Former President Donald Trump, who reportedly plans to run for the top office again in 2024, will also be in Pennsylvania this weekend for a joint rally touting the Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate. It, too, will be in Wilkes-Barre.
In the Senate race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has been campaigning on his support for organized labor and legal marijuana, and has hammered his opponent, TV doctor Mehmet Oz, for only recently moving to Pennsylvania. Oz’s campaign has suggested Fetterman, who recently suffered a stroke, isn’t capable of being in the Senate and is too progressive.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro is running for governor on his long political career and support for keeping abortion accessible, and on his opponent’s commitment to disproven election fraud theories. That opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, is running as a crusading outsider, focusing on culture war issues like whether trans women should play sports.
In the starkly divided commonwealth, elections are often won on the margins. Outcomes are determined by one party inspiring higher turnout, or by another winning over slightly more voters in a key area.
Democratic consultant Mark Nevins noted that while it makes sense for Biden to visit Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, places like Wilkes-Barre, or Biden’s hometown, Scranton, may make the biggest difference.
“There’s probably 45% out there for just about any candidate from either party, and so they’re really just fighting over 10% of the electorate that is undecided or willing to change their minds,” Nevins said. “Which is why I think you see President Biden and Trump in Northeast Pennsylvania, up in Scranton, up in Wilkes-Barre, because that’s an area where voters have shown a propensity for swinging between the two parties.”