BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley is one of Pennsylvania’s most reliable bellwether regions, and routinely mirrors statewide outcomes in presidential, gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
And so for national and statewide politicians, the Valley is an excellent testing ground: if a message resonates here, it’s likely to travel elsewhere in the Commonwealth.
That all explains why campaigns increasingly treat the region as a proxy for persuadable suburban and exurban voters, and why in the past few days, President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Gov. Josh Shapiro all have made their presence felt here.
Host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick spend this week’s episode of Political Pulse examining the string of VIPs visiting the region, breaking into their messaging and why so much attention is focused here.
Borick said Trump didn’t have his strongest performance, spending his time on stage insulting Democrats for the nation’s high prices and inflation.
“When you look at the stated reason for that talk (at Mount Airy Casino Resort), he’s coming to a swing district in a swing state to talk about the economy and affordability issues,” Borick said.
But Trump “deviated greatly” from the focus on that topic.
“And when he did talk about the issue, he did it in a way that seemed, at least from the surface, to discount a lot of the issues that people are talking about and are concerned about,” Borick said, emphasizing that “affordability is real” and it’s something pollsters are hearing repeatedly from the American people.
Vice President JD Vance, who visited ULine in Alburtis on Tuesday, followed up on many of those points, Shortell said.
“A lot of times the president is kind of the emotion, [and] Vice President Vance appeared to be trying to present the facts, presenting the numbers to try and back those up.”
To learn more, visit PBS39’s YouTube channel or press play on the module above to watch this week’s episode of Political Pulse.
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