Last Day Moves Show... Harris and Trump Both Target 'Pennsylvania' [US Election 2024]

On the 4th (local time), just one day before the election to choose the 47th President of the United States, the campaign locations chosen by the two candidates are heavily concentrated in Pennsylvania, known as the 'battleground of battleground states.'

Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is undertaking a strenuous schedule, visiting as many as five locations in Pennsylvania alone before holding her final campaign rally in the major city of Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, will also make two speeches in Pennsylvania just before heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan, which he has chosen as his final campaign location in every presidential election so far.

On the 4th, one day before the U.S. presidential election (local time), Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris bursts into laughter during a campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to The New York Times (NYT) and others, Harris and Trump’s campaign schedules on that day include five and two locations in Pennsylvania, respectively. This suggests that both candidates view Pennsylvania as the decisive battleground in this election. Among the seven battleground states in this election, Pennsylvania holds the largest number of electoral votes (19). It is a region that must be secured to reach the majority of 270 out of 538 electoral votes.

Vice President Harris, who focused all her final day campaign locations in Pennsylvania, began her schedule in Scranton, the hometown of President Joe Biden. There, she presented a vision of unity and solidarity, saying, "Let's enjoy this moment." She recalled that when she first ran as a San Francisco prosecutor, she campaigned carrying an ironing board, emphasizing, "No one thought I could win then. I want to say that when I love something, I fight for it."

Immediately after, Harris visited Reading and Allentown in Pennsylvania, locations where former President Trump was also scheduled to hold rallies on the same day. In Allentown, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who was once considered a potential running mate for Harris, appeared. He appealed, "We want a U.S. president who cares for the 500,000 Puerto Ricans living in our area and strengthens our region." This was a pointed response to a previous Trump rally where a supporter referred to Puerto Rico as a "trash island."

Following Allentown, Vice President Harris also visited Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, representative cities of Pennsylvania. The final event, a rally in Philadelphia, was scheduled for 11:05 p.m. Eastern Time. She was set to deliver her closing speech on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, famous from the movie "Rocky." Local media including CNN reported that "Queen of Talk Shows" Oprah Winfrey, and famous singers Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and Katy Perry would also join the event. Afterward, Harris planned to return to Washington D.C. in the early hours of Election Day.

On the 4th, one day before the U.S. presidential election (local time), former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is giving a speech in Reading, Pennsylvania.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the same day, former President Trump also held two of his four rallies in Pennsylvania. Starting his final day campaign in Raleigh, North Carolina, a southern Sun Belt battleground state, Trump warned that if Mexico does not stop illegal immigration to the U.S., tariffs would be imposed. He raised his voice, saying, "If criminals and drugs are not stopped from entering our country, we will immediately impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported into the U.S. They are coming through the southern border." He also disparaged former President Barack Obama, who is supporting Vice President Harris, by calling him "Barack Hussein Obama."

Trump then moved to Pennsylvania, attending two consecutive rallies in Reading and Pittsburgh. Although these locations overlap with Harris’s route, Trump held his events two hours earlier. His final campaign location was Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he also concluded his last two presidential campaigns.

The NYT reported, "Both Harris and Trump made their final appeals to Pennsylvania voters, indicating how important Pennsylvania is," adding, "The election atmosphere remains intense." The Guardian daily commented, "The focus is on Pennsylvania," and evaluated, "While Trump is visiting three states, Harris has placed all her remaining chips on Pennsylvania."

In a New York Times (NYT)-Siena College poll released the previous day, both candidates tied at 48% support in Pennsylvania, indicating a razor-thin race. According to Nate Silver, a star statistician known as a 'kingmaker' in U.S. elections, the candidate who wins Pennsylvania in this year's election has over a 90% chance of becoming president. Since the election of former President Richard Nixon in 1972, Pennsylvania has chosen the final winner in every presidential election except twice. In the 2016 election, former President Trump won Pennsylvania, and in the 2020 election, President Joe Biden won by a margin of 1.17 percentage points.