The US presidential race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will be decided in the swing states, the biggest of which is Pennsylvania. DW's Stefan Simons visited the state to get a sense of the political mood there.
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00:00Welcome to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, about an hour drive north of Philadelphia, home to around 600,000 souls.
00:07Anyone here of voting age is being hotly pursued by both campaigns.
00:12For the upcoming presidential election, this county is arguably the swingiest of all, in the swingiest of the seven battleground states.
00:20As long as we drive through those rural areas, there are a lot of Trump vans, campaign signs and posters in the front yards.
00:29The closer we come to the townships in this county here, for example, Doylestown, the more Harris, Waltz posters and signs will be in the front yards.
00:38It's just a little thing, but it kind of visualizes where this county and where this state is, right in the middle.
00:46Nobody, nobody knows who is carrying Pennsylvania.
00:50This is Doylestown, founded in 1682.
00:53Today it is rich with American East Coast small-town flair, charming boutique stores and quaint family businesses dot the main street.
01:01The Bucks County Republican and Democratic Party Committees have offices here.
01:05Unfortunately, the local Republican Party officials have no time for us. We have more luck with the Democrats.
01:12Hi there.
01:13How are you doing?
01:14Thank you so much.
01:15Thank you for coming.
01:16This is Zachary Kirk, Executive Director of the Bucks County Democratic Committee.
01:20I want to know, do late-in-the-game TV debates really make a difference with voters here?
01:25Yes, people have very much made up their minds in a lot of ways.
01:30But I think there's still definitely room to continue that margin.
01:37And, you know, I think there's still a lot of people out there that we can keep talking to and convince.
01:42However, a quick, but of course not representative, survey on the streets of Doylestown suggests otherwise.
01:49Me on the Trumps.
01:50Trump all the way.
01:51Yeah?
01:52MAGA baby.
01:53I think most people made their minds up.
01:55My husband and I are both conservative leaning, so we are pretty set based on policy.
02:00Given the volume and the overall tenor of the current election cycle, I'm shocked that someone hasn't made up their opinion one way or the other.
02:11Last stop, we join a guided history tour not far from Doylestown.
02:15The site, General George Washington's daring crossing of the Delaware River in 1776.
02:20The event and successive battles with the British changed the tide in America's War of Independence, a seismic event in U.S. history.
02:29Some here feel the outcome of this presidential election may not pale in significance to what happened here almost 250 years ago.
02:37No matter what happens in this election, it's not going to affect me too much.
02:41But it's going to affect one in two generations down the road.
02:44The presidential election 2024.
02:47For many here in this critical swing state, their vote weighs heavier this time around.
02:52Sometimes it's just not easy to see what's going to be on the other side.