Both Trump and Harris have vigorously campaigned in the Keystone State as it’s likely a must-win on the road to the White House.
BETHLEHEM, Pa.—With its 19 electoral votes dwarfing any other swing state, Pennsylvania is perhaps the most critical battleground in the fight for the Electoral College. Whoever wins the Keystone State this year appears likely to become the next president.
It’s part of the “blue wall”—which also includes Michigan and Wisconsin—that had voted for a Democratic candidate in every presidential election for 20 years before then-candidate Donald Trump snatched them in 2016. Trump lost all three to then-candidate Joe Biden four years later.
Pennsylvania’s industries, its population demographics, and its regional geography all make the state critical to win in the presidential election, political experts told The Epoch Times.
“It looks like Pennsylvania is a very close race in which both candidates are, for good reason, campaigning hard,” Robert Shapiro, a political science professor from Columbia University, told The Epoch Times.
“The Democrats may have an edge in the ‘ground game,’ and [Gov.] Josh Shapiro campaigning is a plus, but the state has had an increasing number of registered Republican voters.”
Trump’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaigns have blitzed through the state in the past two months, holding countless rallies in cities from east to west.
“Just look at how many times that both candidates have been, and how many more times they will continue to visit Pennsylvania before the election,” J. Edwin Benton, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, told The Epoch Times. “This could be like a revolving door.”
Both campaigns have visited the state more than 30 times since March, according to the AP campaign tracker.
Current polling paints a complex picture in Pennsylvania, with some polls showing a tie and others giving one or the other candidate an edge. Trump currently leads by 0.3 points in RealClearPolitics’ polling average.
The state is seeing a tsunami of political advertising for the presidential race, with Democrats spending $74 million and Republicans spending $54.1 million between Sept. 21 and Election Day, according to advertising analytics firm AdImpact.
By Jacob Burg
