Vice President and Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris is ending her campaign with a final push in the all-important swing state of Pennsylvania, holding rallies and running a new advertisement with the state’s governor.
The rust-belt swing state, with its 19 electoral votes, is the most populous and the most consequential state out of the seven battleground states. Pennsylvania is considered by many to be a must-win for the Democratic nominee, who would have a significantly more challenging path to victory if she is unable to sweep through the rust belt states.
Harris is now making her final push in the Keystone State, announcing plans to rally in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on the eve of the election and launching a new ad with Governor Josh Shapiro. Harris just recently ralliedin Philadelphia, encouraging residents of the state to vote and hitting on the issues of abortion, the economy, and gun violence.
Current polling averages have Harris and former president Donald Trump neck-and-neck in the state, with Trump holding a slim 0.4 percent lead.
Her new advertisement in Pennsylvania features the state’s governor Josh Shapiro, formerly a contender for Harris’ running mate before she opted for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. “Do you want more chaos? Or like me, are you ready for some common sense? That’s why I’m with Kamala,” Shapiro says in the advertisement. “She’s practical, and she gets stuff done.”
“As president, I will chart a new way forward and find solutions to create jobs and bring down costs,” Harris states in the ad.
Harris has taken heavy criticism for her decision to name Walz her running mate instead of Shapiro, with critics alleging that the Democratic candidate decided against the Pennsylvania governor over his support for Israel in its war effort, as well as his Jewish background.
One advertisement from the League of American Workers hits Harris over her decision, saying that she “passed over the very popular governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro because of his identity.”
Election analysts report that Harris’ clearest path to victory relies on her sweeping the three rust belt swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Trump would take the presidency if he won any of those three states while also winning Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.
“If Kamala Harris sweeps the Rust Belt while Trump takes the Sun Belt states, she would win with exactly 270 electoral votes, the absolute minimum needed to emerge victorious,” Nicholas Creel, an associate professor of business law at Georgia College & State University, wrote in Newsweek.
Trump, meanwhile, has a more varied set of potential paths to victory and could surpass the required 270 electoral votes to take the presidency by winning Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and either Wisconsin or Michigan, even if he lost both Nevada and Pennsylvania.
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