Why Pennsylvania could hold the keys to the White House
The White House's address may be 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but the real road to the presidency runs through the state of Pennsylvania, the biggest prize among the electoral battleground map.
According to calculations by elections analyst Nate Silver, the candidate who wins Pennsylvania has more than a 90% chance of winning the White House.
“It's the granddaddy of all the swing states,” said former Congressman Patrick Murphy, who represented northeastern Pennsylvania as a Democrat from 2007 to 2011.
With its 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania – the fifth most populous US state - is the lynchpin of the swing-state electoral firewalls for both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
If the Democrats win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, along with one congressional district in Nebraska, she's the next president. If the Republicans carry Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, Trump is back in the White House next year.
Without Pennsylvania, there is no way Trump can win without flipping at least three of the states Joe Biden won in 2020.
Nicknamed the Keystone State, Pennsylvania could in fact be the key to the White House.
It is also where BBC Question Time will broadcast a US election special on Thursday 10 October, diving into the issues and voter concerns behind the presidential contest.
Written by: Ana Silva (Master student of International Relations and Security, department of politics)