Harris, Walz launch their 1st bus tour through western Pennsylvania

PITTSBURGH -- Just a day before the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz and their spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, kicked off their "On the Road to Chicago" bus tour in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania. It was the first time all four hit the trail together.

Sunday's tour launched from Pittsburgh, with multiple stops in Beaver and Allegheny counties located in western Pennsylvania. The campaign hopes to "meet voters where they are in community settings." The stops will range from canvass kick-offs to local retail stops.

The stops come right after former President Donald Trump's Saturday rally in Wilkes-Barre, located in the northeastern region. The former president will also be stopping in York on Monday and his vice presidential pick, JD Vance, will deliver remarks in Philadelphia on the same day as well.

Harris' campaign is looking to make inroads in the heavily conservative Beaver county where she will highlight labor unions while Trump is looking to appeal to the blue collar voters in Wilkes-Barre, which is not too far from President Joe Biden's hometown of Scranton.

At his rally, Trump claimed that Harris' economic policies would be the "death of Pennsylvania," a state that has heavy ties in the energy and steel industries.

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"We're going to get your energy prices down by 50% the Kamala presidency will mean death for Pennsylvania energy. Remember that it'll mean death of Pennsylvania," said Trump.

The dueling events highlight how critical the state is in reaching the coveted 270 electoral votes needed to win November's election. The state, which not only holds significance to Biden but for First Lady Dr. Jill Biden as well, was a regular stomping ground for the president. He made 9 stops this year before leaving the ticket. This will be both Harris' and Trump's 8th visit to the state this year.

Trump won Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes in 2016, but Biden was able to reclaim the state along with two other Rust Belt states, Wisconsin and Michigan, by a narrow margin of just over 1% in 2020.

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The momentum Harris has seen since Biden stepped down has injected a much-needed enthusiasm into the campaign that has helped to give the candidate a bump in swing state polling. Currently Harris is polling nearly two points ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania, according to 538's average.

The Harris-Walz campaign is betting on the heavy investments they've made in the state to keep their edge. The campaign has nearly 300 staffers across 36 offices in the Keystone State. On Saturday they announced a $370 million ad investment with a promise of twice of the investment in TV in Pennsylvania than made in 2020.