Chrystal (second from left) and Samantha (third) are voting for Harris (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Kamala Harris made her last stand in the battleground swing state of Pennsylvania on Monday in an eleventh hour bid to break the deadlock with Republican rival Donald Trump.
Hope and tension were the overwhelming emotions in Philadelphia, where the Democrat was due to address an audience of thousands alongside superstar backers led by Lady Gaga.
The candidates were tied at 47.8% support each across the crucial state, according to polling analysis by statistician Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight.
Philadelphia, along with other urban centres including Pittsburgh and Allentown, are historical Democrat-leaning. And everyone the Daily Express spoke to in the city yesterday intended to vote for Harris.
But more Republican support in the suburbs and rural areas mean the statewide result – and 19 electoral votes – rested on a knife edge.
READ MORE: ‘Trump’s childish insults didn’t impress me but I agreed with him on one point’
Sandra Sokol (right) and her friends are backing Harris for president (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
UK-born Sandra Sokol, 76, moved to the US from Rochester, Kent, 55 years ago. She planned to vote Democrat and said: “People are trying to be optimistic but everybody is terrified of it going the wrong way.
“It’s so close. Pennsylvania is critical and it’s neck and neck. I’m trying not to be too optimistic because I’m afraid I’ll be disappointed.”
Pennsylvanians have voted for the winner of every presidential election since Obama’s 2008 win. The state had been reliably blue since 1992 but swung red in 2016 for Trump, before choosing Joe Biden in 2020.
The Republican’s 2016 election victory triggered “a depression” among Democrat voters, Sandra said. The retired university administration worker added: “They couldn’t believe that this country had elected him, it was such a shock. But this time we’re hoping that the country is more ready.
“The Democrats have been campaigning hard and the switch over to Kamala was such a boost, her energy. Everybody that’s supporting her, we’re all hopeful but I can’t say optimistic.”
Lawn signs endorse the Democrats or Republicans in the suburbs (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Wellness practice owner Nick Johnson, 75, said people were feeling “a lot of tension and stress”. Warning that “our democracy is at risk”, he went on: “I think a woman [president] will be a great thing for our country, a real shift.
“She only had a short amount of time to get her act together for this position which was a disadvantage for her. But if you look at her energy and [Trump’s], it’s like night and day.
“He’s too self centred, he’s not for the people. She is for all people, she wants to bring us together. He divides things, he’s about fear and anger.”
Some voters had carefully considered policies on both sides before choosing their preferred candidate. But for others, the decision was far easier.
Asked why he was voting for Harris, 28-year-old Gabriel Quinones said: “She’s not Trump. It’s that simple.”
Gabriel, who moved to the US from Puerto Rico two years ago had already cast his vote by mail-in ballot. He added: “I’m hopeful that democracy will hold.”
Nick Johnson hopes to see the first woman president elected (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Ana Molina, 74, said abortion rights and the economy were the top reasons she planned to vote for Harris.
She became a US citizen in 1965 after moving from Ecuador. Ana added: “Considering that she started running just three months ago and they’re both even, her chances are very good. I don’t believe in polls that much, it’s more about who shows up to vote.
“I’m just incredibly hopeful that when I wake up, she’s going to be the one.
“But I’m not looking forward to how the Republican party will react. He seems to be prepping them, ‘if we lose, we need to do ABC’. That’s the scary part.”
Signs endorsing Harris or Trump are a common sight on grass verges and manicured lawns around the city and its suburbs.
On the highway, political billboards sit between those advertising injury lawyers and cannabis stores. And TV commercial breaks are packed with deeply personal political attack adverts.
The constant bombardment means election fatigue is setting in. Chrystal Ragasa, 28, was visiting from Chicago, where Harris has a healthy lead in the polls.
Philly is likely to choose Harris but the wider state could swing red (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
She said: “It’s the same sentiment as four years ago, it’s just so tense. Everyone just wants to get this over with. There are so many political ads on TV, it’s all you see on social media and you’re inundated with it 24/7.
“You get phone notifications when you wake up in the morning or when scrolling at night.” Chrystal’s friend Samantha Meccia, 32, said the race for the White House had “got really ugly”.
She added: “It’s a scary time. I’m ready for it to be over and I hope it goes our way. It hard to constantly think about it and that there are people you’re close to who are voting against your rights.”
Samantha, who was with her wife Jenny, said LGBTQ+ issues and women’s reproductive rights were among factors deciding her vote.
She added: “To me, there really isn’t another option. Everything that [Harris] stands for I align way more with than the other guy.”
