Battleground PA Harris and Trump supporters try to reach more voters in the final weeks of election season

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Trump and Harris supporters in Pennsylvania are ramping up their efforts to reach voters in the critical battleground state in the final weeks before Election Day.

Many of them are going door to door to talk to voters, like Harris supporter Misha Melnik. He has been canvassing in suburban Philadelphia for weeks and even choose to start working part-time so he could do more door knocking.

“Pennsylvania is probably going to be the most important state that decides this election,” he said. “And Montgomery County, where we are now, and Bucks County are the most important counties in Pennsylvania or some of the most important, so I’m really at a good geographical spot to do this kind of work.”

Pennsylvania is considered one of the most crucial swing states. Whoever wins the state - and its 19 electoral college votes - has a high chance of winning the election.

Melnik said Harris' entrance in the race is what really got him motivated to try to help the vice president win in Pennsylvania.

“When Kamala became the the nominee, [there was] so much energy and so many people started to actually have a renewed sense of hope that things can get better, that we can actually get the change that so many Americans need and deserve. So that was the big thing that was like, okay, I need to start working. I can’t just keep keep sitting," he said.

Some Gen Z Harris supporters like Angelina Stambouli are also trying to help Vice President Harris win in the Keystone State because she said she believes the election is especially crucial for young Americans.

“Now is a pivotal turning point to determine what our futures are going to look like. I think there’s no better time than right now to, make that decision with how we are mobilizing," said Stambouli, who is the vice president of West Chester University Democrats.

Stambouli said reproductive health care rights, the climate crisis and gun reform in schools are the biggest issues that she is concerned about and is worried how they would be handled under a new Trump administration.

“I do not want our society to go backward. I’m very concerned about, what that would look like if we don’t win this election," she said.

Trump supporters in Pennsylvania like Kristen Riley are working hard to try to reach more voters as well. She said she has spoken to many people across suburban Philadelphia who are frustrated with crime and the economy under the Biden-Harris administration.

“People can’t afford to live and have the same way of life that they had four years ago. So they want to bring Trump back," said Reilly.

She said she was disappointed when Trump lost the election in 2020, motivating her to try help reelect the former president in 2024.

“Under Trump, we felt the safest, I felt the safest,” said Riley. “My family felt the safest financially, everybody in my family was doing the best under those terms. We had more money, things cost less [and] the border is a huge point for me. The border is a mess, and I feel like he is the only one that’s going to fix it.”

Trump supporter Joe Linus said the country has been going in a very bad direction under the Biden-Harris administration and is concerned about what happen if Harris wins.

“The administration that’s in charge and the Harris-Walz administration that’s running for the job, they’re just incompetent," he said. “Trump has proven that he can improve the economy, he can keep us out of wars, he can lower the crime rate, close the border.”

Linus said he thinks that former President Trump’s chances of winning Pennsylvania are very good and said it seems like voters he is speaking to are reacting differently when asked about voting for him.

“Back in ’16 and ’20, the personality was was everything that they were thinking about," said Linus. “But now they’re thinking about the disastrous policies of the last four years and, and the policies that were under Trump and how they were comfortable under Trump. And they’re not comfortable under the Harris-Biden administration.”

Different polls have recently shown that the two major candidates are virtually tied in Pennsylvania, which will likely keep motivating supporters for both major candidates to work hard right up to Election Day.

“I’m feeling nervous and feeling that it’s too close for comfort," said Harris supporter Diane Fugale. “And we really need to get the vote out.”

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