- United States Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned Friday in Republican counties in Pennsylvania, in a strategic effort to reduce Donald Trump’s advantage in the region and increase Democrats’ chances of winning this key state ahead of November’s elections.
Harris concluded the day with a rally on a university campus in Wilkes-Barre, where she proposed an «economy of opportunities» for the middle class, reaffirmed her defense of the right to abortion and called Trump a divisive leader focused on his own interests.
«We need a president who works for all Americans and stops trying to divide us. People are tired of that,» Harris said, as the audience applauded.
At one point during the event, the vice president was interrupted by protesters protesting against the war in Gaza. One of them raised his voice, causing discomfort among the attendees. Harris intervened, saying she respected their voices.
The vice president’s campaign sees Friday’s visits to conservative areas of inland Pennsylvania as an opportunity to reduce Trump’s lead.
Its strategy is to attract undecided voters in Republican counties to reduce Trump’s margin of victory in those areas and ensure Harris gets enough votes at the state level to win Pennsylvania.
Wilkes-Barre, where she gave her speech, is in Luzerne County, an area former President Barack Obama won in 2008 and 2012 but which fell to Trump in 2016 when he beat Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 points. In 2020, Biden lost Luzerne by 14 points.
Harris’ other stop was in Johnstown, in Cambria County, about 100 kilometers east of Pittsburgh. This county also shows a similar trend to Luzerne, as Obama won it in 2008 and 2012, but Trump won it in 2016 and 2020.
In Johnstown, Harris spoke with voters in a place that functioned as a cafe and bookstore. She told them she is aware of her responsibility to earn «every one» of their votes, and that is why she wants to spend time in the communities where they live.
«That’s why I’m here, and we’re going to be spending a lot more time in Pennsylvania,» said Harris, who has spent six of the last seven days campaigning in the state.
Her campaign team has stressed the importance of Pennsylvania, since with 19 votes in the Electoral College, it is one of the states that could decide who wins the White House.
On Friday, Harris’ campaign said in a statement that 16 of its 50 offices in Pennsylvania are in rural counties where Trump won by a wide margin in 2020. The goal is to limit Trump’s advantage in those areas of the state, and thus increase the Democrats’ chances in the race.
