Why is Harris preparing for the debate in Pittsburgh? A political consultant weighs in.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- If you've been on the Parkway, around the airport or Downtown, you may have seen the motorcade. Vice President Kamala Harris is staying in Pittsburgh for the next several days leading up to Tuesday night's debate in Philadelphia.
"I think it's a really smart move by her campaign to spend all this time in Pittsburgh," said political consultant Mike Mikus.
With the debate on the other side of the state, many people have been asking why Harris chose Pittsburgh, where she's holed up in a Downtown hotel, to prepare for her first debate with Donald Trump.
"Pittsburgh is especially important because you see Allegheny County as a very Democratic area but within the Pittsburgh media market, you have places like Beaver County, Washington County, Fayette County. All these counties have trended red but for a Democrat to win, they have to increase numbers and close the gap a bit there," Mikus said.
It's believed Harris will use her downtime in Pittsburgh as an opportunity to get out and interact with voters. Her campaign hasn't released details of any stops yet but it seems likely since Pennsylvania carries 19 electoral votes and right now polls have the race in a dead heat in the Keystone State.
"I think there's a lot that the vice president has to say about Pennsylvania when it comes to her record. I think one thing is she and President Biden have created more than 500,000 jobs in Pennsylvania," said Rachel Palermo, Harris' former deputy director of communications.
"The vice president also invested billions of dollars in infrastructure in Pennsylvania. That's progress that she wants to keep building on," Palermo added.
This likely won't be Harris' last visit to the Steel City either. She's expected to be back numerous times over the next eight weeks.
"I think we're going to see Kamala Harris and Tim Walz probably once a week from now til the election. Maybe even more than that," Mikus said.
Harris and Trump will face on Tuesday.
