Road to the White House passes through Erie County

It is the most vital swing county in the largest swing state of the 2024 US presidential race

- Bhagyashree Garekar

ERIE, Pennsylvania - In the blue-collar Erie County in the north-western corner of Pennsylvania, its Democratic Party chief swears by the Kamala Harris surge.

"The enthusiasm is off the charts," said Mr Sam Talarico, describing the support for his party's presidential candidate in the most crucial swing county in the largest swing state of the 2024 US presidential election.

Erie, one of 67 counties in the state, has an uncanny knack for predicting who goes to the White House.

After voting for Mr Barack Obama twice and then for Donald Trump in 2016, the county of about 267,000 residents supported President Joe Biden in 2020.

No Democrat has won the White House without also winning Pennsylvania since 1948.

"We got 5,000 yard signs two weeks ago. We have given away 4,000," said Mr Talarico, a retired science teacher. "It was like a revolving door."

And when he hosted a party to watch Ms Harris debate Republican rival Trump on Sept 10, 320 people turned up. "Usually, we have about 25," he said.

ECONOMY IS A KEY FACTOR

While most counties across the US predictably vote Democrat or Republican, Erie has been called "America's swingiest swing county" for how it mirrors the state and nation's diverse mix of urban, suburban and rural areas.

It catches the voter mood and flips red or blue.

That is why beneath Mr Talarico's eager optimism is a current of unease. The state of the economy looms large over his county, which is whiter, poorer and less-educated than the rest of the country. Inflation is currently at a three-year low, but cost of living remains a political issue.

And the economy is not exactly Ms Harris' trump card.

Mr Talarico seemed to feel the vulnerability keenly. "We have done a better job than most developed nations in dealing with the inflation that came after the (Covid-19) pandemic," he said, a tad defensively.