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(PITTSBURGH) — Just one day before the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz and their spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, will kick off their “On the Road to Chicago” bus tour in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. It will be the first time all four have traveled together.
Sunday’s tour is scheduled to start in Pittsburgh and make several stops in Beaver and Allegheny counties in western Pennsylvania. The campaign hopes to “meet voters where they are in their community.” The stops will range from campaign rallies to local retail stops.
The stops come right after former President Donald Trump’s rally in Wilkes-Barre in the northeastern United States on Saturday. The former president will also stop in York on Monday and his vice presidential candidate JD Vance will also speak in Philadelphia on the same day.
Harris’ campaign is looking to gain a foothold in heavily conservative Beaver County, where she will emphasize unions, while Trump is looking to appeal to blue-collar voters in Wilkes-Barre, not far from President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton.
At his rally, Trump claimed that Harris’ economic policies would mean the “death of Pennsylvania,” a state closely tied to the energy and steel industries.
“We will cut your energy prices by 50%. Kamala’s presidency will mean the end of energy in Pennsylvania. Remember, this will mean the end of Pennsylvania,” Trump said.
The competing events underscore how important the state is to securing the coveted 270 electoral votes needed to win the November election. The state, which is significant not only to Biden but also to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, has been a regular stomping ground for the president, making nine stops this year before leaving the ballot box. This will be both Harris’ and Trump’s 8th visit to the state this year.
Trump won Pennsylvania’s 19 votes in 2016, but Biden won back the state along with two other Rust Belt states, Wisconsin and Michigan, in 2020 by a narrow margin of just over one percent.
The momentum Harris has enjoyed since Biden’s resignation has injected some much-needed enthusiasm into the campaign, helping the candidate surge in swing state polls. Harris is currently nearly two percentage points ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania, according to the 538 average.
The Harris-Walz campaign is banking on the heavy investment it has made in the state to maintain its lead. The campaign has nearly 300 staffers in 36 offices across the Keystone State. On Saturday, they announced a $370 million advertising investment and pledged to invest twice as much in television in Pennsylvania as they did in 2020.
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