Dem officials worry about Kamala's ground game in PA: report

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a must win for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. The 19 Electoral College votes will go a long way in securing the election for whoever takes them, and the state is widely regarded as the most key of the battleground states. That's why Harris and Trump have been criss-crossing the state, that went narrowly to Biden in 2020 and for Trump in 2016, in the final push before Election Day. But things may not be so rosy for the Harris camp in the Keystone State.

"I feel like we’re going to win here, but we’re going to win it in spite of the Harris state campaign. Pennsylvania is such a mess, and it’s incredibly frustrating," said a PA Dem official who did not want to give their name.

A report out from Politico shows that top Democrats in Pennsylvania are worried about her chances. The state, led by Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro, has a well-oiled Democrat machine, specifically in southeastern PA, but that's exactly where "some Harris aides lack relationships with key party figures," and if the mantra holds true that all politics is local, that's especially true in the deep blue Philadelphia area. The Harris campaign had considered bringing Shapiro onto the ticket in the VP spot but ended up going with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz instead.

Local Dems have said that they have been "left out of events," per Politico, and that surrogates for Harris "haven't been deployed effectively." The campaign also apparently has a problem in their attempt to "turn out voters of color." Election Day is only 20 days away and as the deadline nears, anxieties among Democrats, whose big "brat summer" boost is fading faster than the fall leaves lose their green, concerns are mounting that Harris may not have what it takes to get across the finish line.

One problem, Philly Dems say, may be Harris' PA campaign manager Nikki Lu. The first black head of Philadelphia's building trades council, Ryan Boyer, said he has concerns about Lu. "I don't think she understands Philadelphia," he said. This came after meetings between the Harris campaign and local black and Latino leaders in the Democrat Party.

Politico reports that "the leaders asked for a greater presence at local events, an improved surrogate operation and a more sophisticated understanding of how to engage with diverse voting blocs." While there's been an increase in local staff, the election is looming and time, local leaders fear, "is running out."

National campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez gave a statement to Politico, saying, "Our campaign is running the largest and most sophisticated operation in Pennsylvania history. We have 50 coordinated offices and nearly 400 staff on the ground."

"We invested in targeted advertising to black and Latino voters starting in August 2023, and we have now spent more than any previous presidential campaign on outreach to these communities," she said, going on to say "we are leaving no stone unturned."

More than $500 million has been spent across both campaigns on television ads in the state.