Central Pennsylvania Democrats finally had their moment in the presidential spotlight on Wednesday, when Vice President Kamala Harris opened her final week’s campaign sprint with a walk-in rally with a few thousand enthusiastic friends in Harrisburg.

Make no mistake, this was a business trip.

Other than working the rope as he left the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Harris didn’t get to take in any views or experience any local colors.

She did not take questions from the press, a persistent criticism of her in this campaign.

And none of his big-name entourage (the Obamas, Bill Clinton, Bruce Springsteen or Beyoncé) made the trip.

But Harris, the main character, finally arrived here after four trips by former President Donald J. Trump. And that gave midstate Democrats some oxygen as they pursue their singular mission of narrowing the margin of Trump’s expected victory in what is the third-largest bloc of voters in this critical swing state.

“Honestly, I was very surprised that he came to Harrisburg so close to the election. I was very excited. I thought I would never be able to go to a rally,” said Jennifer Peisher, a 20-something from Harrisburg who said this is the second presidential election in which she has the right to vote.

Of her support for Harris, Peisher said, “I really appreciate how she cares about the everyday person and how positive her personality is and how hopeful she comes across in her campaign.”

Felicia DuPree, 58, of Seven Valleys, York County, expressed hope that this visit will help turn out votes for Harris.

“A lot of times when people run for president, they don’t really penetrate into these small towns and small counties, and to see how Kamala and Tim Walz care enough about all these small towns, I think it will reach the people who want to know her.” DuPree said.

DuPree said she has a couple of reasons to support Harris: the battle for reproductive rights and preserving democracy.

“Although I have already passed the stage of having children, but the reproductive rights of other women. That’s huge. Women lose their lives having a miscarriage and need some kind of care, that’s huge. I think about other people,” DuPree said. “And then also democracy. We want to keep our constitution. So that is a concern.”

What’s at stake

Pennsylvania is the largest of seven swing states whose Electoral College votes are expected to decide a presidential race that enters its final week in a virtual tie.

As such, every vote in every region of the state matters, especially in south central Pennsylvania, a reliably Republican region where, ever so slowly, Democrats have made incremental gains as development has taken off.

It is now decidedly the third-largest vote pool in the state, behind the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas, and Democrats’ mission here is to keep former President Donald J. Trump’s margins of victory as low as possible.

Trump defeated Joe Biden by 18.8 percentage points in the region, made up of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry and York counties, in 2020. That was after a 23 percentage point victory in 2016 on Hilary Clinton.

“In a state where the 2016 election was decided by half a percentage point and the 2020 election was decided by one percentage point, then it’s very important to plant a flag in every part of the state where votes are available,” Allison said. Dagnes, professor of political science at Shippensburg University.

“Particularly in the suburbs of Harrisburg. That’s probably the only moving point in Pennsylvania for Democrats where it’s not quite blue yet, but it’s turning more purple than it had been… I think it’s very smart for Harris to come here,” Dagnes said.

“We’re looking to further reduce his margin of victory in Cumberland County,” said Cumberland County Democratic Committee Chairman Matt Roan. “If he loses Cumberland by five points instead of 11 (Trump’s margin there in 2020), that will go a long way toward a victory in Pennsylvania.”

the comments

In her 24-minute speech, Harris largely made a combination of other rally speeches and the “closing speech” she gave in Washington DC on Tuesday night.

He leaned more toward the stark contrast in leadership style he represents compared to Trump.

“We know we have a chance in this election to turn the page on a decade in which Donald Trump tried to keep us divided and afraid of each other. That’s who he is. But in Pennsylvania that’s not who we are,” Harris said.

“In less than 90 days, he or I will be in the Oval Office. And here’s the thing. We know that if elected, Donald Trump would come to office with a list of enemies. When I am elected, I will come with a to-do list,” Harris said.

That list, Harris said, includes tax cuts for a large number of middle- and working-class households, likely offset by higher taxes on high-income earners and corporations.

The across-the-board tax cut that Congress and Trump approved in 2017 will expire at the end of 2025. Trump wants to renew the tax cut and has proposed other tax breaks. Harris has proposed keeping the 2017 tax cuts for people earning less than $400,000, but ending them for the richest Americans and raising taxes on the super-rich. New tax credits would be added for families with children and low-income households.

Harris also spoke Wednesday about expanding Medicare to cover the costs of home care for seniors who hope to stay in their own homes; and his eagerness to sign into law a bill that codifies the federal right to abortion.

The rally was interrupted by protesters several times: once by what appeared to be Trump supporters who got tickets to the rally, and later by people protesting what they see as the Biden Administration’s lack of effort on behalf of the protesters. Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Harris didn’t seem fazed when her supporters yelled at them and security removed them, using a line she has used in the past: “Everyone has the right to be heard. But right now I’m talking.”

After the second episode, he added:

“At this particular moment it must be emphasized that, unlike Donald Trump, I do not believe that people who disagree with me are internal enemies. He wants to put them in jail. I’ll give you a seat at the table. And I promise to be a president for all Americans and always put country before party and self.”

The crowd responded with a loud chant of “USA! USA!” until Harris moved to calm them down.

In the Exhibit Hall at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex there were Harris/Walz signs, Republicans for Harris signs and, especially important this week, Puerto Rican flags.

“We are here to support Kamala Harris. “We are here to support our island,” said Persida Hommele, who traveled from her home in Lancaster with friends. He said he wanted to amplify outrage among Pennsylvania’s sizable Latino and Puerto Rican population over the insult hurled on the island by a prep speaker during a Trump rally in New York.

“Kamala Harris cares about our people. Puerto Ricans have the power to determine this vote,” said Hommele, who waved the red and white striped Puerto Rican flag, with its blue triangle and white star. “You have the power. “You better get your butts out and vote.”

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden added to the controversy by appearing to describe Trump supporters as “trash,” although Biden later attempted to clarify that he was trying to criticize the actual words used by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, and not anyone who will vote for Trump.

Harris, earlier Wednesday, told reporters before leaving Washington for her first campaign appearance of the day in North Carolina that she accepted Biden’s clarification, adding as a point of emphasis: “I strongly disagree with any criticism of the people depending on who they vote for. “

Recognizing that there is more work to do to perfect our union, Harris made a special gesture at the end of her Harrisburg speech to the young people in the crowd, promising to fight hard for the issues they are “rightly impatient” about, including reducing armed violence and fighting the climate. change significantly.

“This is not political for them. “For young leaders, this is your lived experience, and I look at you and I see your power and I am so proud of you.”

Harris closed with a call for six days of hard work from everyone in the room and concluded with his now-familiar motto: “When we fight, we win.”

Clearly, those inside the room left with extra motivation.

the reaction

Lori Ehrlich of York told PennLive that what stands out to her is the stylistic contrast between Harris and Trump.

“She speaks from the heart. I think he speaks from the heart too, but he has a heart of ice or steel,” Ehrlich said. “He doesn’t care about anyone.”

Alanna Bortolin of York said she wished more people could hear Harris’ comments in person, especially undecided voters, because “I don’t know how anything she says could upset people.

“People who are concerned about the economy, the personal economy, helping the middle class and the way they specify how they want to help the middle class. “I think if people heard that message, I don’t see how they couldn’t like me.”

Hattie McCarter, of Lancaster, agreed.

“I think they (Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz) need to be in office because they believe in humanity. This is not a political game for them. It’s about people. It’s about American workers. It’s about our veterans. It’s about our people with disabilities. It’s about our communities of pride. It’s about our people of color.

“Everyone wants the American dream, no matter what the American dream is for you. At the end of the day, they want to be happy. People want to know that they have someone as president who wants them to be happy and to work for them and not against them,” McCarter said.

By 5:30 p.m., Harris’ show had begun at HIA and was moving to another state capital, Madison, Wisconsin, for a prime-time rally. The big question for midstate Democrats is what kind of footprint their stop here will have on Thursday and beyond.

On Wednesday they had hope.

Cumberland County President Roan, who was unable to attend Harris’ rally due to a work commitment, noted that a large number of his fall 2024 volunteers did. And you know they’re ready to share what they heard.

“It’s like a pep rally. And this gets them excited and ready to review the tape for the next six days.”