Duke Street, after which an officer spotted him as he drove away and a chased ensued, WGAL said.

The 12-block chase ended in the 400 block of South Plum Street, after which Fuentes exited the vehicle, waved the 28-inch machete at police, and appeared to beat himself on the chest, the station said.

Image source: Lancaster County (Pa.) District Attorney's Office

Video shows Fuentes ignoring officers' commands to "drop the knife," WGAL said, adding that Adams said the moment Fuentes turned toward some nearby utility workers, an officer fired one shot, hitting Fuentes in the back.

Fuentes was taken to a hospital for treatment but later died, the station said.

"The officer had a reasonable belief that a bystander was in danger of death or serious bodily injury when he observed the suspect running toward the bystander with a raised machete," Adams told WGAL. "The suspect had also just committed an armed robbery, led officers on a 12-block vehicle pursuit, and was refusing to drop the machete while trying to escape and avoid arrest. For all of these reasons, the officer’s use of force was justified."

In addition to the machete, police told the station they found a knife in Fuentes' waistband, a hatchet in his jacket pocket, and a metal baton and hammer inside the duffel bag.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Thousands of apparently fraudulent voter applications discovered in Pennsylvania



Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Heather Adams announced Friday that investigators have uncovered evidence of what appears to be a "large scale" voter fraud campaign.

The Republican DA indicated during a press conference that the county's chief clerk of elections and registrar of voter registration, Christa Miller, contacted her earlier in the week regarding what appeared to be fraudulent voter registration applications received by her office.

County commissioner Ray D'Agostino, the chairman of the Lancaster County Board of Elections, confirmed that two separate drop batches, amounting altogether to roughly 2,500 completed applications, were dumped off by individuals near the county's elections office around the time of the Monday deadline.

According to the DA, when preparing to enter the forms into the Statewide Uniform Registry, "staff noticed that numerous applications appeared to have the same handwriting, were filled out on the same day with unknown signatures, and some were previously registered voters and the signatures on file did not match the signatures on the applications."

Adams indicated that in their review so far, investigators have found signs of fraud affecting 60% of the registrations.

The issues encountered have included inaccuracies with the addresses listed on the applications; false personal identifying information, including false names; and inconsistencies between Social Security information and names. While the identifying information on other suspect applications appeared to be correct, the corresponding residents confirmed that they had not requested or completed the forms, and further, that the signatures on the forms were not theirs.

'Our systems worked.'

While most of the applications were supposedly from Lancaster residents, Adams indicated there were also questionable applications received from residents in various other locations including Strasburg, Akron, Ephrata, and Mount Joy.

D'Agostino indicated that the applications from the questionable batches are undergoing an extensive multi-step review and that those deemed eligible will be processed.

"At this point, it is believed that the fraudulent voter registrations are connected to a large scale canvassing operation for voter registrations that date back to June," said Adams. "However, the majority of the applications received are dated August 15 and after."

Adams said that the investigation is ongoing and that she will not comment on who may have dropped off the applications.

The board of elections noted in a statement, "Our Lancaster County Elections system is secure. Our systems worked. We will continue to operate with the highest levels of veracity, integrity, and transparency so that Lancaster County voters can be confident in our election."

President Donald Trump beat President Joe Biden in Lancaster County by over 44,000 votes in 2020.

According to Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight polling, Trump presently has a slight edge over Harris in Pennsylvania.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

California Brewery Picks Up Pieces After Months Of Newsom’s COVID Tyranny

'We have a business that's located in probably, during COVID, arguably the worst state in the union to try to survive unless you're Costco.'

Republican Mayor Wants To Force Some City Employees To Get Vaccinated Or Face Suspension

‘We have an absolute right to deal with public health issues’

Lancaster Police Officer Won’t Be Charged With Fatal Shooting Of Knife-Wielding Man

'We didn't call for bullets'

Democratic mayor fires police chief over wife's pro-Trump Facebook post. Now the community is rallying.



The police chief of a Pennsylvania city was reportedly fired earlier this month over his wife's pro-Donald Trump social media post.

Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace, a Democrat, abruptly announced the retirement of Lancaster Police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser on Oct. 2 — and according to the former head of the local Fraternal Order of Police, Berkihiser's swift dismissal was punishment for his wife's support for President Trump.

What are the details?

According to LNP, Berkihiser's wife, Kristy Berkihiser, had recently explained on Facebook why she is supporting Trump in 2020.

Mrs. Berkihiser was reportedly responding to a friend who had volunteered at a Trump campaign event. According to that friend, Trump spoke highly of law enforcement. In response, Berkihiser wrote, "why im [sic] voting for him again. Same reason as last time… you don't see him meeting w Jacob Blake's family or speaking to him by phone…"

That comment was made on Sept. 27. Just five days later, Sorace announced Berkihiser's sudden retirement at a press conference that lasted less than four minutes and did not include the police chief.

John Fiorill, the former head of the local FOP, told LNP he learned about the details of Berkihiser's shocking retirement because the chief reached out to the union when Sorace demanded his resignation.

"The irony of this whole thing is, he didn't make that statement," Fiorill told the newspaper. "He knows better than to get involved in politics. It was his wife. Where does the mayor have the audacity to request his resignation based on what his wife said? He had nothing to do with it."

What did Sorace say?

According to LNP, she praised Berkihiser's tenure as chief:

At the Oct. 2 press conference, Sorace cited some of Berkihiser's accomplishments, including implementing a department-wide body-camera program, improving the department's use-of-force policy, creating a community engagement sergeant position, and hiring the city's first police social worker.

However, she refused to comment further about Berkihiser's career.

"As it relates to Chief Berkihiser's retirement, I have nothing further to add beyond my comments last Friday," Sorace said.

What did the chief say?

Berkihiser called his retirement "unexpected and unplanned" and has declined to comment further.

What is the community doing?

More than 9,000 people have signed a petition demanding Berkihiser be reinstated as Lancaster police chief.

"Please sign this petition if you believe Chief Jarrad Berkihiser was unjustly fired for political reasons in which the Mayor has a responsibility to examine her own biases. Chief Berkihiser should be reinstated as he possesses the compassion, integrity, and deep commitment to Lancaster that is needed for such a time as this," the petition reads.

Police chief forced to resign because wife supported Trump: police group

Police Chief Jarrad Berkihiser of Lancaster, Penn. was reportedly forced from his position after his wife posted her support for President Trump on her Facebook page.
George Floyd Riot Damage Could Cost Insurance Companies Upwards Of $2 Billion
play icon

George Floyd Riot Damage Could Cost Insurance Companies Upwards Of $2 Billion

A new report out Wednesday shows this year's eruption of woke rioting to be the most expensive outbreak of civil unrest in U.S. history.

Sorority girl accused of rioting in Lancaster has bail set at $1 million

A university student and sorority sister was among eight arrested Sunday and slapped with $1 million bails each.