How Democrats and Republicans are fine-tuning their Pennsylvania campaign strategies

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Democrats and Republicans fine-tuning their strategies in Pennsylvania where the race is close and the stakes are high. Whoever wins the state will likely win the White House.

Republicans are focusing on mail-in ballots.WHP in Harrisburg spoke with Cliff Maloney, founder of The Pennsylvania Chase.

"I think there’s one problem in PA for Republicans and that’s mail-in voting," Maloney explained. "In 2020 Trump lost PA by 20,000 votes but 141,000 Republicans requested a mail-in ballot and never sent it back."

Democrats meanwhile are pushing their own get-out-the-vote efforts in rural, Republican counties where the plan is to lose red areas by less. They hope gaining ground in red counties plus winning deep blue urban areas will be enough for Kamala Harris to clinch victory.

We’ve got to realize it’s going to be very close and it’s going to be hand-to-hand combat for every vote in countries all across Pennsylvania," said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn.

Fetterman has been hitting the campaign trail in these rural areas to help Harris.

The Harris Campaign has 50 offices across the state. Sixteen of those offices are in counties Donald Trump won by double digits in 2020.

"We really, truly think that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can put normal back in our government and you know that normalcy is comforting to so many people especially our middle class right now," said one Harris rallygoer in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is campaigning on behalf of Trump by holding his own town hall events across the state. On Thursday, Musk packed an auditorium at his first stop, Ridley High School in Folsom, Pa.

I think his word will go a lot further with the general public than a politician," said Paul, a local to Folsom who attended the event with his friends.

Sen. Fetterman is warning his fellow Democrats not to dismiss the influence Musk could have in Pennsylvania.

"He has a lot of appeal for people. A lot of independently-minded voters in Pennsylvania. And for a surrogate that’s definitely a significant thing for Trump having," Fetterman said during an interview earlier this week.