Kamala Harris campaigns in Chester County; Cook shifts Pa. Senate race to 'toss up'

Vice President Kamala Harris reached her hand out to conservative and centrist Republican voters in Chester County during a moderated talk with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) on Monday, part of Harris’ renewed push for undecided voters in the collar counties in the final weeks before Election Day.

Flanked on stage by about two-dozen voters and red backdrops reading “Country Over Party,” Harris and Cheney were moderated by Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, a center-right, anti-Trump political news publication. Longwell, who grew up in Perry County also helped found Republican Voters Against Trump.

During the 45-minute conversation at People’s Light in Malvern, Harris underscored the threat she believes former President Donald Trump poses to democracy, and stood firm in her belief in restoring abortion access nationwide.

Pennsylvania’s tight Senate race between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican challenger Dave McCormick is now a toss up, according to the non-partisan Cook Political Report.

The influential election publication, which has forecast major U.S. political races since 1984, announced Monday it was shifting the Pennsylvania Senate race forecast to “toss up” from “lean Democrat,” a sign McCormick continues to inch closer to defeating the three-term incumbent.

“While public polling in the Keystone State still shows Democratic Sen. Bob Casey with a slight lead, both Republican and Democratic internal polls show this is now a margin-of-error race, with Casey holding a slim, statistically insignificant lead of between one and two points,” wrote Cook’s Jessica Taylor.

Former President Donald Trump’s polling average has surpassed Vice President Harris’ in Pennsylvania for the first time, according to polling modeling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.

Unlike some other presidential battleground states, such as Michigan and Nevada, Harris has led Trump in Pennsylvania, albeit by narrow margins, since she replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket in late July.

On Sunday, however, Trump surpassed Harris’ polling average, registering 47.9% to Harris’s 47.5%, for the first time since Harris has led the ticket.

Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) said state legislatures have diminished women’s access to health care after the Supreme Court decision overturning federal abortion protections.

“I think there are many of us around the country who have been pro-life but have watched what’s going on in our states since the Dobbs decision,” Cheney said, “and have watched state legislatures put in place laws that are resulting in women not getting the care they need.”

Her comments came in response to an audience question during a town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris in Malvern about maternal health.

Vice President Kamala Harris touted her proposal for Medicare to cover eldercare when answering an audience question during a town hall event in Malvern Monday.

The question was posed by Delaware County resident Alexandra Miller, who said she has a 7-year-old son and a 72-year-old mother with dementia who requires extensive care. Miller asked Harris how she proposes making child and eldercare more affordable and, at the same time, ensure the workers who provide that care are paid fairly.

“First of all, you’re dealing with a lot,” Harris said, “and I just wish you strength and support.”

Flanked by voters and red backdrops reading “Country Over Party,” Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage in Malvern for a talk with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.), moderated by Sarah Longwell, a Republican and publisher of The Bulwark.

Harris started by thanking Cheney for her support.

“You have been extraordinarily courageous in the way that you have done that,” Harris said to Cheney, “and I thank you for that.”

“Country Over Party” was the blaring backdrop for Monday's conversation between Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) in Chester County.

Peppered across the stage where the women were set to speak were more than 20 voters, including Bob and Kristina Lange, Republican farmers who previously voted for former President Donald Trump and are now supporting Harris.

Behind the Langes was a giant red sign that read “Country Over Party” in white lettering. Next to that, blue signage that read “a new way forward” in all caps.

Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to kick off her “blue wall” tour with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) in Chester County Monday. The pair will then make stops in the suburbs of Michigan and Wisconsin in a final push to win over more moderate Republicans who might consider abandoning Donald Trump.

But for West Grove resident Tina Cosgrove and her friends who came from the southern part of the county, the event was an opportunity to support their candidate and get a sense of how the country can overcome this divisive period of politics.

“While I don't agree with Liz’s politics, I do have a great deal of respect for her,” said Cosgrove, 53.

It’s been three months since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign, a move first lady Jill Biden says was “the right call.” 

During an interview on Good Morning America that aired Monday, where she showed off a revamped tour of the White House, Jill Biden called it the “honor of our lives” to serve alongside her husband and admitted it “may be tough” to leave office. But she thinks the president made the right decision to drop out of the race and back Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“We’ve been in politics over 50 years. I think we’re ready for the new journey,” Biden said, adding, “It was the right call.” 

Nearly two weeks out from Election Day, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remain locked in a tight race to win Pennsylvania.

In a Washington Post-Schar School poll released Monday, 49% of likely voters in Pennsylvania said they will definitely or probably support Harris, compared to 47% for Trump. The survey of more than 5,000 registered voters in seven battleground states has a margin of error of 1.7%

Those results are similar to a poll conducted by The Inquirer, the New York Times, and Siena College released last week, which showed Harris with a 3.3% advantage over Trump in a survey with a margin of error of 3.3%.

If you're planning to cast a ballot for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, you'll need to register to vote by the end of the day.

You can register to vote online on the Pennsylvania voter services website. You can also register at your county voter registration office, or print out an application and deliver it or mail it to the office. If you’re mailing your registration, it must be received by the deadline.

Pennsylvania residents are now also automatically registered to vote when they get their driver’s license, unless they opt out of doing so.

Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Chester County on Monday for a moderated conversation with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) amid a renewed focus form the campaign on the Philly suburbs in the final stage of her campaign.

The event will take place at the People's Light theater in Malvern around 11:45 a.m., according to a campaign spokesperson.

The conversation will be moderated by Sarah Longwell, a Republican strategist and the publisher of the Bulwark, and Charlie Sykes, a conservative writer. Both have opposed former President Donald Trump.

Following a busy weekend in Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Greenville, N.C., Monday.

The rally will take place at the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, with Trump slated to speak around 3 p.m., according to his campaign website.

On Sunday Trump participated in a campaign event in Lancaster with former ESPN anchor Sage Steele and spent time in a Bucks County McDonalds. He also attended Sunday night's Steelers-Jets game in Pittsburgh.

Billionaire Elon Musk wants former President Donald Trump to win Pennsylvania and ultimately the 2024 election, even if it means paying people to register to vote.

During a rally in Pittsburgh Saturday, Musk — the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the owner of the social media platform X — announced he would randomly give $1 million to Pennsylvania voters every day through Election Day on Nov. 5. He gave away his first check to a man identified as John Dreher, and a second Sunday afternoon to a woman named Kristine Fishella.

In order to qualify for Musk’s self-funded sweepstakes, you have to be registered to vote in Pennsylvania and sign a petition from his political action committee to support two constitutional amendments — the freedom of speech and the freedom to bear arms. Musk also said he would expand his lottery to include voters from six other battleground states — Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

More than 1,200 mail ballots returned in Philadelphia so far might not be counted because of simple errors made by voters, according data kept by Philadelphia’s Office of the City Commissioners.

The ballots, which account for about 1.3% of the mail vote returns in the city so far, were returned with missing or incorrect dates, or without the required signature or privacy envelope, state and city data show.

Statewide, about 2.2% of ballots in April’s primary were rejected because of flaws. Rejected ballots account for a small fraction of the total submitted in Philadelphia, but in an election that could be decided by less than 1% of total votes, the ballots could play a significant role in determining the fate of the race for the White House.