Despite new polls show Hillary Clinton with a double-digit lead in the state, the Trump-Pence ticket has not given up on Pennsylvania.
A small but vocal crowd greeted Republican candidate for vice president Mike Pence at the Senator John Heinz History Center Tuesday.
The Indiana Governor’s visit comes a week after a bus tour by the Democratic ticket of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.
The Democratic ticket visited Harrisburg, Johnstown and Pittsburgh last weekend on their way to Ohio. Pence opened the day in Lancaster before traveling to the Strip District museum.
Donald Trump, the Republican candidate and Pence’s running mate, was himself in Mechanicsburg, Pa. near Harrisburg last week.
The Vice Presidential candidate and former US Congressmen opened his speech with a strong call for unity among Republicans.
“We must decide here and now that Hillary Clinton will not be elected President of the United States,” Pence said.
This came after the announcement of an independent run for president by Evan McMullin Monday, a former CIA agent and congressional Republican staffer backed by many anti-Trump Republicans.
Attending his first Trump campaign event, Dennis Huraczhak said he didn’t want to use his vote on anyone besides the real estate mogul.
“[It’s] a waste”, the Arnold, Pa., resident said as he waited for the event to start, a straw hat perched upon his head. “That would be a throw away vote for Hillary.”
Pence, mirroring Trump’s own rhetoric, went on to rail against the news media, whose bias and effect on the election he compared to unfair sporting events.
“It’s almost as if the Steelers had to play an entire season of away games, with hostile crowds and home refs,” Pence said of his and Trump’s campaign.
Despite not being old enough to vote, Todd Brady, 16, was at his third Trump campaign event. Tuesday’s was the first one to feature Pence, and he agreed with the vice presidential pick’s comparison.
“The media is so biased it’s disgusting,” Todd said.
The Pittsburgh resident, at the event with his mother, Amy, wasn’t disappointed by Pence’s speech despite the governor’s admission that he is a “Republican B-lister”.
Amy herself has been invigorated by the last year to become more active in politics.
“I wasn’t into politics before Trump’s campaign,” she said.
During his speech Pence also attacked Clinton’s record as Secretary of State, claiming the state of the world shows her legacy.
“She’s sown chaos across the wider Middle East,” Pence said.
He further attacked Clinton and Obama over the world’s conflicts, claiming that “weakness arouses evil.”
Todd is drawn to Trump partly because of his stand on terrorist groups like ISIS.
“He’s the only person who can stand up to radical Islam,” Todd said.
After hitting at the media and Clinton, Pence talked up his time as Indiana’s governor, mentioning investments in infrastructure and education while lowering taxes.
“[We’ll] put common sense conservative principles into practice,” Pence said of the Trump campaign.
This came after a Monday speech by Trump about the economy, where the Republican candidate outlined a push to cut regulations and lower taxes to encourage economic growth in front of a Detroit crowd.
Regardless of the ticket’s specific policy platform, Amy says her mind is made up.
“It doesn’t matter what he says or what he does, [Trump’s] the only person I’m voting for,” she said.