Biden, Trump Target Pivotal Battleground In Countdown To Midterms
Faizan Hashmi Published November 05, 2022 | 01:40 PM
Philadelphia, Nov 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Nov, 2022 ) :They have been shadowboxing at separate campaign stops across the United States for weeks but the Democratic and Republican leaders find themselves on the same battlefield Saturday as they make closing pitches in Pennsylvania for next week's midterm election.
President Joe Biden will rally alongside his old boss Barack Obama as the Democrats deploy their big guns to build the energy they hope will spread nationwide and reverse the late rightward-shift in polling.
And in a split-screen preview of a potential rematch of the 2020 presidential contest, the midwestern state is also playing host to Biden's predecessor and bitter political rival Donald Trump.
Obama -- still the party's most bankable star six years after leaving the White House -- begins the day in Pittsburgh with Democratic candidate John Fetterman, who is in a dead heat against Republican tv medic Mehmet Oz in their crucial Senate race.
Biden and Obama then appear in Philadelphia, the historic cradle of US independence where the 44th and 46th presidents will woo voters from the suburbs that make for a crucial base of Democratic support.
The Keystone State backed Trump over Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 but preferred Biden to Trump in 2020.
Strategists from both parties believe the side that wins the post vacated by retiring Republican Pat Toomey will hold the majority in the upper chamber of Congress next year.
Fetterman and Oz sparred for an hour in state capital Harrisburg 10 days ago, with Fetterman still struggling with communication issues after a stroke in May upended his campaign.
- 'Chipping away' - "The month-to-month shifts in support for Oz are not statistically significant," said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
"The overall trend suggests he has been chipping away with some voters who have not been completely comfortable with him, but that mainly happened prior to the debate." Just a few miles east of Pittsburgh in Latrobe, Trump -- the one-term 45th president with ambitions to return as the 47th -- will seek to firm up support in a region that delivered him big margins in 2016 and 2020.
Pennsylvania is seen as a must-win not just for control of the Senate, but also for the balance of power among the country's 50 state governors, influential officials that weigh in on most aspects of voters' lives, from education and health care to voting rights.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro has been spotlighting the fringe views of state senator Doug Mastriano, his far-right opponent who was involved in Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
A victory for Trump-backed Mastriano would give the prominent election denier oversight of the state's voting system for the 2024 presidential race.
Like Biden, Trump has visited Pennsylvania twice this year, rallying for Oz and Mastriano most recently in Wilkes-Barre in early September.
The 76-year-old tycoon has already claimed baselessly that the state's elections have been "rigged," echoing his false claims that his own 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud.
"As Biden's approval rating plummets, Pennsylvania crime spikes, and Pennsylvanians grapple with a 74 percent hike in heating oil, coupled with record inflation, just weeks away from winter," Trump's office said in a statement.
"The America First Movement offers the Keystone State an alternative vision for America: safe streets, cheap gas, low inflation, and a thriving American economy."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Dubai Police Marks International Workers' Day with 'Talabat' Riders
Sharjah Ruler inaugurates 15th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
Parineeti Chopra opens up about her decision to marry politician Raghav Chadha
PCB decides to set up training camp for national team ahead of England, Ireland ..
Virat Kohli's sweet birthday wish for Anushka Sharma
Interior Minister commends Pakistan Coast Guards
Pakistan women’s squad announced for England tour
Punjab CM Maryam inaugurates initiative of field hospitals
PM Shehbaz constitutes committee to investigate caretaker govt’s wheat import ..
Women T20I: Pakistan to face West Indies in fourth match tomorrow
Pak-UK 6th Regional Stabilization Conference underway at NDU, Islamabad
World Labor Day being observed today
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Experts for ending child labour
13 hours ago -
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
15 hours ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
3 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
4 days ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
4 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
4 days ago
-
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
6 days ago -
Kite Flying: From cultural festival to deadly sport
6 days ago -
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
8 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
10 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
10 days ago -
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
10 days ago