Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Donald Trump has won the critical swing state of Pennsylvania over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Polls showed a close race throughout the campaign for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes.
Pennsylvania was once characterized by then-Bill Clinton campaign strategist James Carville as “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.”
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The two cities again were strongholds for Harris and Democrats down the ticket, while Republicans are projected to fare well in the midstate, particularly in Reps. Glenn Thompson’s, R-Pa., and John Joyce’s, R-Pa., districts.
Both candidates also visited the Commonwealth multiple times.
Trump notably held a rally in Allentown, the third-largest city, in a key congressional district analyzed as “EVEN” by the Cook Political Report.
Harris, meanwhile, appeared to focus her campaigning in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area – where President Biden hails from – as well as Pittsburgh.
Biden also visited the Scranton area during the campaign, and spoke to union labor in Northeast Philadelphia, the reddest part of the deep-blue city.
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Trump notably broke the proverbial blue wall in 2016 by winning Pennsylvania, while Biden won it back for the Democrats in 2020.
During the campaign, Republican activist Scott Presler was a ubiquitous sight around the state, registering voters at flea markets, community fairs and Penn State football games.
A “Team Trump” bus tour featuring surrogates from Pennsylvania and across the nation wound its way through the Keystone State, notably making stops in Duncansville, Chambersburg and Newport.
The traditionally ‘purple’ Rust Belt commonwealth has returned to “political battleground” conversations in recent years, after Trump upset Hillary Clinton there in 2016.
While the governor’s office has flipped every few terms and the legislature is typically Republican majority – though not entirely as of late – Democrats fare much better than the GOP on the presidential level.
Trump narrowly defeated Clinton by close to the same margin Biden defeated the then-incumbent in 2020.
Democrats have made gains on the House and Senate level there in the time since, with Pat Toomey’s formerly red seat going to then-Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in 2022.
Democrats also flipped a key swing district upon the 2018 retirement of anti-Trump Republican Charles W. Dent in Allentown, and Rep. Scott Perry’s, R-Pa., Cumberland Valley seat is primed for a close contest.
One top state official who was optimistic about Trump’s chances was State Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, whose district covers more than 10% of the state in its forested northwestern expanse.
Dush’s district covers all-or-parts-of Jefferson, Elk, Cameron, Centre, Clinton, McKean and Potter counties. Centre – home to Penn State University – was a rare blue county in the midstate targeted by Republicans like activist Scott Presler during his statewide GOP voter registration push.
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Dush noted neighboring Clinton County, home to Lock Haven, was solidly Democratic until the Trump era. “They just went over 3-to-1 Republican.”
“This is a massive shift that’s coming in rural Pennsylvania… and part of it is that my working class, middle-age and senior constituents are seeing what’s happening to their jobs and with inflation and this craziness,” he said.
“With a man now being able to be called a woman: that kind of stuff too. They’ve just finally had enough.”
Pennsylvania was one of seven swing states that were viewed as the most vital to winning the election, with the others being Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan and Wisconsin.
There are also several key congressional races this cycle in Pennsylvania, as Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., tries to fend off a challenge from GOP State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Macungie, Rep. Matthew Cartwright faces off with businessman Rob Bresnahan Jr., and Rep. Chris Deluzio is in a key match-up with State Rep. Rob Mercuri, R-Pine.
Combined, the seven states award 93 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidential election.
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