Sen. JD Vance speaks to voters in Pittsburgh as candidates try to shore up key swing state

Pittsburgh, Pa. (WTRF) – But first, we’re only 19 days out from the November election and the race for the White House is laser-focused on the key swing state of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is perhaps the biggest prize in this election. The Keystone State has 19 electoral votes and both the Trump and Harris campaigns are putting in a massive effort to try and win the state.

Ohio Senator and Vice Presidential hopeful JD Vance spoke to voters in Pittsburgh on Thursday, outlining his vision for America during a potential second term for former President Donald Trump.

Recent polling for Pennsylvania shows a neck and neck race.

“In 19 days, it’s about Pennsylvanians saying ‘We’re voting for our future, we’re voting for prosperity for our children and we’re sure as hell not giving Kamala Harris a promotion to President of the United States.”

Sen. JD Vance, (R-OH) Vice Presidential Candidate

Among the top concerns to Pennsylvania voters is the economy. As of September the unemployment rate is 4.1%, but the labor force participation rate, which is the number of working-age adults employed or actively seeking work, remains historically low at 62.7%.

I was able to ask the Senator directly about how he and Mr. Trump would address this issue if they win.

“The most important way to get people back into the labor force is to make sure that we’ve got good jobs and the dollar goes far enough to support a family in this country. If you want to get people back to work, you’ve got to make sure that when they earn a dollar, first of all they get to keep as much of it as possible, which is why we want to lower folks’ taxes.”

Sen. JD Vance, (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate

Vance spoke on inflation, placing the blame on the Biden Harris Administration.

“This inflation that we’ve experienced under Kamala Harris’ leadership, we’ve got to make the dollar worth a dollar again, and that’s something Donald Trump and I are going to fight for every single day.”

Sen. JD Vance, (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate

Vance also touched on promoting pathways to the middle class by encouraging education into trades.

“We want to make it easier, whatever you want to do. If you want to be a doctor, go be a doctor, but if you want to work with your hands and build something in the greatest country in the history of the world, we’ve got to make sure that there are pathway available for people who want to do that.”

Sen. JD Vance, (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate

7NEWS is of course your Local Election Headquarters, and we’re going to have a lot more coverage on the race for the White House as we inch ever closer toward November 5th, as well as all of your local elections.

Below is my full exchange with Senator Vance.

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