A road trip through Pennsylvania, the ultimate swing state – podcast | US elections 2024

This weekend, just before US voters headed to the polls, Michael Safi took a road trip through Pennsylvania. He headed out on Route 222, for years known locally as the “road to nowhere” after planning problems stalled its completion. Today the highway runs through towns such as Lancaster and Allentown, offering a glimpse of the rural and urban areas of the biggest swing state in the US election.

In this rust belt state Michael discovered how the Trump v Harris race has scrambled political allegiances. In a modern art gallery in Lancaster he met an artist who told him how traditional rural Republicans, like his own parents, had turned away from Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric. But he also met urban voters who insisted Trump was a shrewd businessman and would repair the economy.

Latino voters are likely to play a central role in which way the state turns. In Allentown Michael heard from two political activists from the Latino community, one a passionate Republican, and the other a campaigner for the Democrats who explained how an offensive joke about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally had led to a furious backlash from many of the voters he had met.

On Monday Kamala Harris led a rally in the town, making sure to remind her audience of the slight against Puerto Rico. Pennsylvania has backed the winner in every presidential election but, while emotions are running high, the outcome in this important swing state couldn’t be less clear.