Why Kamala Harris is focused on key battleground Pennsylvania county that she’s sure to lose

Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House could hinge on a key part of Pennsylvania she will almost certainly lose.

Beaver County could play an important role in her campaign, if past Democratic performance is anything to go by, but not by winning the campaign, but by losing the campaign to Donald Trump by fewer votes.

The conservative working-class community northwest of Pittsburgh has historically voted Republican in presidential elections.

In 2016, staggering losses in Beaver County helped put the final nail in the coffin for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

But by 2020, President Joe Biden had managed to minimize the margins before his successful election. The county was where he delivered his closing argument hours before Election Day.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro managed to capture Beaver County during his 2022 governorship.

“The race is very close,” Shapiro told the newspaper New York Times.

“Four, five, six hundred more votes in a place like Beaver County could be a real difference maker.”

He and his Democratic colleagues have campaigned hard for Harris in working-class areas.

The vice president also launched a bus tour of Pennsylvania in Beaver County in August.

However, there may be more work for Harris to do if we consider a local bakery’s very anecdotal cookie survey.

Kretchmars Bakery, which hosted Barack Obama in 2012, has been making batches of Trump and Harris brand cookies and recording sales as a tasty indicator for Nov. 5.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Trump’s cookie sales fell to Harris’ 2089 to 836.

Historically, the county has proven to be a bellwether for Democrats’ performance in presidential elections. The local bakery has started selling Harris and Donald Trump cookies as an informal way to gauge support

Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro described the race as “very close” and believes a few hundred votes in Beaver County could make a difference

But the picture from thirty New York Times interviews showed a much more mixed picture.

Donald Rea, 64, of Brighton Township painted a 35-foot-tall, 100-foot-wide Harris sign on his land overlooking the Ohio and Beaver Rivers.

He said that since creating the sign, several people have approached him to “come out” to show support for Harris.

But several residents raised concerns about inflation and immigration, two sticking points in Harris’ campaign.

“They’ve had the last four years,” Meghan Stanislow, 45, said of the Democrats. “We’re barely making it from month to month.”

She added that while she personally doesn’t like Trump and his stance on abortion, she can’t stomach Harris’ “word salad” and constant mention of her middle-class roots.

In desperate need of traction among working-class male voters, Harris has sent her running mate Tim Walz on a charm offensive, recently demonstrating his shooting skills at a farm 120 miles from Beaver County.

However, a video that appealed to male voters was roundly mocked after it was released earlier this month, with many claiming it reduced masculinity to ‘cringy’ stereotypes.

Democrats don’t believe they will win Beaver County, they are just trying to minimize losses

Former Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb expressed doubts about Harris’ campaign in the area.

“It may not be visible until the end, but I can’t say I see the progress yet,” he said.

He also acknowledged there is a risk that Harris could lose even more white working-class voters than her predecessors.

“If it turns out that people are that angry about inflation, or whatever issue it is, things could certainly go the other way,” he said.