Battle for the Keystone State: Uncovering the Pulse of Pennsylvania Voters

Pennsylvania, one of the battleground states in this hotly contested presidential election, is considered a key battleground as it has the most electoral votes with 19.

Public sentiment here, a microcosm of American public sentiment, is unpredictable, and attention is focused on what will be the ‘Autumn Surprise’, which refers to a major variable just before the presidential election.

We connect with reporter Seungyoon Lee, who is based in Pennsylvania. Reporter Seungyoon Lee!

[기자]

Yes, it’s in front of City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city.

[앵커]

Having covered various local scenes today, what is the mood of the local public?

[기자]

Yes, public sentiment in Pennsylvania is very mixed in polls, but there are regional differences.

In urban areas like Philadelphia, Democrats dominate, while in the suburbs, Republicans dominate.

Pennsylvania has the most electoral votes among the seven battleground states, with 19.

Therefore, it is considered the biggest battleground that will decide the outcome of this presidential election in the United States.

Yesterday, the Vice President visited Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former President Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Senator JD Vance.

Experts believe that Pennsylvania is likely to be a ‘tipping point state’ that decides to secure 270 electoral votes, a majority of 538 electoral votes, in this presidential election.

The Wall Street Journal reports that if Harris wins in Pennsylvania, 12 winning combinations are possible, and for Trump, 6 winning combinations are possible.

The analysis showed that if Trump wins Pennsylvania, 26 winning scenarios are possible, and for Harris, 13 winning combinations are possible.

Would you like to hear directly from Pennsylvania residents?

[브라이언 / 펜실베이니아 주민 : 휴, 예측할 수 있었으면 좋겠네요. 필라델피아 대 그 외 지역의 대결이 어떻게 펼쳐지느냐에 달렸어요.]

[프레드 / 펜실베이니아 주민 : 도시 유권자들과 교외 유권자들 사이에 투표 성향에 큰 차이가 있어요. 도시 유권자들은 해리스를 지지할 것으로 보입니다.]

[앵커]

Since the US presidential election is so close, are you interested in what the ‘October Surprise’ will be, which refers to a major variable just before the presidential election?

[기자]

Yes, that’s right.

So far, the event where a member of Trump’s team has called the US territory of Puerto Rico a ‘trash island’ is considered a candidate for the ‘October Surprise’.

There are 6 million people of Puerto Rican origin in the United States, the second largest group among Hispanics after Mexico, and there are over 400,000 in Pennsylvania alone.

Let’s listen to what our Spanish residents have to say.

[엠마누엘 / 히스패닉계 미국인 : 히스패닉 유권자들이 앞으로 나아갈 수 있도록 도와주는 대통령을 원합니다.]

Accordingly, Harris and Trump are focused on capturing the votes of Puerto Rican voters.

Meanwhile, Koreans in Pennsylvania are also actively working to increase their influence in American society.

Let’s hear it for yourself.

[박상익 / 재미한인정치참여연대 대표 : 민주당이든 공화당이든 편을 가르기보다는 한인 유권자들이 가능하면 이번 투표에 모두 나가 투표함으로써…]

[김종선 / 재미 한인 단체 홍보대사 : 한국의 국익에 도움이 되는 분이 대통령이 되었으면 좋겠습니다. 우리도 목소리를 많이 높이겠습니다.]

Pennsylvania sided with President Biden in the last presidential election and with Trump in 2016, four years before that.

In this presidential election in the United States, which is expected to be a close race until the last minute, American citizens are expected to watch the choice of Pennsylvania with more tension than ever.

This is YTN’s Seungyoon Lee so far in Pennsylvania.

Cinematography: Choi Eun

YTN Lee Seungyoon (risungyoon@ytn.co.kr)

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