Kamala Harris was recently in Pittsburgh in the days leading up to the presidential debate that occurred at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10.
Harris was previously in the city to give an address to union workers on Labor Day, vowing to protect the Steel City as “a cradle of the American labor movement” and asserting that “steel should remain American owned and American operated” following talks of acquisition of Pittsburgh-based company U.S. Steel by the Japanese company Nippon Steel.
Harris then returned the same week on Thursday Sept. 5, taking up residence in the Omni William Penn Hotel for debate preparations.
Before her departure for Philadelphia, Harris was observed in the Strip District on Saturday, Sept. 7 greeting supporters at Penzeys Spices, whose owner has publicly criticized the Republican Party. The next day, she was seen on a walk with her husband Douglas Emhoff at a military base next to Pittsburgh International Airport.
Harris’s running mate Tim Walz was also seen in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Sept. 4, visiting a MilkShake Factory with his daughter. Harris’s decision to stay in Pittsburgh before the presidential debate has evoked speculation, but likely has to do with Pennsylvania’s status as a swing state. In the 2020 presidential election, Pennsylvania was one of six states won by Biden with a margin of three percentage points or less. As of Sept. 4, Harris only held a 0.4 percent lead over Trump in Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburgh media market includes not only the largely Democratic Allegheny County, but also counties like Beaver County and Fayette County. With each being almost evenly-split in terms of party affiliation but still Republican-leaning, these areas may be crucial for Harris in the upcoming election, especially given Trump’s prior victory in Pennsylvania in the 2016 election and Biden’s performance in the June debate which resulted in Trump leading in Pennsylvania by 2 points in an Emerson College poll.
Harris’s strategy has precedent: Obama did the same in North Carolina in preparation for the 2008 presidential debate, beating his opponent John McCain in the state’s presidential polls by a mere 0.4 percent and marking the first time a Democrat had led in North Carolina since 1976. When Harris and Trump faced off on Tuesday, Pennsylvania — specifically, the statewide issue of fracking — was a major point of contention.
When Harris was asked to clarify her stance on fracking, Harris stated, “let’s talk about fracking because we’re here in Pennsylvania. I made that very clear in 2020. I will not ban fracking,” citing her “tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act,” which “opened new leases for fracking.”
Harris also brought up the state’s large Polish-American population, asking Trump to “tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.” Pittsburgh currently has a 6.7 percent Polish population, many of whom immigrated in to work in the city’s steel mills.
In the end, Harris’ efforts may have paid off: household viewership ratings in Pennsylvania were the highest in Pittsburgh at 43.2 percent, even surpassing Philadelphia — the site of the presidential debate — by almost 10 percent.
As of Sept. 13, Harris leads in Pennsylvania by 0.7 percent. Nevertheless, a number of Pittsburgh voters remain displeased with her handling of issues like fracking and the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Harris continues to campaign in Pennsylvania, recently holding a rally in Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 13.
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