Both Harris and Trump make frequent trips to the suburbs as Election Day nears, a measure of the region’s growing importance. Trump recently chose Bucks County for a deep fryer photo op the local McDonald’s restaurant. Harris’ town hall-style event on CNN took place in Delaware County last week.
A dizzying array of possibilities could swing the outcome in Pennsylvania one way or the other. Even if Harris does well in the suburbs, can he count on Democratic stronghold Philadelphia to put up the numbers he needs to win? It is difficult to predict.
Bob Brady, chairman of the city’s Democratic Party and a longtime Philadelphia power broker, said he expects Harris to win more black votes than Biden would have if he stayed in the race. But he said Harris would not do as well as Biden in predominantly white precincts in northeast and south Philadelphia.
“I have friends, some of whom are going to be here today, and they are for Trump,” Brady, who hosted a pizza party for Philadelphia chamber leaders last week, said in an interview. You can’t talk to them. He has 47% of zealots. It’s scary as hell.”
A dispute between the city’s Democratic leadership and the Harris campaign could complicate the outcome. A Philadelphia tradition is to pay “street money” to Democratic footmen who help get out the vote in presidential elections. The Harris campaign has committed to paying $100 to the 3,500 city Democratic Committee members involved in get-out-the-vote efforts, a city party official said, but Philadelphia Democrats want more money.
If they get it, Brady said the money will help pay for more people to canvass neighborhoods and bring voters to the polls.
“They [the Harris campaign] didn’t give us enough,” Brady said. “Someone tells them not to give it to us. I don’t know who it is, but they are making a big mistake.”
A Harris campaign official responded, “Of course Bob Brady likes the idea because they’re spending money on commission workers to stand at the polls on election day.”
“While people need this check, it’s not central to how we win the campaign and that’s why we’re not giving him everything he wants,” the official added.
‘Eexcitement, fear and tension’
No one looking for an election reprieve should go anywhere near Philly. A dog wearing a tiny Harris-Walz sweater greets customers at a men’s clothing store in Wayne.
A casual conversation at a table at a local Italian restaurant included a passage about ticket splitting: “Trump could very well win Pennsylvania, and so could Casey.” (Democrat Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is running for re-election this year).
Trump and Harris signs are everywhere — at least the ones that haven’t been stolen. Harris supporters say the thieves came at night and made off with the yard signs. The owners tried various obstacles, even posting notes on the signs saying that if they were taken, they would donate $100 to Harris’ campaign. But the vandalism continues. A bunch of Harris markers were found in a ditch in Montgomery County.
Hoeffel said he heard the same plaintive pleas within the first few seconds of walking neighborhoods and talking to voters: “They want the election over!”
However, there is also a mix of excitement, fear and tension about a race that has taken dark turns. Neil Makhija, Montgomery County commissioner and chairman of the local election board, said he has received complaints from residents who are afraid of people lurking around ballot drop boxes and recording them as they drop off their envelopes. He said that he sent the complaints to the district prosecutor’s office.
Local officials are also bracing for a number of post-election challenges. Josh Maxwell, chairman of the Chester County board of commissioners, said the county has already received more than 200 calls about mail-in ballots — a number he said is unusually high. The subpoenas are aimed at people who request mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania but have addresses outside the state.
“Having a second home in Florida does not preclude voting in Pennsylvania,” Maxwell said in an interview.
He added that the problems should be prosecuted, adding “another layer of undue doubt at a time when people are completely unwilling.”
“Shiny Toys”
Both parties expect the result to be close in Pennsylvania. As of Friday, there are Democrats returned the ballots It outstrips Republicans in Philadelphia and in each of the four states, though that’s not necessarily tied to votes for Harris or Trump. Democrats, on the other hand, have historically outperformed Republicans in terms of early voting.
The election will test the potential of two different campaign models. Democrats are counting on Harris, as well as field work, to ensure that voters actually vote. In the past week, the Harris campaign says 235,000 doors were knocked on in the suburbs alone.
Trump’s model is largely built around his personality and emotional connection with his base. His ground game looks more modest, targeted “low propensity voters” There may be those who are not following the election closely, even if they are pro-Trump. A Trump campaign official said the campaign has opened a total of four offices in the suburbs.
But Big is not necessarily good, the Trump official said, pointing to voter registration trends. Between 2021 and 2024, thanks in part to a change in state law that automatically registers more voters, Democrats’ voter registration advantage In Pennsylvania, it was cut in half and is now about 300,000.
Citing the Harris campaign raise $1 billion, The Trump official added: “They have a lot of shiny toys with them. They have a billion dollars to blow; they must have lots of shiny toys. But if shiny toys don’t do something, they’re just shiny toys.”
‘I’m energized’
Harris office in Wayne, the nerve center of the ground game. On a recent afternoon, volunteers arrived to be trained and collect materials needed to meet with voters and record responses on the cellphone app.