Washington [US], October 12: Pennsylvania has become a hot spot in the 2024 US presidential election, after signs that Republican candidate Donald Trump is turning the tables here.
On October 10, former President Barack Obama held his first campaign rally for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Obama's efforts
While Vice President Harris campaigned in the battleground state of Nevada on October 10 and later rallied in Arizona, Obama sought to rally support for her in Pennsylvania. The former leader criticized Trump on areas such as health care, access to abortion, immigration and the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to Reuters.
Obama also criticized his successor for spreading false rumors about the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. After Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern United States, for example, Trump tweeted that the Biden administration was refusing to help people in Republican-leaning areas.
"You have leaders who are trying to help, and then you have a guy who's just using lies to score political points, and that has consequences," Obama said. The former leader predicted that this year's election will be a fierce contest between the two presidential candidates. "But I don't understand why anyone thinks Trump is going to bring change," Obama said.
At the same time, Mr. Obama also tried to convince black male voters, a group that he said still did not support the vice president because she was a weaker woman, according to Reuters.
Mr. Trump has an advantage in Pennsylvania
By throwing in the heavyweight Obama card in the final stages of the campaign, the Democrats hope the former leader can help candidate Harris gain an advantage in battleground states, especially Pennsylvania. This is an extremely necessary support in the context of betting markets showing figures showing that the victory seems to be leaning towards the Republican candidate .
Since the Oct. 1 debate between Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, betting markets have been leaning toward Trump, according to betting site Polymarket. USA Today reports that the new wave of betting is increasing Trump's chances of winning Pennsylvania.
In recent weeks, Polymarket bettors have placed Harris with a narrow lead in Pennsylvania, a state with 19 electoral votes. If she wins all of the Democratic-friendly states, Harris and Pennsylvania would surpass the 270 electoral votes needed to claim victory.
However, the betting numbers changed after Mr. Trump's campaign on October 5 returned to the site of the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. With less than four weeks to go until the November 5 election, Mr. Trump's chances of winning the White House this year are much better than his previous two campaigns, in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
As of the evening of October 9 (Vietnam time), Polymarket predicted Mr. Trump's winning rate to be 53.1%, the highest number since August. In other words, Mr. Trump's chances of winning are increasing thanks to the chance of winning Pennsylvania. On Polymarket, Mr. Trump led Ms. Harris by 6.5% on October 9. Meanwhile, Betfair Exchange, the largest online betting platform in the UK, on the same day showed a 3% margin in favor of Mr. Trump. Four years ago, on October 9, 2020, the odds of Democratic candidate Biden winning were 65%, and Mr. Biden became president that year.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper