On July 4, 52-year-old Matthew Carter Wood and his daughter participated in a “Free Palestine” march in Chicago, showing solidarity with Palestinians and urging Democrats to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.
However, protests like these in the U.S. have had little effect on the Biden administration’s stance on the conflict.
“When it comes to foreign policy, it takes a special kind of leader to bring real change. I don’t think we have that right now. Both Harris and Trump are poor choices in this regard,” said Wood, who works in the mortgage industry in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in an interview with TRT World.
Wood, a registered Republican in the 2016 election that Donald Trump won, later switched to the Democratic Party in subsequent elections. He plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5, citing her positions on abortion rights, healthcare reform, and her overall capability in governance as reasons for his support.
Voters like Wood could play a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of U.S. elections.
Political analysts view Pennsylvania as the most crucial state in the 2024 election, with its 19 electoral votes. The state holds more weight than other key battlegrounds like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and North Carolina.
Trump and Harris Intensify Campaign Efforts in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, which had voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1992, flipped to Trump in 2016 by a razor-thin margin. Joe Biden reclaimed the state in 2020 by a similarly narrow margin.
Both Trump and Harris have ramped up their efforts in Pennsylvania, holding rallies and courting voters in key swing regions. Winning Pennsylvania could be a significant obstacle for Harris in her bid for the White House if Trump manages to capture the state on November 5.
Elon Musk has also thrown his weight behind Trump, donating tens of millions of dollars to his campaign and hosting “a series of talks throughout Pennsylvania.” The tech mogul is also offering $1 million daily to random voters in battleground states who sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
“We aim to get over a million, maybe two million, voters in the battleground states to sign the petition. We’re going to be awarding $1 million daily to people who sign,” Musk said during a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Key Counties in Pennsylvania Could Decide the Election
Democrats, having flipped Pennsylvania in 2020 and secured down-ballot wins in 2022 in congressional, state, and local races, are determined to keep Trump from retaking this critical battleground state, where early voting has already begun.
Polls show Harris and Trump locked in a tie in Pennsylvania, and they are neck-and-neck nationwide. Harris leads in four key swing states, while Trump holds a slight advantage in two, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.
As is typical in U.S. elections, the results in just a few swing states will be crucial in determining the overall outcome. Experts like David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University and editor of Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter, argue that the fate of the entire election may hinge on a handful of swing counties within these key states. Courtesy: TRT.World
