COMMONWEALTH Matters


COMMONWEALTH, Volume 19, Issue 2 (2017). © 2017 The Pennsylvania Political Science Association.  
ISSN 2469-7672 (online). http://dx.doi.org/10.15367/com.v19i2.151. All rights reserved.

COMMONWEALTH Matters

J. WESLEY LECKRONE
Editor-in-Chief  

This issue of COMMONWEALTH features three articles that examine 
the current state of politics and policy in Pennsylvania. Berwood Yost, 
Jackie Redman, and Scottie Thompson explore the 2016 presidential 

and senatorial elections in Pennsylvania. On the basis of pre- and post-elec-
tion surveys, they find that Donald Trump succeeded in winning by capturing 
voters with lower education, a desire for change, and negative evaluations of 
President Barack Obama’s tenure. Pat Toomey won reelection with a similar 
base, but his supporters included fewer Independents than Trump’s and edu-
cational level played less of a role. A voting surge in working-class counties 
across central and western Pennsylvania—added to the relative stability in 
turnout in traditional Democratic strongholds—helped turn the Common-
wealth red in 2016. Jennie Sweet-Cushman and Ashley Harden follow this 
article with an examination of child care in Pennsylvania. They find there 
is significant public concern over this issue, particularly since the costs of 
child care can rival the costs of college. Yet the federal government has done 
little to address childcare costs, leaving states to fill the void with programs 
of their own. Sweet-Cushman and Harden find that while Pennsylvania has a 
patchwork of policies, it has not kept pace with the innovations of other states. 
Finally, Nathan R. Shrader’s article explores the mechanics of school board 
races in Pennsylvania. The results of the Pennsylvania School Board Survey 



2 J. Wesley leckrone

show that local parties and party officials are more likely to recruit and publi-
cize candidates for school board membership than are other types of civic and 
community organizations. Shrader argues that this finding shows the vitality 
of local parties and their contribution to the health of the electoral process.

Looking ahead to 2018, we are proud to announce that Mark A. Nor-
denberg, chancellor emeritus of the University of Pittsburgh, will be editing 
our Special Issue on the Opioid Crisis in Pennsylvania. Moreover, in addi-
tion to our collaboration on COMMONWEALTH, the Pennsylvania Political 
Science Association (PPSA) and Temple University Press will be publishing 
a hard-copy volume entitled State of the Commonwealth: Annual Review of 
Pennsylvania Politics and Policy. This anthology of articles from past issues 
of COMMONWEALTH will feature a variety of policy issues, enhanced with 
new material making the Annual Review ideal for classes on state and local 
government or public policy. The first issue will be available for fall 2018 class-
room adoption. More information will be included in the January 2018 issue 
of COMMONWEALTH.

Finally, we ask that all our readers encourage their libraries to subscribe 
to COMMONWEALTH. Subscriptions are included in the cost of PPSA mem-
bership. However, the financial health of the journal depends on our ability 
to broaden our base of subscribers. A Library Recommendation Form is pro-
vided at the back of the journal.