The 'final' match in the deciding state

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are putting all their strength into Pennsylvania, which is considered the “golden land” of the election. They are pouring more money, time and effort into this state than any other, starting a fierce competition with a heavy advertising campaign.

When Vice President Kamala Harris announced her economic agenda, she chose Pittsburgh, the industrial heart of the state. When she introduced her running mate, it was Philadelphia, steeped in history. And when it came time to choose the location for former President Barack Obama’s first campaign rally this fall, she kept coming back to Pittsburgh, as if to affirm that “water flows to the source,” that this is where her destiny will be determined.

On the other side, former President Donald Trump has bet much of his advertising budget on Pennsylvania, holding more rallies there than anywhere else since Harris entered the race. In just one week, Trump held two rallies on Wednesday and three more in just a few days, a sign of his “go big or go home” determination.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are focusing on Pennsylvania. Photo: TNYT

Pennsylvania - the arena that awards the "golden key"

Although the 2024 election has seven important battleground states, all of which can decide the outcome, Pennsylvania stands alone as a pioneer, a bright spot that strategists for both Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump have circled, considering it the “golden key” that can open the door to the White House.

The two candidates are pouring all their money into the state, where they and their allies are expected to spend $350 million on television advertising, $142 million more than their nearest rival state and more than the combined spending of Michigan and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania is their most important target in this battle.

There are three key reasons why Pennsylvania matters. First, the size of the state: With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the most lucrative of the battleground states. Second, the polls: The state has been a close race for months, with neither side tipping. Third, the decisiveness of the election: Neither Trump nor Harris, especially Harris, are likely to reach 270 electoral votes without Pennsylvania.

In a recent campaign, Mr. Trump did not hesitate to declare: "If we win Pennsylvania, we win everything." That statement was a firm affirmation that Pennsylvania was not only a place to win, but also a "talisman" for the entire election.

A miniature version of America

Pennsylvania has always been a complicated hot spot in the eyes of both parties because of its unique mix of demographics and geography, like a "miniature version" of America.

The state has large urban centers like Philadelphia, home to large concentrations of black voters, a crucial Democratic strength. In the fast-growing suburbs, where residents are mostly well-educated whites, Republicans are losing ground under Donald Trump. But struggling industrial towns are fertile ground for Trump, while small cities with an influx of Latino immigrants are where Kamala Harris is trying to expand her influence. At the same time, the large but shrinking rural community, especially the white uneducated voters who are a key Trump asset, still accounts for about half of the vote.

"Pennsylvania is almost America in miniature," said Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis.

The battle for power in the state is fierce, with national implications. Kamala Harris is running online ads targeting Latino voters in eastern Pennsylvania and broadcasting messages on 130 rural radio stations, where Republicans who voted for Trump are switching to her. Harris’s team said it knocked on 100,000 doors on a single Saturday, a milestone for her campaign.

As for Donald Trump, he has been steadily increasing his presence, sending his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, to visit Pennsylvania more than any other state. Pennsylvania is also where Trump held an exclusive meeting with Sean Hannity on Fox News.

Trump returned to the state on Wednesday with rallies in Scranton and Reading, marking his eighth and ninth rallies there since Kamala Harris entered the race. In Reading, a predominantly Latino city, the Trump campaign is offering free haircuts on Sundays during Latino Heritage Month.

While former First Lady Melania Trump has yet to make any campaign appearances, Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, has mingled with the crowd, enjoying beers with fans at a football game in a Philadelphia suburb and attending a rally concert with singer Jason Isbell in Pittsburgh.

Both campaigns have tried to keep Pennsylvania's key activists and officials happy. At the Republican and Democratic conventions, only delegates from a candidate's home state get better seats than Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania is the center of the universe,” asserted Cliff Maloney, who led the effort to encourage Republicans to vote by mail.

Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said the last time he met Harris, he joked that she should rent an apartment in Pennsylvania. Harris just laughed, but in fact, she was in the state almost every three days in September, a rarity in any state during an election.

Governor Josh Shapiro, though not chosen as Harris' running mate, has been constantly by her side, from rallies in Wilkes-Barre, bus rides in Philadelphia to events with writer Shonda Rhimes in suburban Philadelphia.

Kamala Harris’s campaign currently has more than 400 staffers spread across 50 offices across the state. The Trump campaign did not disclose the number of staffers in Pennsylvania, but said it has more than two dozen offices there.

Confidence comes from both sides of the battle line

National political races can sometimes take on a surprisingly familiar tone, like a strange wind blowing through a peaceful countryside.

Kamala Harris stopped by Penzeys in Pittsburgh to pick up some campaign spices, then stopped at a local bookstore in Johnstown and picked up a bag of Doritos at a Sheetz gas station in Moon Township. Donald Trump was no less colorful, stopping at Sprankle's Market in Kittanning, where he bought popcorn and generously gave away $100 to a customer. He also enjoyed a famous cheesesteak at Tony and Nick's in Philadelphia.

So how polarized is Pennsylvania, the crown jewel of this race? The state is the only one in the country where Democrats control one chamber of the state legislature, while Republicans hold the other, by just one seat. Pennsylvania is also home to the most expensive Senate race and has two hotly contested House seats that could sway the state of Congress.

Democrats are optimistic because they have won several key races for governor and Senate in recent years, including 2022. But Republicans are equally confident in this contest, as voter registration numbers are shifting strongly in their favor.

The day Mr Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016, Democrats had about 916,000 more voters than Republicans. By Monday, that number had dropped to just 325,485.

Earlier this year, Bucks County, one of the hot suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, turned Republican in voter registration. Last September, Luzerne County, near Scranton, also turned red. Trump won the county in 2016 by 19 percentage points, just four years after Obama narrowly won.

Another surprise was the impact of Mr. Trump’s assassination in Butler County, which some local supporters predicted would spark a surge of support. Mr. Trump held a major rally there, with Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, in attendance.

Abraham Reynolds, 23, who runs a cleaning business in North East, Pennsylvania, was at the rally when Trump was shot. “That really galvanized me,” said Reynolds, who became a volunteer for the campaign and is now a leading supporter of Trump.

Who will be the one to "capture the flag"?

The political race in Pennsylvania is playing out like a game of Go, with both candidates leaving no stone unturned in their strategy to win over voters.

During the debate, Kamala Harris criticized Donald Trump for his desire to withdraw from the war in Ukraine: “Why didn’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans in Pennsylvania that you were going to withdraw quickly?” Trump was not to be outdone, planning to visit a Polish church in Bucks County, but the trip had to be canceled due to security reasons.

Both candidates have used policy as a powerful weapon. Mr. Trump has used Ms. Harris’s opposition to shale gas to appeal to voters in western Pennsylvania, which has vast resources. Kenneth Broadbent, a union manager for the Steamfitters union, said the union supports Ms. Harris, but members still want more on jobs policy. “She needs to come up with a clear energy policy,” he said.

Mr Trump has promised to restore a tax deduction for suburban households, but this only benefits high-income earners. Pennsylvania leads the country with more than $50 million spent on Google ads this year, with Mr Trump spending more than $80,000 on a video criticizing Ms Harris in Philadelphia.

Not to be outdone, Harris’s campaign also ran ads in Hispanic cities, using Caribbean accents to appeal to the Puerto Rican and Dominican communities. “This is a game of margin,” said Dan Kanninen, Harris’s campaign director in battleground states.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/bau-cu-my-2024-tran-dau-cuoi-cung-tai-tieu-bang-quyet-dinh-351338.html