Trump heads to Pennsylvania for first rally of general election season

Biden is also expected to be in Pennsylvania for the politically relevant Labour Day weekend

Former US president Donald Trump is all set to kick off the general election season by addressing a rally in Pennsylvania — his first since the FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago residence.

Mr Trump will address the rally on Saturday following Joe Biden’s fiery speech aimed at “MAGA Republicans” on Thursday at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.

He will speak alongwith Doug Mastriano and Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, or what the Save America political action committee calls “the entire Pennsylvania Trump Ticket”.

Gubernatorial candidate Mr Mastriano, who backs the former president’s election lies and has pledged to upend voting practices in the state, could have an especially heavy impact on 2024 elections if he wins in 2022. But his struggling campaign may portend danger for Republicans nationwide.

Mr Biden is also expected to be in Pennsylvania for the politically relevant Labour Day weekend.

While Democrats and Republicans are waging fierce fights across the United States ahead of the 8 November midterms, Pennsylvania is getting outsized attention.

Up for grabs are 18 House seats, the governor’s mansion and a Senate seat, but there’s much more at stake, political analysts say.

With fewer than 13 million people, a median household income below the national average, and a voting pool that is more than 80 per cent white vs 69 per cent nationwide, Pennsylvania is not a standout for its size, wealth or diversity.

But what the state does do reliably, at least over the last four presidential elections, is swing -- from Democrat to Republican and back again, providing a window into the political sentiments of voters capable of being swayed to one side or the other -- particularly the white ones.

Pennsylvania’s suburbs, once reliably Republican, have shifted to Democratic in the past five years, and Rust Belt areas that were historically Democratic strongholds showed some of the greatest support for Mr Trump - mirroring suburbs and rural areas around the country.

Additional reporting by agencies