Harris and Trump campaigns continue blitz through Pennsylvania in final weekend of September

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As September comes to a close, both candidates on the Republican Party’s presidential ticket will be campaigning in Pennsylvania this weekend. On the Democratic side, key Harris campaign surrogates and big-name guests will rally voters.

Former President Donald Trump will be holding a rally in Erie County on Sunday, a bellwether county in the northwest corner of the commonwealth. It will be Trump’s first visit to Erie of 2024, but his second of the current campaign cycle. He rallied supporters there in July 2023 , which was his first in Pennsylvania for his 2024 bid for the White House.

Trump’s running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), will visit suburbs on opposite sides of the Keystone State on Saturday. Vance is the featured guest for a “town hall” in Monroeville, outside Pittsburgh, hosted by The Lance Wallnau Show, part of his “Courage Tour.”

Vance’s second stop of the day will be in Bucks County, outside Philadelphia, for a rally with supporters.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in San Francisco for a fundraiser on Saturday , while her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will campaign in Michigan and attend a college football game . The Harris-Walz campaign has events planned throughout Pennsylvania this weekend.

“Bridgerton” writer and producer Shonda Rhimes will campaign on behalf of the Harris-Walz ticket in the southeast at three events. Saturday morning she’ll be in West Philadelphia for a “Books, Ballots, and Brunch” event with Black women leaders. Her second stop of the day will also be in Philadelphia for the 52nd Ward Canvass and Appreciation Picnic. In the afternoon, Rhimes is scheduled to lead a “reproductive freedom rally” with Gov. Josh Shapiro in Plymouth Meeting, located in the governor’s home county.

Harris and Walz have both appeared in Pennsylvania over the past seven days. Harris was in Pittsburgh on Wednesday to deliver a speech on her economic policy, while Walz was in the Lehigh Valley on Sept. 21 for a rally.

Key regions of the battleground

President Joe Biden won all five of the counties that will see presidential campaign events this weekend. Two of the counties are considered among the biggest swing counties in the commonwealth.

Erie County, where Trump will be, was one of two counties that Biden flipped from red to blue in 2020. During the 2016 election , Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton by 1.5 points in Erie County, while Biden carried it by 1 point in 2020 .

A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released Sept. 16 showed Harris leading Trump by 4 points in Erie County.

Vance’s visit to Bucks County will be the first time this year a candidate on either ticket is holding a rally in the Philadelphia region’s lone purple collar county. During the 2016 presidential election, Clinton defeated Trump by just under 1 point in Bucks County, while Biden won the county by 4 points in 2020 .

Democratic candidates for statewide office have performed well in Bucks County the past few elections, although Republicans recently regained a voter registration edge over Democrats there for the first time since 2007.

Allegheny, Philadelphia, and Montgomery counties, where the other events are taking place, are three of the strongest counties for Democrats in Pennsylvania.

Polling continues to show Harris and Trump in a close race for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes. A Susquehanna Polling & Research poll of likely voters conducted Sept. 16 to 22 showed Harris and Trump tied in Pennsylvania.

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