What to expect in Pennsylvania on Election Day
This story is the last of a series of state-by-state previews of the 2024 election.
Pennsylvania voters are almost sure to play a pivotal role in the Nov. 5 general election, with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress and the state legislature in the balance.
With its 19 electoral votes, the commonwealth is the largest prize among the battleground states and an important piece of both campaigns’ path to victory. Both Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican Donald Trump and their running mates have made frequent visits to the state since becoming their parties’ nominees, including events in Allentown, Scranton, State College, Harrisburg, and others in the final week of October. Harris and Trump met for the first time in Philadelphia at their sole debate in September.
Pennsylvania was one of three “blue wall” swing states that went narrowly for Trump in 2016 after almost 30 years of voting for Democratic presidential candidates; the others were Michigan and Wisconsin. Four years later, Democrat Joe Biden won all three states back for Democrats with a margin in Pennsylvania of about 80,000 votes out of more than 6.9 million votes cast. The states remain key electoral prizes this year.
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