Kamala Harris touting GOP support, 'risk' of a second Trump term in Bucks County stop
Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to “crucial” Bucks County later today will focus on patriotism and upholding the Constitution at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Upper Makefield, according to a senior Harris campaign official.
The Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election will be joined by several former GOP congress members and other Republican officials as they plan to spotlight former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the outcome of the 2020 election and “the risk a second Trump term poses for the country,” a news release from the Harris campaign states.
Harris’ campaign advisors say an appeal to “disaffected Republicans” in the suburban counties in Pennsylvania and other swing states is key part of the campaign’s strategy for victory on Nov. 5.
Bucks County is key for the Harris campaign in Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral college votes up for grabs on Election Day.
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“Bucks County is a critical swing county in Pennsylvania, where Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Trump by less than 2,000 votes in 2016 and President Biden won in 2020 by 17,000 votes – showing just how important it is to build a growing coalition, where every vote matters,” the Harris campaign news release states.
Here’s everything we know about today’s campaign stop.
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Who’s speaking at Harris Bucks County stop
Apart from Harris, former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois, is also expected to speak at today’s stop in Washington Crossing. Kinzinger was one of two Republicans, along with former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, to serve on the House select committee on the Jan. 6 attacks that followed Trump’s Stop the Steal Rally in 2021.
Six other former Republican congress members from across the country, including former Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Greenwood, are also expected to join Harris on the stage. The press release does not indicate that those other members will be speaking.
Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former Georgi Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan will also join Harris, along with former Trump aides and other Republicans. Two area lifelong Republican farmers who have been featured in recent Harris campaign ads, Robert Lange and Kristina Chadwick Lange, will be introducing Harris today.
Why is Bucks County “crucial” in 2024 election in swing state PA
Bucks County is the most purple of suburban counties around Philadelphia, with one of the closest margins between Republicans and Democrats in the state, according to voter data from the Pennsylvania Department of State updated on Oct. 7.
Out of 486,740 voters in Bucks County, Republicans make up about 41.6% of voters while Democrats make up about 41% of voters. Democrats lost their voter advantage over the GOP for the first time in at least a decade in July.
The only closer margin in the state is a 0.46% lead Republicans have on Democrats in Luzerne County.
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Democrats lead in just a dozen of the commonwealth’s 67 counties by an average of just over 14%, which includes Philadelphia, it’s neighboring counties except for Bucks, and Allegheny, Centre, Erie, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton counties.
In addition to the voter registration numbers, Bucks and Montgomery counties have also been where some of the most votes have been counted in Pennsylvania in both 2016 and 2020.
In both of the last two presidential elections, Montgomery and Bucks counties cast more ballots combined than in Philadelphia, which alone accounted for 10% of the 6.1 million votes counted in 2020 and 11.5% of the 6.1 million votes counted in 2020.
In Bucks County, about 345,042 votes were counted in 2016, with Hillary Clinton winning that race with 48.4% to Trump’s 47.6%, and 396,234 votes were counted in 2020, with President Joe Biden taking a four-point lead over Trump at 51.6%.
What time is Harris speaking in Washington Crossing?
The exact time for the event has not been publicly released as of yet and there is no indication of tickets available to the public.
It seems likely the speakers won’t start until sometime after 3 p.m., based on a schedule for press access.
Chris Ullery is the Philadelphia Hub Data Reporter for the USA Today Network. Reach him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter at @ulleryatinell.
(This story was updated to change or add a photo or video.)
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Over 100 Republicans to join Kamala Harris in Washington Crossing