US Election: Donald Trump forges ahead but Kamala Harris looks to iron out votes in Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania tipped to be the state that decides the election

• Sam is in Pittsburgh to gauge the mood of the voters

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Keystone state tipped to decide election

The US Presidential election is highly anticipated, with Pennsylvania emerging as a critical battleground state.

Known as the Keystone State, Pennsylvania holds significant importance for candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. As one of the pivotal swing states, Pennsylvania's voting outcomes are tipped to be the deciding factor in the election.

With that in mind, it would be remiss of me not to drop by and gauge the mood of voters there and after two brilliant days in Detroit, I continued my tour of the Blue Wall states and made my way to Pennsylvania's Iron City, Pittsburgh.

Historically, a major election battleground, the 19 votes the state has up for grabs is the most of any of the swing states, and just like Wisconsin and Michigan, the margins are razor thin.

In 2016, Donald Trump became the first Republican to win there since 1988, securing victory by just 0.7% of the vote.

Four years later, Joe Biden, who was born and raised in Pennsylvania, won by a margin on 1.2%.

Unlike my trips to Milwaukee and Detroit, this time I wasn't going to the Democratic heartland of the state, traditionally the more Republican leaning areas of the state are to the west, and while Pittsburgh isn't known for being hugely Republican, it was good to be somewhere that wasn't the main picture on the state's postcards. That's not to say the City of Bridges wasn't picturesque, it is very much so.

US Economy once again dominates conversations

Unsurprisingly, as I have come to find on my travels, the economy dominated conversations I was having with voters.

There's a great sense of pride in Pittsburgh around its rich industrial history, and like Wisconsin and Michigan, the past decades haven't been kind to industry throughout the state.

You will hear lots of reports, commentators and analysts say that this election is going to come down to who wins in Pennsylvania, and that's probably going to be the case.

If you were to watch TV in the state for five minutes, you'd get a sense of the ad after ad, back to back, non-stop, wall to wall political advertising.

"Kamala Harris didn't do this", "Donald Trump did that." The political point scoring is non-stop on ever channel.

It's easy to understand and sympathise with the apathy of quite a lot of the voters I spoke to.

"I can't wait for this to be all over, so I don't have to see any more of it on TV."

🇺🇸 Pennsylvania is one of America's key swing states

But will they vote for Trump or Harris next week? 🗳️@BetfairSam has been on the ground to find out...

-- Betfair Exchange (@BetfairExchange) November 1, 2024

Pennsylvania is ground zero, and the numbers clearly show it. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have spent more than $500m on TV advertising alone in that state, which is way more than any other swing state.

But who's getting value for their money? Well, the early voting numbers would suggest reasons to be optimistic for team Harris. Women who are registered as Democrats lead the way when it comes to share of early votes in the state. When you look at the polls, Harris seems to be way ahead of Trump on the female vote nationally.

Still lots to play for

But in total, 1.6m votes have already been cast in a state of more than nine million registered voters, so there's still lots to play for, especially when you consider almost 16% of those registered are classed as voters with no affiliation or another party.

People obsess over an October surprise, and really, we won't necessarily know what the straw to break the camel's back has been until we find out how voting has gone, but the controversy at Donald Trump's Madison Square Garden rally last week will certainly not help him with Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania.

The former President remains the favourite on the Betfair Exchange at 10/111.91 to win the state, and his odds have barely moved since that incident last weekend, but of all the knife edge polls out there, this is the one that no one is sticking their neck on the line for. Harris can be backed at 11/102.11.

Ultimately, it's hard to envisage a scenario where one candidate wins this election without winning Pennsylvania.

Now read more US Election insight, previews and tips here.