Hello, I'm Zeke, and welcome to The Zekely Podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania.

These past two years in America have been difficult to witness. Kidnappings and executions by masked thugs, a war nobody asked for, skyrocketing cost of living, and corruption at the highest levels of public office have darkened the public consciousness. But this year in Pennsylvania, there is light. We have a chance to not only help take back democratic control of Congress, but to get a democratic trifecta in the Commonwealth for the first time in over thirty years. And with only days left until the most important election of our lifetime,

I wanted to bring back a P.A. hype man who understands that good shit only gets done if we elect the right people into office. Thank you so much for being here, JJ Abbott.

I’m Zeke, a doctor, a Pennsylvanian and unapologetic supporter of Democratic values. You might have seen me on social media working my ass off for Democrats and meeting some pretty amazing people along the way - like President Barack Obama and Governor Josh Shapiro.

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Thank you, Zeke. So good to be back. I'm so excited to be here before the election and I'm ready to go.

man, it's so good to see you. for those who don't know JJ, you can always go back to episode 64.

short version,

Sixty four.

64, but the short v that's that's what they tell

One of the best episodes, that's what people say.

me. the short version is he's a political strategist for Democrats in PA. He was once the press secretary for Governor Wolfe and the founder of Commonwealth Communications, which serves as a communication and digital hub of PA's progressive infrastructure. So you are in it. You are deep in it, JJ.

I am and for the last couple of months I've been out on my own and been working really hard to g to get that trifecta and that's the the number one thing I've been working on and I couldn't be prouder to be part of the work that's going into trying to get it.

thank you so much for everything that you're doing. And I had to bring you back on because we are as

I appreciate that. And thanks for everything

you do. It's amazing. I your interviews with all the down ballot candidates in particular have just been great. You know, a lot of those folks don't get a a a forum to be able to really

Mm-hmm.

dig into what they're for and why they're running and their backgrounds. And it's I I've loved being able to learn about them from you.

absolutely. It's it's been a labor of love and it's important for this information to get out there. I mean, again, the mainstream media is failing us on a daily basis. You know, they have people focusing on all the wrong things, the rage baiting, these stupid panels that they have going all the time. But there's just so much that we can accomplish if only people knew how much power that they had. So this is my contribution to Pennsylvania and it it's been a pleasure. It really has.

Well, we are, as you said, on the brink of greatness in the Keystone State and I wanted to v

I hope so.

I wanted to vibe with you, man. So do you ever

I'm feeling the vibes.

do you ever get tired of talking about the trifecta? Because I never do.

No, no, I don't. I mean, you know, I'm someone who's like been doing this work for almost twenty years now. And, you know, w I I'm proud of all the things that people I've worked for have done, including Governor Wolf and you know, Governor Shapiro too has been ab and even divided government been able to get some really good things done. But you know, I I think it's it really takes like a a psychological shift to adjust your brain to think about what could be possible if Democrats had po had had governing power.

in Harrisburg to be able to impact people's lives and make them better. and it's been so long, you know, over thirty years since we had fourteen months where we were able where the Democrats had the trifecta and were able to actually get some really important things done. And so, you know, I think I don't get tired of it. I I feel like it's thirty thirty-two years in the making and you know it's it's for me it it would really be just an amazing

feet to be able to actually do a lot of the things that would would make people's lives that much better.

I I completely agree with you and I didn't realize at the time, I guess I should have known, but we wouldn't have had chip in Pennsylvania or across the country if we didn't have the Democratic trifecta for that one period of time. In that one slice of time in history, we were able to get health care, guaranteed healthcare for children in the Commonwealth. And later on the federal government said, Hey, that's a great idea. We should do that too.

Yeah, it's it's it's remarkable. And I and I think when you think about it in that context, right? Obviously there's these things like raising the minimum wage and codifying abortion rights and passing paid family leave, which would be massive, massive changes. And I'm not

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

I I'm not underselling them at all. But I think when you think about, you know, that's how we could think differently, right? We could we

Mm.

could have a whole different approach into what we're doing by trying to think about the struggles that people are having and how, you know, I think Governor Shapiro says it well and I I I really

this is sort of my ethos when I think about that, you know, prove to people that government can be a force for good. And I I think this is our opportunity, this is our chance. And we've never we've never been so close. And and people are working so hard and working really, really well together across the Democratic ticket. And, you know, I'm really excited about where we are. And, you know, we got to finish strong here coming down to Tuesday. But I really am proud of the work that everyone at you know in in the state

has has come together to do the work to whether it's the candidates that are running or the committees that are backing them or the governor and his team, but also all of the rank and file elected officials and folks like you and others who are gett helping get the word out, or people and especially people who are knocking on doors. You know, I know you're big on that, but you know, I I've been out about a bit on the trail and going to see and seeing people that are just out there hustling, putting their time in, putting their effort in.

You know, that that's what really gets me excited about what's what's what's possible.

There's so much possible. And again, Democrats believe that when done correctly,

government can do the most good for the most amount of people. And and we see that time and time again. And you're right, this is a huge team sport. I mean, democracy works best when you get off the sidelines. And we are seeing that in Pennsylvania. There are so many people. I I think it's it can be very overwhelming for people to look at politics and just not know where to start. But you just have to know that at the crack of dawn until the

Late hours of the night. There are people all over Pennsylvania who are strategizing for the Democratic Party, who are knocking doors and sending postcards and having fundraisers and making plans.

Democrats haven't had control of the state senate over 30 years. They are dusting off the books. They are starting to figure out if we get the trifecta, we're gonna run this shit again. We are actually gonna

Yeah.

have we're gonna have to call people into our chambers or we're gonna have meetings or we're gonna have agendas.

And they haven't had that power in so long that the wheels, that those mechanics are starting to get put back together again. So I'm super excited and let's get this done, man. Let's just get it done.

It's so exciting. Yeah, agreed.

Let's do it. Well, let's play some games, okay? And I have some more questions for y'all, right?

Okay, let's do it.

So my first question for you is should people in Pennsylvania be worried at all that their vote will be counted, be it by mail or on election day?

I I say no, and and I want to talk a little bit about why. And I and there are a couple of reasons. The first is is that we are very lucky that we right now in this moment with the president, desperate. He is desperate. And I I

Mm-hmm.

think it's it's not that he's like powerful or k he's just desperate, right? He is desperate to find any way that he can do it. That we have a democratic governor and that our governor appoints his own secretary of state. And so at the end of the and then we also have a democratic supreme court.

That everybody worked so hard last year to retain that we have a firewall against this nonsense. And I think it's really, really important. And then when you get down to our big counties too, and most of the counties, they we have really good folks that are running those counties. most a lot of them are Democrats, but some of them are Republicans too. You know, there are Republicans at the county level that respect their role as a

Mm-hmm.

is that Pennsylvania has incredible infrastructure right now to be able to not just protect people's votes from the bad stuff. We have amazing organizations like

The ACLU and Common Cause and the Committee of 70 and the Legal Women Voters who are gonna go to bat for us, right? They're gonna go to the courts, they're gonna make sure that people do account. But we also have these amazing organizing operations who they're not just trying to stop the bad guys, they're also trying to help the good guys, the voters, right? Which is like if you make a mistake and your county flags it, you're gonna get a call, right, from

Mm-hmm.

someone who says, Hey, there's an issue with your ballot. We're gonna help you walk through every step. The folks at

able to work with a lot of those folks and they've just gotten better at it. And so if you have an issue if you put your mail on ballot in and there's like an issue with the date or or something happens with it, like you're gonna get a call and answer the so answer your phone. I know you're getting a lot of calls you probably don't want right now, but answer the phone and and someone's gonna help you. And I I think it's really important that people understand that we have both a firewall of defense at the highest level and then we have the ground troops, right? Who are gonna make sure that people's votes get counted.

elections are safe and secure in Pennsylvania. Like l

One hundred percent.

like you said, thank goodness we have a Democratic governor who appointed a secretary of state who respects and honors that voting is Yeah, he i he is a Republican. He is. Yeah.

It was a Republican, by the way, right? Yeah, he is. Al Schmidt. And I I I just gotta say,

one of the best public servants I've ever gotten to know, and someone who should make everyone feel that much better that they are

Yeah.

their vote's gonna be counted, the election's gonna be fair, it's gonna be secure,

Mm.

and that they're gonna do whatever they can to make sure every eligible vote is counted.

Yeah, I met him once. So he gave a lecture at Josh Shapiro's content creator summit. And he gave a whole

great.

he gave a whole lecture about what he does on election day. And he's laser focused. You can just tell that he does not mess around when it comes to elections. And

He's an incredibly effective person.

and so he's the kind of person that you have to have faith in that, that he's there. And actually, I look, I'm not on Twitter anymore, X, whatever you want to call it, because I think it's just a cesspool. But I he does. He he updates things on his feed and lets people know what's going on in real time.

On his social media platforms and warns people about, hey, this, that, or the other thing. so

Hundred percent.

so yeah, I mean, people, you just have to know where to look. And I think again, it's overwhelming in politics in general, but if you can figure out the you know Eagles lineup and all the scheduling for the year, you can figure out how to, you know, vote and know it's secure in Pennsylvania.

One hundred percent.

Yeah.

Hey, thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Zekely Podcast. And if you're enjoying yourself, please take a moment to rate my Podcast. Five stars would be great and leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. OK, back to the show.

right, let's talk about Jeffrey

Yass Okay.

Okay.

the wealthiest man in Pennsylvania, the Elon Musk, one might say of Pennsylvania. How much havoc has he been wreaking this election cycle, JJ?

Well, it's really like a he's just like a bailout fund for the worst

Yeah.

people in Pennsylvania, the worst politicians. And it's really unfortunate because you have your Democratic candidates for particularly for in the state senate who have just been hustling, right? They're holding grassroots fundraisers, they're raising money in small dollars, and then you have their opponents, these incumbents, who, let's just be clear, have spent the last four years implementing

Jeffrey Yass's agenda, right? Undermining public schools, going after unions, making making sure that the wealthy are getting the breaks and not the working class. They've spent all that time and now they're getting rewarded for it. And Jeffrey Yass has put somewhere between 70 to 80 percent of the overall funding for particularly when you look at the four Senate battlegrounds on the eastern side of the state that we need to flip to get the trifecta.

They are just getting bankrolled by one billionaire and his pacs and it's like they don't even have to try, right? And it's it's really it's really unfortunate because otherwise I don't even think these elections would be close, right? I think

Mm-hmm.

that we'd be blowing them out of the water if it wasn't for the fact that one guy

can write a bunch of million dollar checks to these candidates, by their campaigns and then by their

Hmm.

votes.

Yeah, he he's just terrible. I mean, 70 billion does. Can you just imagine sitting on that much wealth, JJ? I mean, he lives literally a couple towns over from me. I mean, I don't think he probably walks or drives. He probably takes a helicopter everywhere. But I mean, it's just unbelievable that that amount of wealth can influence elections. And for anyone who is anti corruption, you should not be voting for any Republican politicians in Pennsylvania because they're just they're just taking it. They're saying, Thank you very much.

Jeffrey has, and when I have the chance, I'm gonna defund public schools. Because that's that is his entire mission. His entire mission is to defund public schools, have it charter school after charter school in Pennsylvania, and he's probably gonna benefit in some way financially from all this stuff happening.

Well, I think that's I think that's really important that people understand what what exactly they've done over the last, let's say, ten years since he's been bankrolling all their campaigns. And we're talking, I think over a hundred million dollars, right, that he's

Yeah.

put in to Republican campaigns. But, you know, we talk a lot about school choice, but really what they do, right, is they they hold the budget hostage every single year, the Republicans in the Senate. And they hold it hostage for one thing.

And they're tax credits. And so, you know, when they talk about this, they talk about it like it's this direct infusion to private schools. But that's not even true. What it is is that people like Jeffrey Yass can get a tax break if they give money to a private school. So basically, your dollars, which should be going to public schools, your tax dollars are going to Jeffrey Yass and other wealthy people like him. And then those people are getting a tax break.

For giving money to private schools. And so I I think it's really like I don't even think people really realize that. It's that it's not that just that Yas is getting his way because public dollars are being diverted from public schools to private schools. It's that he's also getting a kickback out of that. You know,

Right.

he's getting a break. And does a guy who's worth seventy billion dollars need a break right now? And so you mentioned the word corruption. And like I think, you know, when we look at Trump.

It's just so blatant, right? So we're everyone is outraged at how Trump is enriching himself, his family is is using the presidency to get richer. But your local politics, right, can be subject to to the same kind of malfeasance

Right. Mm-hmm.

that's happening with Trump. And what we've seen in Harrisburg is that because it's been happening for so long, right? Because the Senate has been in tr in charge for so long, and they've

Done all these things and they keep getting all this money from Jeffrey Yass and they block the ethics reforms, right? They've been the ones, right, that have been

Right.

in charge for so long and blocked these things, that we've almost become accustomed to this. And so it it's, you know, it's frustrating to me as someone who works really closely with reporters. I respect every single reporter that I work with, and that I I love our local media. But the fact that this isn't a full-blown scandal, that one

Person, the richest person in this in the state, can bankroll an entire caucus. And then that caucus makes his agenda their agenda. Like that is the most direct line that you can draw, right? This is this is not a squiggly run, it's as straight as an arrow. You

It's a straight line.

know?

I was on the ground with these Senate campaigns that are up against Jeffrey Ass's money.

Mm-hmm.

And what they have that their opponents don't is that they have people power on their side. And there are

Absolutely, yeah.

dozens, if not hundreds, of people who right now are going out and they're volunteering for these state senate campaigns. And I just want to plug, any one of you could do that, right? And there's and there's you you don't if you if you don't feel comfortable knocking on doors, but I will say it's fun, it's the most effective thing, and it'll make you feel good about yourself. And you'll probably meet some interesting people along the way.

You can also make calls or you can make texts, right? And so I just plug it right now. PA DemsRiseUp.org. You can get

Mm-hmm.

sign up with a coordinated campaign and they'll direct you. You can also get turn PA Blue is a great organ organization that also targets these these swing district races. And so I just plug like these candidates, you know, they actually don't need your right now, they don't need your money, but they need your time and they need your hustle.

Right.

And so

Right.

if you have the opportunity, I would just say, like, what satisfaction would it be that you beat a guy with 70 billion dollars? Like that, it will be such sweet res sweet rewards for everybody who puts the work in because they have everything at their dispos. It's so easy for them, right? They could just get a blank check from a billionaire and they can run these horrific negative ads and they can lie about their opponents all they want and they don't have to be a

They don't they think they don't not gonna be held accountable. But you you know, everyone out there in Pennsylvania has the power to hold these folks accountable right now. and it's gonna be on the doors, it's gonna be on the phones, it's gonna be in people's in people's inboxes. And then frankly, it's it's it's about relational, right? We need people to reach out to people they know, right? Because the most powerful tool in this is your relationships, right? So if you know someone who lives in an area that's a battleground.

Text them, call them, you know,

Right, right.

send them a note and say, Hey, this means something to me and

That's right.

I'd appreciate you doing you you making sure you vote for these down ballot candidates.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. I mean, mom, mom, you hearing this? You live in James Malone's district, okay? James Malone has to win reelection

That's right.

to we can get the trifecta. Okay. He's running in for the state senate in in Lancaster County. So yeah, I I totally agree with you. Look, these billionaires, they don't have the vibes that we have. They don't have the energy. They don't have the work ethic and the grit and the grind. And that is what's gonna get us across the finish line. At the end of the day, it's gonna be at the ballot box. We are gonna beat them at the ballot box.

One hundred percent agree.

Let's play yes or no. Okay, it's a play on trivia. Okay, yes or no.

I like it.

Yes.

Yeah, that is correct. $350 million. $350. That's insane. What an asshole. All right, here's another one. An investigation by ProPublica.

Estimated that Jeffrey Yass paid an average federal income tax rate of just nineteen percent over six years.

No, I is it lower? I w it might even be lower. Is that yes? Okay.

It that no it th that's actually that's actually yes. Yeah, he only paid

I mean n nineteen percent. That's it. That is very low. The ma the

Is very low for someone that has so much money. Yes. And like the aver

I think the average American pays like twenty two percent or something. So yeah. Like I unreal.

Yeah. What what what a life. What a life to be a

billionaire. All right, I got two more. Jeffrey Yass' investment firm owns a significant portion of TikTok.

Yes.

Yes. Yeah, that's crazy, right? The the platform

Well, and and

I think it's a great example, right? Jeffrey Yes spent over two hundred million dollars for to elect Donald Trump.

Right.

And a lot of times people like, well, he's not a MAGA guy. It's like, well, if you give two hundred million dollars to Trump, you're a MAGA guy. Like there's

Right.

no there's no doubt about it. But the second part is then the Trump administration basically negotiated for TikTok a favorable deal that allowed

Mm-hmm. Right.

for investors like Yass

to ret to make to recoup their investment, to make to keep

Mm-hmm.

their their their money. And so the Congress passed a law that would have basically reined in TikTok from you know the some of the issues that were with its foreign ownership and the Trump administration stepped in to give a favorable deal to the investors here in the US

He just paved the road essentially for a billionaire to control what we see, what we consume, the algorithm essentially.

One hundred percent.

And it's just it we're not better for it. We're not better for it. All right, this last one's gonna be easy for you, 'cause you c you kind of already alluded to it. After Trump won in twenty twenty four, Yass donated sixteen million dollars to MAGA Inc. in early twenty twenty five.

I'm gonna guess yes.

Yeah, Yass explained the change by because initially Yass wasn't supporting Trump's second run, but then afterward he said, Well, you know, Trump supports my my school choice initiative. So that's why I'm gonna donate to him.

it's it's it's this it's the same thing.

Yeah, well and and it's worth

worth noting too that one of the guys who made out really well on the deal that they passed in Congress to cut Medicaid and cut snap and transfer that money to tax

cuts was Jeffrey S, right? I mean that's

Hmm. Yeah.

his investment in Trump

Mm.

recouped a ton of money for himself.

Yeah, yeah. Well, look, we have to show people like Jeffree Yass in Pennsylvania this year that he cannot buy our politicians. That and on all you have to do is just show up and vote. Maybe if you already voted by mail, awesome. but again, by election day, November third, we have to send a clear message that Pennsylvania is not for sale and Jeffrey As needs to kick needs to kick rocks.

JJ, you and I are are extremely involved in PA politics. Okay, but unlike myself who works as a doctor full-time, your career has been working with and for politicians. Do you think anyone can understand politics?

Yes, yes. I think I think politics at its core is quite simple. I think that the obviously when you get into specific policies that are tackling complex problems, some of those solutions are gonna be complicated. But at the end of the day, you know, politics is really about relationships, right? And it's about how you how we come together you know collectively to build power.

To be able to decide how our government is going to function. And so I think a lot of people are frustrated by politics and fairly. But some people are are are are find it daunting, right? That the idea of it. But at the end of the day, it's it's really all about just bringing people together around a common cause and and moving in a direction together to try to get things done that

hopefully will help people. the

Yeah.

other side sometimes does a lot of that work not to do the right things. But on

Yeah.

our side for the Democrats, I think, you know, led by Governor Spiro, Lieutenant Governor

Mm.

Davis, and the House and Senate Democrats, I think people could really understand quickly how politics work should work

Mm. Yeah.

if we get this trifecta because we're gonna finally have a government in Harrisburg that's focused on solving problems.

anyway, I just say one thing. W one thing I really like like about Governor Shapiro is that he really fought I think he really focuses intentionally on trying to make politics accessible for people, right? He wants to make people understand the tangible ways that he's trying to improve their lives and communicate directly to them how how how he's going to try to do it. and you know, I think when you know this we're in this sort of historic moment where

He's really focused on trying to get the trifecta. And I think the trifecta is really a simple way for people to understand that like if you give Governor Shapiro the team on the field to win for you, then he's gonna do everything he can to get all the things done that are are necessary to make lives better in Pennsylvania.

I agree. I mean, I think it's difficult for anyone to be a single issue voter. I mean, there are so many issues in life, right? But if you are a single issue voter, if there's something you are passionate about, I guarantee you that politics somehow influences that for you. Okay. And I'm not talking about like luxury items. I'm not saying like, you know, buying expensive cars or going on expensive vacations, but like, you know, just the cost of buying a house, just how much you're making it work.

Whether or not you have access to healthcare, whether or not you can have clean water, clean air, potholes are being filled, stop signs. You know, these are not, these are these are rights. These are things that you should have access to. They're not luxury items, right? And the political party that is in power will influence all of those things. So if if you just sit down and think for a second, what is making my life difficult and how can it be easier? There is an answer to that. There is someone out there who has an idea.

Who wants to fix that problem for you? And you may not even know their name or who they are. They might not even be in power right now where you live. But I guarantee you, if you work towards that goal, you'll be helping not just yourself, but your neighbors, people in your state and around the country. So politics is super important. Again, like you said, overwhelming, but anybody can do it and you should get involved.

JJ, tell me your thoughts on polls. Because I think personally, this is my hot take, they're garbage. Okay. I don't care how good they are. I feel like it's just, you know, it's the hope that you want, right? But to me, the only poll that matters are the election results. But what what are your thoughts on polls in general?

Well, listen, I I think I think we've gotten sort of away from what polls are supposed to be, right? And what polls are really supposed to be are like deeper tools for campaigns and candidates to understand the people that they're talking to, the people that they're trying to persuade. And so a lot of times when we think it when we hear about polls, we hear about these like head to head numbers. But the way you have to think about polls is that they actually measure a range.

Right. So the number that you hear is either is is somewhere between that number and three points less or three points more. Right. So it's it's really about a range, right? It it it does it it may help us, it may help tell us whether a race is very competitive or very uncompetitive. Or or or like it may tell us the best way that we can use poles is to better understand the issues.

That the most people are caring about, right? And that's that's that's what is most useful in them. Unfortunately, we live in a clickbaity, you know,

Yeah.

world of political journalism where polls are used to drive people crazy, right? Like that's

Yeah, yeah.

that's kind of what the goal is when these polls are put out publicly, right? They're not they're

Right.

not really tools that campaigns or

Candidates or consultants are using, they are just show, right? They're

Yeah.

just to try to drive conversation and clicks and get engagement and views, right? But so what I would just say is like

there is not a lot of value to most people in a head-to-head election poll, right? That is just telling you a range of possibilities. It is not telling you.

is not predicting the future.

Right.

and so and and they can be wrong, right? And it's and one other thing I just think because I do a lot in research and and it is helpful for you know practitioners. But I would just say too is that polls are also rooted in a guess. You are guessing what the electorate is going to look like. And so that number at the top that you see, it is a range, but then it's based on a guess. So

We have the power one to make those that guess different, right? We can make

Right.

it so that might guess that like only two percent more Democrats are gonna turn out than Republicans. But if we're able to bump that two percent advantage up to four percent in reality, we can win. We can beat the poll, right? And so I I think especially right now, they're completely useless. the polls

Uh-huh.

that mattered were the ones that candidates and campaigns did three months ago.

Mm-hmm.

That helped

them put together a plan for how they were gonna message and advertise and organize. The polls we're getting now are just trying to get clicks and attention. So I I would just say to people who are out there, fuck the polls. You know, go vote, go organize, go

Thank you. Yeah. Yeah.

get involved. because even if you're like, I see this poll, this candidate like is up, right? That poll could be completely wrong.

Mm-hmm.

Right.

And

how are you gonna feel if you trusted some random thing instead of your gut which said, I should get involved? And so what I what I tell everyone right now is that pretend every single race you care about is a toss up and act accordingly.

Right. I agree. I never I just they come across my feed all the time. Sometimes Jess, my wife will show me like, now it's a lean blue and it was a toss up. It's like I don't care. I don't want to see it. Okay, I twenty twenty four, we all got punched in the face, right? I mean every yeah, and twenty twenty four, right? Yeah, we get punched

twenty sixteen and twenty twenty four. But we had it twice, you know, yeah.

in the face. I don't wanna see the the again, people, the only poll that matters are the results of the election. So yeah, I agree. Act

Hundred percent agree.

like everything's a toss up and just grind it out all the way to November third.

All JJ, let's play another game called Pole Worker or Pole Worker. Okay. All right. So

Okay.

I'm gonna I'm gonna say some things to you, and you're gonna tell me, is it a pole worker, P-O-L-L, or a pole worker, P-O-L-E? Okay.

okay.

it could it could be both. All right. I've never had that many people waiting for me.

Well I hope in certain places

Yes.

that's a poll worker P O L L

Yes.

on election day.

Yes, I agree with you. I think it could be both. It could be both. And I

It could be both.

it could be both. Hopefully my wife is telling me that. She's she's gonna be a poll worker. She's a committee person on November third. There you go. It's it's a very exactly. Exactly.

amazing. My mom has also been a poll worker. Shout out to our poll workers, just by the way. It's a hard job.

I don't think people realize that when you're a poll worker, like

Yeah.

one, you have to deal with hundreds, maybe thousands of people. And if you

Mm-hmm.

ever worked a retail job or a server job a service job, right? Like dealing with the more people you deal with, the more chances you're gonna deal with someone that's not super fun to deal with. But

Mm-hmm.

they also like it's they're there for the whole before the poll opens and then they gotta stay till

The results are done, which is like sometimes

Right. Mm-hmm.

like a fourteen, fifteen hour day. and

Right. Yeah.

so just shout out to our poll workers, because it's not an easy job. but I know from people that do it all the time and have done it in the past, it's super rewarding as well. Yes.

And it's all volunteer. Okay. These are these

are these are elected positions, obviously, but it is all volunteer. Nobody's getting paid to sit there all day long and and basically educate people and help them cast their right to vote. I have a c have a couple more. How much voter penetration are we getting?

Pole pole worker, P O L L L

Yeah. Yeah, it's actually

it it's for those who don't know, it's a polyci term for the extent at which eligible voters participate in or are reached by the electoral process. Okay. two more. I was told to show more enthusiasm.

I guess I could be both, but

Could be public.

I will say be nice to your poll workers at the polls

Exactly.

on election day. they're as Zeke said, they're volunteers. They're just your neighbors too. These aren't professionals, right?

Mm. Right. No.

and so be nice to your poll workers.

Yeah, their

their job is not to intimidate you. Their job is to educate you and help you vote. All right, here's the last one. It's important to have privacy in the booth.

We're gonna go with the P O L L for that one too, right? Everybody's and that

Okay.

that's the thing everybody should remember is that who you vote for on election day is secret. and if you feel really strongly about voting for the Democrats, but maybe you're worried that someone in your community or your family or in your social circles is gonna

Mm-hmm.

be uncomfortable with you, or even angry with you voting for the Democrats, they're never gonna know.

They're never gonna know. It's it's your vote, it's your privacy. And again, there if you go to pa uh.gov forward slash vote, there are all that information is there for you on what your rights are. if you have any problems while you're voting, there's a hotline you can call. So your vote should be cast and there should be no problems, but there are there are people you can call if you have any problems at the polls.

One hundred percent.

Wow, you're still listening. Thank you so much. I want to make sure as many people in Pennsylvania as possible get to experience The Zekely Podcast. So to help spread the word, please take a moment to rate my podcast. Five stars would be great. Leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. Enjoy the rest of the show.

JJ, have you heard about the most recent Scott Pressler shenanigans?

I have heard about it.

What

I he is my nemesis. If I had a nemesis in Pennsylvania,

Mm-hmm.

look, I I can't stand a lot of Republican politicians, but he is just bad news from the six foot five top of his head to the bottom of his toes. For those who don't know, Scott Pressler is one of the co founders of Gays for Trump. he has repeatedly promoted election fraud allegations.

and that you know, as as you've heard, he's facing questions about whether or not he had political associates using his Pennsylvania address to vote in the last election site.

Yeah.

so that he could vote for Trump. He said he tweeted that openly. Like he it's not I'm not saying that. He said that.

Yeah. Right. Yeah.

and so he bought a house and registered to vote. and then now we've learned through the bulwarks reporting that he has had multiple people operatives.

who are not from Pennsylvania, who are from out of state, most of who are doing work and living and voting in other places, register at this house so that they can vote in Pennsylvania's elections. And you know, I I think on its own, you know, I'm not sure, I'm not a legal expert. It seems pretty shady, but

Yeah.

When Scott Pressler was holding Stop the Steel Rallies after the twenty twenty election on the Capitol Steps in Pennsylvania. And

Scott Pressler himself has criticized and even doxxed and harassed people for

Yeah.

living together and claiming it was voter fraud. And those groups include a group of nuns living at a nunnery in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Homeless people in Philadelphia who don't have a home, but an amazing organization called Broad Street Love used to be called Broad Street Ministry, allows them to get a mailbox so that they can get their lives back on track, right? You can't

Yeah.

you can't do a lot of things to get your life back on track if you don't have a place to get mail. That's the reality of the the American way right now.

Mm.

and so they have a place where you can you can get a mailing address so that you can get

your back taxes sent there or whatever you need

Yeah.

to do. And both of those groups, he's targeted them, right? He he harassed them. He's you know, these nuns were facing undue harassment for weeks because

Yeah.

he said they were ballot harvesting at their address. And so it turns out that Scott Pressler has his own ballot

Right.

harvesting hot flop house.

that he has been operating in Beaver County. And so I just think it goes to show that the biggest frauds when it comes to election are these people who go around lying about voter fraud. Because

Yeah.

voter fraud is incredibly rare. It rarely ever happens. And we have so many systems in place already to prevent any sort of manipulation in our elections that these people are just doing it one.

For attention, two to undermine the Democratic Party and the Democratic process to benefit the Republican Party, and three to make a lot I think to make a lot of money for themselves.

a

lot of money. He gets so much money from Republican Pacs he I mean, he's he's a grifter. He is a grifter. He's only doing this for himself, and he is just corrupt from top to bottom. I can't stand him. I hope that our paths never cross. Scott Pressler, if you're hearing or watching this, I I never want to meet you, man. He's done terrible things for Pennsylvania and this country. And again, like you said, every accusation is a confession. When

there's no massive fraud. They're the ones that are propagating the issues that they supposedly want to stop, right? They just want to win. They want to win at any cost and make as much money as they can in the process. Scott Pressler, God, get the hell out of Pennsylvania.

JJ, you've been part of the political process in Pennsylvania for a long time.

have you ever considered running for office?

I I don't think so. You know, I I just I I think I I really like being able to help more people get involved in the process. there are people who have a better issue set to me. Although I will say I think part of part of I I I think I think if I, you know, maybe in the in a in a long time from now, if I'm just hanging out and retired, I think being

Yeah.

like a small town mayor would be really rewarding. but I don't I don't have a lot of interest in like running

No.

for like

Legislature or something that

you know you have y you have

Think I've done my service in in some of the a lot of ways. So

but I I you know, and I and I and there are so many great people that are running. I mean, one of the things I've got to work on this year is working with a lot of rank and file legislators and the Democratic

Mm.

caucuses to help them get more engaged in the work towards the trifecta. And, you know, we have so many amazing public servants here in Pennsylvania. The Democrats are blessed that we have an amazing bench of folks that

are getting involved and running for office and I wanna keep helping good people run for those offices and be successful in them, but I'm not looking for to be one of them myself.

You're not looking for trouble. You know, they say that politicians grow in the shade, J J. So, you know, you don't don't ever rule it out, okay?

I wouldn't I wouldn't I I wouldn't I wouldn't necessarily describe my work in the shade, so maybe I'm not the right fit.

All right. Fair enough. Fair enough.

Well, JJ, normally I ask this, you know, people who come on my show the same two questions. You know, what gives you hope and what are your plans to get you through these next few years in America? But I already asked you those questions. So my last question for you is: what cocktail or beer are you going to drink when you find out that we got the trifectin pill?

If we get the trifecta, I think I will have I'm gonna say my I'm a big cider fan. I live in central

Mm-hmm.

Pennsylvania, so it's like the cider capital of Pennsylvania. And there's a one in get a cidery in Gettysburg called Plowman's. If you've never had it, I'd recommend

Mm.

getting some of it. and I will probably have a plowman's if

if we win that trifecta.

my god. I'm gonna have an old fashioned.

It would be

there we go. That's a good one.

I'm gonna I'm

gonna have an old fashioned and I only smoke three cigars a year. and I'm gonna smoke a cigar. you know, I'm gonna have one of the what is it? What's that famous photo? Was it Jalen Hurts who was sitting in in the hallway? Was it smoking a cigar with the with the trophy with the towel? That's that's gonna be me. I'm gonna be sitting

Yeah. The one with the towel. Yeah. That's gonna be you.

In the garage, smoking

a cigar and probably crying tears of joy when we get to trifecta. JJ

Well, I think if

if we get it, let's let's let's plan. We'll go on live on Instagram or or TikTok for a little bit and just we'll just vibe out. It'll be awesome.

yes. my

God. I I just it feels so close. It's just so it it's just within our

It does. It's very close.

reach. And again, if it weren't for people like you and so many other people around the state of Pennsylvania, this wouldn't even be possible. Okay. There there's no gatekeeping that I have. I don't have special access to anything. Of course, doing this podcast, I have met people that maybe you would not meet.

In your day-to-day life. And I do have contacts in my phone that you probably don't have. But again, it's just be by getting involved. And the information that I'm giving you, anybody can find. I'm just trying to give it to you in a way that is digestible and in a 45 minute time period. But again, I you and I spend hours and hours reading things and and researching things. And just know that it's happening because of that process that's that's going on without your knowledge.

And I just hope that if anything, this show gives you that hope and access that maybe you don't have from the mainstream media. Because you're not going to get it. You're just not going to get it. And we should all continue to have that hope because regardless of what happens November 3rd, and I know we're all hoping for great things, this process isn't going to end. Democracy is a it's a marathon. And we have to every single year make that decision to stay in the race and do good things for our neighbors, our commonwealth, and the rest of this country. So, JJ, I love you, man. I love everything that you do.

I love you too, buddy.

Let's get it done.

And let's just get it done. Let's just run through the miniatron

and get it done.

We're in we're in the final stretch here. And so I'm just gonna plug one more time. if

Go ahead, go ahead.

you have time and some and and drive, sign up right now. You can either go to mobilize.us, it'll tell you where you can volunteer right where you are. If you're anywhere else, go to PA DemsRiseUp.org. You can sign up with the coordinated campaign. And I just want to plug this like

You know, this is an historic moment that we're in, not just because we're getting a trifecta, but because we're because our leaders are trying so hard to get it, right? Governor Shapiro, Lieutenant Governor Davis, you know, the leaders of the House, the leader of the of the Senate Democrats, the caucus committees, and their staff, they are working tirelessly and they have been for months, for years. I mean, people have been in this fight for years, and we are on the cusp of it. And so

What's gonna get us over that finish line to be able to do so many good things? Like, I mean, it's just a laundry list of things that we can do if we have a trifecta is gonna be you. It's gonna be the people out there who sign up to volunteer, maybe for the first time this this this coming weekend or for election day, and help us get out the vote so that we can win these races, and that we can del then we can deliver for Pennsylvania like we never have before.

Every election is the most important election in Pennsylvania. Just stay focused and get out the vote.

Thanks, Zeke.

Thank you so much for joining me here on The Zekely Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved. And until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.