Pennsylvania is the center of the political universe and will be for at least the next 18 days. On that there is near complete agreement. But the political geography of the Keystone State — once so predictable — is now in flux in ways that are keeping the most savvy political players in both parties up at night.
Blue-collar workers are welded to former President Donald Trump, and white women enraged by the end of Roe v. Wade are flocking to Vice President Kamala Harris. Black men are checking out, and Latinos are sliding rightward. Counties and constituencies that weren’t in play a few years ago suddenly are. Who will actually turn out in a state that was decided by about 1 percentage point in the last two cycles is the stuff of campaign operatives’ nightmares as they assess whether to hunt for new votes or shore up the base.
To get some insight into the subtle shifts that might decide this must-have state, for this week’s Playbook Deep Dive Podcast I called up two local experts: