Why Pennsylvania?
There are six states that are presently considered tossups for the 2024 presidential race (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin). Of these, Pennsylvania has the largest number of electoral votes (19) and is thus extremely critical. As Pennsylvania has gone, so has the nation in 9 of the last 11 presidential elections (10 of the last 11 elections if you believe Al Gore would have actually won the 2000 election had the Supreme Court not stopped the vote counting in Florida).
Pennsylvania also has a Senate seat (Bob Casey’s) which will be critical to hold if Democrats are to maintain their slim majority in the US Senate. There are currently four critical holds and three tossup seats for the US Senate. Democrats will need to win all seven of these seats and the presidency to maintain effective control over the US Senate.
In terms of Pennsylvania state politics, Democrats have a key chance to hold onto their slim majority in the Pennsylvania House and a chance to eat further into Republicans’ lead in the Pennsylvania Senate. State redistricting after the 2020 Census is underway and has not yet been approved but proposed maps could be favorable to Democrats in both chambers relative to the status quo.
Why is Pennsylvania important to Swing Blue Alliance?
- We have key relationships established from having worked with local PA groups in 2020 and 2022 and having built up a network of volunteers and other out-of-state partners committed to effective volunteer action there; and
- It is the closest (to Massachusetts) of the key battleground states, making it more feasible for SBA volunteers to do some in-person volunteer campaigns.
What’s Next?
Most of our actions over the March to June period will focus on voter registration in one form or another, since it is critical to mobilize more Democratic voters for the Fall. Doing in-person voter registration is the most effective technique; we are mobilizing a team willing to do this periodically and are organizing trips and will train volunteers. But if you are unable or unwilling to travel to PA, we have opportunities to do mailings, texting, and phone calling to support voter registration. As we get closer to the election, we will be doing more get-out-the-vote activities, mobilizing volunteers, persuasion, and other mixes of activities. For specific options of how to get involved, see the menu on the right side.