Vice President Kamala Harris holds a 5-point lead over Donald Trump in a Pennsylvania congressional district he carried four years earlier, according to a poll.
Pennsylvania, roughly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, is among the most important battlegrounds of the presidential race. It has flipped between Democrats and Republicans in the past few elections, and Harris and Trump are essentially tied there.
Political experts view it as a must-win state for Harris, as her easiest path to 270 Electoral College votes may be sweeping the Rust Belt swing states. Polls point to a close race in the Keystone State, with FiveThirtyEight’s polling aggregate showing her up only 0.4 points over the former president.
A new survey from Susquehanna Polling & Research showed Harris with a slight lead in Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, a traditionally Republican-leaning district, the polling company said Wednesday on X (formerly Twitter).
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Former President Donald Trump speaks in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on October 4. At right, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in Pittsburgh on September 25. A new poll shows Harris leading Trump in a Pennsylvania congressional… Former President Donald Trump speaks in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on October 4. At right, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks in Pittsburgh on September 25. A new poll shows Harris leading Trump in a Pennsylvania congressional district he won in 2020.
Win McNamee/Getty Images; Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
The poll showed Harris up in the district by 5 points (46 percent to 41 percent).
The district covers Harrisburg and its suburbs, as well as York. The Harrisburg area has shifted toward Democrats in recent years, with the party making gains in more suburban areas. But it still went for Trump by 4 percentage points in 2020 (51 percent to 47 percent), according to data from Daily Kos.
Susquehanna CEO James Lee told Newsweek that Democrats typically do well in Harrisburg but Harris is also pulling stronger numbers in suburban Cumberland and rural York, which may be concerning for Trump.
“The fact that Harris is even this competitive in the district is certainly something that would raise alarm bells for the Trump campaign,” he said.
Trump is likely to still win the region, known as South Central Pennsylvania, but a weaker performance in the 10th district could be a “drag” on his state numbers, Lee said. The district is a must-win for Trump, as his numbers in Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, and the Philadelphia suburbs aren’t likely to make up for a loss in the 10th congressional District.
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GOP Representative Scott Perry, a former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, represents the district. He is facing a challenge from Democrat Janelle Stelson. The Cook Political Report classifies the race as “Leans Republican,” meaning it is considered competitive but Perry has an advantage.
The poll had Stelson, a former local news anchor, leading Perry by 9 points.
“If this seat flips to the Democrats, you’re talking about the potential for this to be quite consequential in terms of the U.S. Congress,” Lee said, as only a handful of GOP-held seats need to flip to Democrats for control of the House to change.
Kush Desai, the Trump campaign’s spokesperson for Pennsylvania, told Newsweek on Wednesday that “pollsters, the media and ‘intellectuals’ have repeatedly failed to grasp the depth and breadth of support for President Donald J. Trump from the American people.”
Desai added: “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is going to prove itself, once again, to be Trump country in November.”
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Jacob Rubashkin, the deputy editor for the newsletter Inside Elections, wrote on X that the poll may be an “outlier.”
“This would be an outlier even among the Democratic polling we’ve seen in the district — not a bad thing, outliers should happen and they’re useful data points — but important context,” he wrote.
Newsweek reached out by email to the Harris campaign for comment.
The poll surveyed 300 voters in the district from October 4 to 7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.
Susquehanna is seen as a reliable Pennsylvania pollster, with its polls pointing to a close race and being only a few points off in 2016 and 2020.
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In 2020, its final poll showed Trump leading President Joe Biden in Pennsylvania by about a single percentage point (49 percent to 48 percent). Biden ultimately won the state by just over a single point (50 percent to 48.8 percent).
In 2016, its final poll showed Hillary Clinton with a 2-point lead (45 percent to 43 percent). Trump ultimately won Pennsylvania by less than a single point (48.2 percent to 47.5 percent).
More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.
In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”
The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.
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“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”
With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.
What are Money Match checks?
The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.
“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.
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However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.
According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.
Unclaimed property scam
On its website, the state treasury has a warning about scammers using text messages to target potential unclaimed property claimants.
The department “never reaches out to people in regard to any program, including unclaimed property, via unsolicited text messages.”
A special weather statement was issued by the National Weather Service on Friday at 10:06 a.m. until 1 p.m. for Warren, McKean, Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Cambria and Somerset counties.
“Temperatures will drop below the freezing mark through midday with rain showers quickly changing to snow showers. Blustery winds may dry off roads and other paved surfaces, but any residual water from previous rain or melting snow could freeze up and result in slick spots through the afternoon,” explains the weather service.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.
