Vice President Kamala Harris received a major endorsement on Friday in Pennsylvania—one of the key swing states she needs for victory in this year’s election.
As Election Day quickly approaches in which Harris, the Democratic nominee, will face off against former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, The Philadelphia Inquirer gave its endorsement of Harris in an opinion column titled “Kamala Harris for president, Endorsement” published on Friday.
Written by its editorial board, The Philadelphia Inquirer, which has the largest circulation in Pennsylvania, listed several reasons, including Trump’s ongoing legal issues, the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, reproductive rights, climate change, and more, as to why the newspaper was endorsing the vice president.
“Voters face an easy but tectonic choice in the race for the White House…This baker’s dozen list could go on, but the choice is clear and obvious. Vice President Kamala Harris wants to help all Americans. Donald Trump wants to help himself. That is why The Inquirer endorses Kamala Devi Harris to be the 47th president of the United States,” the editorial board wrote.
The endorsement continued: “If elected, Harris, 60, would be the first Black, South Asian woman to hold the nation’s highest office. She rarely references her historic candidacy, and instead is laser-focused on earning votes through the substance of her vision, ideas, and temperament.”
Battleground states, including Pennsylvania, will play a key role in determining the result of this year’s election due to the Electoral College, which awards each state a certain number of electoral votes based on population. A presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes for victory, and winning the national popular vote does not guarantee success. Surveys from battleground states may be more telling than those of national polls.
The newspaper’s endorsement comes at a time when Harris could use a boost in Pennsylvania, which has 19 Electoral College votes—the most out of any swing state. The Keystone State has voted for the overall winner in 48 out of 59 of the last elections.
Newsweek has reached out to Harris and Trump’s campaign via email for comment.
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Harris’ clearest path to victory next month would be to win the three “blue wall” battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, barring any shock results elsewhere. Trump’s most efficient path to 270 Electoral College votes would be to win the swing states of North Carolina and Georgia while flipping Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a close battle for the White House nationally, however Trump is slightly ahead in Pennsylvania.
The Emerson College Polling/RCPA Pennsylvania survey, which was conducted between October 21-22 among 860 likely voters, showed Trump with 49 percent of voter support versus Harris’ 48 percent, while 3 percent remained undecided. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s poll tracker, Trump is marginally ahead of Harris in Pennsylvania by 0.3 points, with 47.9 percent to her 47.6 percent, as of Saturday. In addition, Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin puts Trump up 0.2 percent in the state.
Meanwhile, The New York Times‘ aggregate of polls has Harris leading Trump by less than 1 percent.
Trump narrowly won Pennsylvania in 2016 against former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while President Joe Biden flipped it in 2020. The race in the state is expected to be decided by a few thousand votes and both major party candidates have been repeatedly campaigning there.