Donald Trump, anxious for a win in Pennsylvania, to hold rally in Erie

 

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is set to hold a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, marking his fourth visit to the state in just one month. Pennsylvania has emerged as a critical battleground for the 2024 election, with both major parties heavily invested in the outcome. The rally will take place in Erie, a city in the northwestern part of the state, at 2 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT). This event follows a similar gathering a month ago by U.S. Senator JD Vance, Trump's running mate, and comes just six days ahead of another Trump rally scheduled for Oct. 5 in western Pennsylvania.

Many of Trump’s advisors view Pennsylvania as the pivotal state in the upcoming election on Nov. 5. Among the seven key swing states where both Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, have viable paths to victory, Pennsylvania stands out as the largest and the most influential. With the most electoral votes at stake, the state could very well decide the presidency. Trump supporters argue that a win in Pennsylvania could lead to his return to the White House, but they also acknowledge that a loss to Harris there could solidify her path to victory.

In response to the high stakes, both campaigns have poured vast sums into Pennsylvania. More money has been spent on advertisements in the state—both in total and on a per capita basis—than in any other battleground. 

Erie, the location of Trump’s upcoming rally, is itself a microcosm of Pennsylvania’s broader political divide. The county voted for Trump in 2016 but flipped to support President Joe Biden in 2020. Polls indicate a tight race this time as well. A recent average of polls from FiveThirtyEight shows Harris leading Trump by a narrow margin of 1.6 percentage points, well within the margin of error.

Trump’s next rally in Pennsylvania, scheduled for Oct. 5 in Butler, follows an attempted assassination in the same town in July, when a bullet grazed Trump's ear. Despite the incident, Trump continues to maintain a strong presence in the state ahead of the 2024 election.