With Pennsylvania emerging as the most critical battleground for the election, over 200 Massachusetts Democrats have spent the past month in Scranton to boost voter turnout for the Harris-Walz ticket.

Jesse Mermell, a former congressional candidate from Massachusetts who grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania, is leading a team that recently organized over 150 Bay State volunteers to canvass neighborhoods and engage with voters in a last-minute push.

“This is the most important election of our lifetime,” Mermell told Newsweek, adding that she saw this outreach as an opportunity to “make a difference” in the region where she has roots.

“The future of every issue I care about, and so many people I care about, hangs in the balance. The future of our democracy is literally on the line tonight,” she said.

Scranton, a largely Democratic urban center in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, is a crucial area for the election. The surrounding counties have shown a conservative shift in recent elections, with President Joe Biden narrowly losing the district to former President Donald Trump by a 51-48 percent margin in 2020.

This year, the district remains highly contested, with Trump holding a slight lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in local polling—49 percent to 46 percent, according to a survey by Noble Predictive Insights. For Mermell, who has been involved in politics for more than 25 years, these tight margins underscore the potential impact of their grassroots efforts.

“In a very purple area of a swing state, you can’t assume Democrats will automatically vote Democrat. It’s not the same as in a deeply blue area like Brookline, Massachusetts,” she said.

Mermell, who served as communications director for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, highlighted the enthusiasm among local volunteers. She noted that canvassers from her team have knocked on thousands of doors, visiting over 6,500 homes in early October and reaching 29,000 this past weekend.

“People were having real conversations and convincing others of the importance of voting. In this divisive time, being able to have civil conversations on someone’s porch about important issues is powerful,” Mermell said.

In 2020, Joe Biden narrowly won Pennsylvania with 50.01 percent of the vote, reversing the Democrats’ 2016 loss when Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 48.18 percent to 47.46 percent. Polling experts say Pennsylvania could once again decide the next president. For Mermell and her team, these tight margins underscore the importance of their efforts.

“I see a path, but I also remember 2016, when we thought Clinton would win, and it all came crashing down,” she said. “But when it’s this close, that margin is exactly where volunteers make a difference.”

BOSTON – Sen. Elizabeth Warren is seeking a third term representing Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate as voters head to the polls on Election Day. But first she’ll have to overcome a challenge from Republican candidate John Deaton. 

Elizabeth Warren running for re-election

Warren, a former Harvard Law School professor and consumer protection advocate, was first elected to the Senate in 2012, defeating incumbent Sen. Scott Brown. She easily won re-election in 2018 and ran for president in 2020, finishing third in the Democratic primary.

Warren is a member of the Senate Banking Committee who has railed against corporate billionaires and called for a wealth tax on “ultra-millionaires.” She said in her 2024 campaign announcement video that she’s running for office again “because there’s a lot more we’ve got to do” to make child care affordable, combat climate change and enact stricter regulations on banks. 

Who is Elizabeth Warren’s challenger, John Deaton?

Deaton is an attorney living in Swansea and a supporter of cryptocurrency. In campaign ads, he’s compared himself to former moderate Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, and says he’s in favor of abortion rights. The top issue on his website is immigration, and he says Massachusetts “has become Ground Zero in the migrant crisis.”

After winning a three-way race for the Republican nomination in September, Deaton said, “voters are turning their back on divisive partisan politics and are ready to support a message of optimism, unity, and solving problems.” 

Warren-Deaton debate

WBZ-TV hosted the first debate between Warren and Deaton in October. Warren accused Deaton of using “the Donald Trump playbook,” and told voters, “Don’t trust John Deaton.”

Deaton, meanwhile, tried to distance himself from the Republican presidential nominee. 

“She called me a MAGA extremist Republican recruited by the Trump machine when she knew that I was even more critical of Trump than she has been,” he said.

The debate covered immigration, crypto, housing and abortion rights. Deaton said that on the topic of abortion, he is “incapable of supporting a law that would restrict the freedoms and privacy of my own daughters.”

“I appreciate that Mr. Deaton has three daughters,” Warren said. “The justices that set Roe vs. Wade on fire and burned it to the ground collectively have 10 daughters. And Donald Trump has two daughters that we know of.”