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Candidate visits highlight importance of Western Pennsylvania in 2020 campaign

President Trump is in Westmoreland County Thursday after former Vice President Biden visited Monday

Candidate visits highlight importance of Western Pennsylvania in 2020 campaign

President Trump is in Westmoreland County Thursday after former Vice President Biden visited Monday

PENNSYLVANIA IS ALSO IMPORTANT IN CHOOSING THE NEXT PRESIDENT. DAVID: INDEED. YOU JUST TALKED ABOUT THE VISITS. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN VISITS IN THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS, AND WE HAVE PLENTY MORE COMING. IT IS NOT JUST THE PEOPLE, PEOPLE ARE NOTICING THAT THESE CANDIDATES ARE DEFINITELY COMING HERE. IT IS A SWING STATE. ITS 20 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES ARE AMONG THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY. PRESIDENT TRUMP WON THE STATE BY 44,000 VOTES IN THE LAST ELECTION. JOE BIDEN WILL TRY TO PICK UP SOME OF THOSE VOTERS OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTY THAT WENT FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP FOUR YEARS AGO. >> PENNSYLVANIA IS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. REPORTER: NATHANIEL IS IN ABC NEWS PARTNER. ALL OF THE POLLS TELL THE STORY ABOUT HOW BOTH CANDIDATES FEEL PENNSYLVANIA IS IMPORTANT. WHY? WHILE NEW POLLING HAS SHOWN MANY HAVE MADE UP THEIR MINDS, THE LAST HANDFUL OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS INDICATE THERE COULD BE FLUCTUATION. >> HILLARY CLINTON GOT THE MOST VOTES IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY THAN ANY DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE HAS SINCE 1992. SUB URBAN AREAS HAVE BECOME MORE DEMOCRATIC IN RECENT YEARS, BUT SOME OUTLYING RURAL AREAS HAVE RACED TOWARD TRUMP. >> IT COMES TO VOTER MOBILIZATION. REPORTER: KRISTEN IS THE DIRECTOR OF PRELAW AT DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY. SHE SAYS WITH A LIMITED TRAVEL SCHEDULE, BOTH CAMPAIGNS WILL LIKELY ONLY GO TO THOSE PLACES THEY SEE AS HIGH VALUE. WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA FITS THE BILL. >> WE ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE ARE UNPREDICTABLE. THAT IS WHY CAMPAIGNS SPEND IT SO MUCH TIME, EFFORT AND MONEY TRYING TO CONVINCE VOTERS TO VOTE FOR THEM. REPORTER:
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Candidate visits highlight importance of Western Pennsylvania in 2020 campaign

President Trump is in Westmoreland County Thursday after former Vice President Biden visited Monday

If it feels like Western Pennsylvania is getting a lot of political visits, your hunch is correct.Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Pittsburgh on Monday.President Donald Trump came Thursday.Vice President Mike Pence will be in Export, Westmoreland County, on Wednesday.While not billed as campaign visits, both Trump and Biden are expected to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County on Sept. 11 to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."It’s not surprising. The candidates haven’t campaigned much, and now we’re actually seeing them physically out on the trail. They want to make the most of where they’re going," said Kristen Coopie, the director of Duquesne University's pre-law department.Pennsylvania is a big prize on Election Day.While it went for every Democratic nominee since Ronald Reagan, Trump won the state by roughly 44,000 votes in 2016.Rural voters in the southwest Pennsylvania counties delivered Trump margins he needed to help propel him to the win. "The question is — can Biden win back some of those working class voters in rural counties? Can Trump grab onto those Democrats in the suburbs who have been moving away? That’s all up for grabs, so that’s why you see so much attention," said Nathaniel Rakich, an elections writer for FiveThirtyEight — a data-based journalism site that partners with ABC News.While a new Quinnipiac poll shows many Pennsylvanians have made up their mind about who they're supporting on Nov. 3, Rakich says history shows minds can change."Western Pennsylvania, specifically — that’s home to a lot of voters who have changed their minds in the last few years."

If it feels like Western Pennsylvania is getting a lot of political visits, your hunch is correct.

Former Vice President Joe Biden visited Pittsburgh on Monday.

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President Donald Trump came Thursday.

Vice President Mike Pence will be in Export, Westmoreland County, on Wednesday.

While not billed as campaign visits, both Trump and Biden are expected to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County on Sept. 11 to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"It’s not surprising. The candidates haven’t campaigned much, and now we’re actually seeing them physically out on the trail. They want to make the most of where they’re going," said Kristen Coopie, the director of Duquesne University's pre-law department.

Pennsylvania is a big prize on Election Day.

While it went for every Democratic nominee since Ronald Reagan, Trump won the state by roughly 44,000 votes in 2016.

Rural voters in the southwest Pennsylvania counties delivered Trump margins he needed to help propel him to the win.

"The question is — can Biden win back some of those working class voters in rural counties? Can Trump grab onto those Democrats in the suburbs who have been moving away? That’s all up for grabs, so that’s why you see so much attention," said Nathaniel Rakich, an elections writer for FiveThirtyEight — a data-based journalism site that partners with ABC News.

While a new Quinnipiac poll shows many Pennsylvanians have made up their mind about who they're supporting on Nov. 3, Rakich says history shows minds can change.

"Western Pennsylvania, specifically — that’s home to a lot of voters who have changed their minds in the last few years."