HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take their fight for Pennsylvania to opposite sides of the state on Monday, with Harris speaking in the northwest corner of Erie and Trump in the southeastern suburbs of Philadelphia.
Democrat Harris and Republican Trump have made frequent appearances in what is the nation’s biggest battleground state — it will be Harris’ 10th visit to Pennsylvania this campaign season, and last week Trump made stops in both Scranton and Reading.
Pennsylvania’s energy industry and natural gas fracking are likely topics as they compete for the undecided share of the state’s voters. Mail-in voting is in full swing in the state, where about seven million people are likely to cast ballots in the presidential race.
Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by more than 40,000 votes in Pennsylvania on his way to winning the presidency in 2016, but native Scrantonian Joe Biden defeated Trump by about 80,000 votes in the state four years ago.
Harris will hold a rally in Erie, a Democratic-majority city of about 94,000 residents bordered by suburbs and rural areas with significant numbers of Republicans. Erie County is often cited as one of the state’s reliable regions, where the electorate has decidedly moderate voting habits. Trump visited Erie on September 29.
Trump plans a town hall Monday at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in the suburb of Oaks, hoping to boost turnout among his supporters.
Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes, the most of any swing state, have long made it a center of presidential voting. Democrats have won three consecutive elections for governor and both current U.S. senators are Democrats, but the Legislature is closely divided and both parties have had recent success in statewide contests.
