Harris and Walz Venture Into Less-Friendly Terrain to Court Pennsylvania Voters

Democratic Presidential Ticket Fires up Voters in Key Battleground State

On the eve of their convention scheduled for this week, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota embarked on a brief bus tour on Sunday, rallying voters in perhaps the most decisive battleground state in the upcoming 2024 election – Pennsylvania.

Harris-Walz Ticket Seeks Support Beyond Liberal Cities

The strategy of the democratic ticket to seek support in territories beyond the state’s traditionally progressive cities became evident on their first stop in Rochester, in the largely conservative Beaver County. In a field office there, Vice President Harris interacted with an Erie resident through a volunteer’s phone. Erie is a city in one of the most ‘swingy’ counties of the state, which Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, but which swung in favor of Joe Biden in 2020. A visibly excited Harris expressed intent to visit Erie soon.

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz were also accompanied by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, as they traveled on two gleaming new campaign buses from the Pittsburgh airport, greeted by a small but enthusiastic group of supporters.

A Neck-and-Neck Race in Pennsylvania

Traditionally, the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia regions have been the primary drivers of Democratic support in Pennsylvania, a state that commands 19 critical electoral votes, potent enough to decide the race to the presidency. Recent polls indicate a nail-bitingly close contest between the Harris-Walz ticket, and former President Donald J. Trump, with sporadic surveys showing a slight edge towards Harris. Trump is also escalating his presence in Pennsylvania, with a rally held in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and another planned in York on Monday. Simultaneously, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, is on a campaign trail in Philadelphia.

Continued Rallying on Less-Friendly Terrain

The democratic presidential ticket’s venture into comparatively conservative territory signals a bold intent to connect with a wider demographic, beyond their established liberal urban strongholds. The results will become apparent as the race heats up in the coming weeks, leading up to the 2024 election.