PITTSBURGH — What was announced as a kick-off bus tour of Pittsburgh on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Harris and her running mate, Governor Walz, instead spent August 18 at tightly controlled stops in Beaver County before heading to Chicago.
Ms. Harris held a brief rally in a private airport hangar, surrounded by her supporters – mostly members of local unions – who had traveled to the event by bus. She then drove to two retail stops and visited a telephone exchange before ending the day at a local Sheetz gas station.
Beaver County, located west of Allegheny County and near the airport, was once a powerful part of the Democratic Party and was home to many union families who worked in the Aliquippa and Ambridge steel mills.
As the Democratic Party moved left, voters shifted toward the Republican Party. In 2020, President Trump won the district by nearly 20 percentage points over President Biden.
While some local Democrats said the move was strategic and meant to show that Harris wanted to broaden her horizons, others were more cynical, pointing to the tight scrutiny of attendees at her planned events and the risk she was taking by holding an event in Pittsburgh, which might put her at odds with the pro-Hamas faction of her party, which has become a politically vocal voice in the city.
This movement, led by the Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America, reached its peak recently when a proposed ballot measure that would ban Pittsburgh from doing business with companies that have financial ties to Israel sparked accusations of anti-Semitism and put Mayor Ed Gainey in hot water.
The Pittsburgh chapter of the DSA submitted the petition to the city to put the issue before voters this November.
In Mr. Gainey’s initial reaction, he expressed concern about the consequences of the ban, which would bring the city’s ability to provide services to a halt.
However, Mr. Gainey did not publicly object to the ballot question.
When ballot papers were cast last week, it was discovered that more than a dozen employees in Gainey’s administration had signed the petition that would shut down city services, including Communications Director Maria Montano.
Within a few days, Ms Montano resigned from her post.
Since October 7, the city has become a center of pro-Palestinian protests, including a camp on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
The city has also become a hotbed of vandalism against synagogues, Jewish businesses and the homes of Jewish residents in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, where the massacre of 11 members of the Tree of Life synagogue took place nearly six years ago.
Several longtime Democratic strategists in Pennsylvania believe Harris avoided Pittsburgh during all of her stops and stayed close to the airport to avoid protesters disrupting her opening tour in Pennsylvania, a key swing state.
Many Harris supporters expressed disappointment at not being able to see her when she was in Beaver County.
The details of her event were kept under wraps until her arrival—given Beaver County’s distance from the city of Pittsburgh, it was difficult for her supporters to get there in time to see her.
Ms. Harris was greeted at the airport, where two Harris-Walz buses were parked, by Senator Casey, Representatives Chris Deluzio and Summer Lee, and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato.
Mrs Harris welcomed her invited supporters with her campaign song “Freedom” by Beyoncé.
According to a new poll by Emerson College Polling/RealClearPennsylvania, 49 percent of voters in the Keystone State support Trump and 48 percent support Ms. Harris as the presidential candidate.
Taking into account the votes of undecided voters, Trump increases his lead to two percentage points, 51 percent to 49 percent. Among third-party candidates on the ballot, the result is 47 percent for Trump and 47 percent for Harris.
Developer.com
