Harris and Trump
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump AFP

As the presidential campaign continues to heat up, both Democrats and Republicans have especially focused their sights on one battleground state: Pennsylvania.

Combined, the two campaigns have spent over $200 million in the state, according to a new report by Axios, which shows that Democrats have spent $109 million compared to Republicans' $102 million. That includes TV, digital and radio ads based on past spending and future bookings.

It is by far the state that has seen the largest investment, more than doubling the second on the list, Michigan, where $99 million have been spent overall. However, this is largely a result of Republicans' comparatively lower spending across most battleground states. There, they have spent $18 million, in contrast with Democrats' $81 million.

Nevada and North Carolina are on the other end of the list, with $27 million and $32 million in campaign spending, respectively. Trump continues to be ahead in the state according to the latest poll by Bloomberg/Morning Consult, leading by four percentage points. But she has significantly narrowed the Republican's lead across the board, even jumping ahead in Arizona.

Harris has also taken the lead in Nevada and Wisconsin, where she also has a 2-point margin over Trump. She is also now boasting a 11-point lead in Michigan after a surge since President Joe Biden dropped out and endorsed her, and is ahead 48% to 47% in the aggregate polling.

When analyzing the numbers, Bloomberg claimed that Harris "has a shot at reassembling the voter coalition that propelled President Barack Obama to the White House — and a clearer path to victory than Biden, who'd struggled to galvanize the Democratic base."

The focus on Pennsylvania can also be illustrated by the clear shot its governor, Josh Shapiro, has at becoming Harris' vice presidential candidate. Along with two other top contenders (Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg) Shapiro has cleared his weekend schedule, fueling speculation that the decision on her running mate will soon be revealed.

Vice President Harris is scheduled to be in Washington DC, without anything in her agenda. Politics insiders are speculating that she has set aside this weekend to have face to face meetings with the top contenders. She is expected to announce her pick for a running mate by Tuesday.

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