How Will the 2022 Midterm Elections Impact the Pennsylvania Business Climate?

On November 12th, Business for America hosted a discussion of the midterm election and its impact to Pennsylvania’s business community. With voters’ overall rejection of election deniers, there is overall optimism that our elected officials will be incentivized to work together to find bipartisan solutions for all Pennsylvanians.

Dan Pearson, editorial writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, expressed his belief that Pennsylvania voters seemed confident in the electoral process and was happy to report that election deniers like gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano had already conceded. Voters across the Commonwealth were concerned about democracy, abortion rights, and seemed to support candidates who had substantive plans to deal with economic issues.

Carol Kuniholm, chair of Fair Districts PA, reported that most districts in Pennsylvania are competitive which encourages candidates to try to win over independents and moderates. Kuniholm also stressed the importance of bipartisanship at the state level to solve the very real issues facing the Commonwealth, and that increased competition can incentivize legislators to do the work.

Lara Putnam, a history professor at the University of Pittsburgh, shared some hopeful thoughts on the fight against misinformation and reestablishing trust in institutions, including the media. Putnam reported that things have gotten better in 2022 when it comes to disinformation, citing one positive example of the rapid response from the PA Secretary of State’s office to shut down misleading reports about election problems.

Finally, Aizaz Gill, PA Policy Director for Business for America, shared what BFA and the Back to Business Campaign have been doing to support our democracy and the business community in Pennsylvania. Now that the midterm elections are over, the organization will turn its sights to 2023 and what can be done to further protect democracy. That work could include supporting the initiative to pre-canvass mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day that will help deliver results faster and more efficiently.

Overall, the business community, citizens of Pennsylvania, and the health of our democracy came out the winners of the 2022 midterms, and Business for America PA is ready to continue our work into 2023.

You can watch the full webinar on YouTube.

To learn more about BFA and get involved, visit bfa.us.