PA Political Digest - Does the Commonwealth have too many colleges?

Sharp analysis of PA politics and campaigns writ large

Welcome to PPD’s Tuesday Mid week post. I’m your guide, GOP political consultant Christopher Nicholas.

After a holiday-ish hiatus, our Tuesday posts are back and will take an essay + format when we present such an offering. Down at the bottom I offer a chart that shows the conundrum facing Democrats as they prepare for Election ‘26. But first, a question.

Does Pennsylvania just have too many colleges?

As we have long heard, demographics are destiny, correct? Come 2026 there will be many fewer 18 year olds/high school grads — which are the main targets for most colleges.

• Back in the financial crisis of 2007-08, birth rates plummeted as folks were less sanguine about their future. Next year, that will be 18 years ago, hence the demographic cliff facing many of our institutions of higher learning. Essentially we will have too many colleges chasing too few traditional college students.

Of course, it should be noted that a good chunk of high school grads decide to enter the workforce and/or joi…