J.D. Vance holds a rally in Newtown as the battle for Bucks County and Pennsylvania escalates

Before a raucous crowd of supporters in Bucks County – a key area in a pivotal state in the presidential election – Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on Saturday’s fracking and blamed her for rising inflation.

Echoing themes often repeated by his running mate, former President Donald J. Trump, Vance said Harris was responsible for higher prices and rising energy costs and accused her of not standing with the middle class. He also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose recent visit to Pennsylvania is under investigation by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, who maintain it was aimed at boosting Harris’ campaign.

While the subject matter was familiar, Saturday night’s appearance at the Newtown Sports Training & Event Center underscored the importance of Bucks County to the fate of Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes and whether Trump or Harris, the Democratic candidate, wins the White House.

Bucks, the state’s fourth-largest county, is closely divided between registered Democrats and Republicans, with a slight GOP advantage. It is the only collar county with a majority of Republicans.

Pennsylvania’s state of affairs was evident on Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate. While Vance was in Bucks, Gov. Josh Shapiro and producer-writer Shonda Rhimes sought lend a hand for Harris in Montgomery County.

Earlier in the day, Vance was 500 miles away in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, for what was billed as a town hall event on The Lance Wallnau Show. Instead, an event was organized, so Wallnau, a conspiracy theorist, Christian nationalist and defender of January 6, presented pastor, who then interviewed Vance.

Speaking Saturday in Newtown, the Ohio senator said he doesn’t believe there is “segmentation of urban, suburban and rural voters” in Pennsylvania.

“If you look at the issues that are really important to the people of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, you’re going to hear the same things whether it’s in Bucks County, whether it’s in a much more rural part of Pennsylvania, or whether it’s in downtown Philadelphia, where I spent a lot of time in all of those places , there are three big concerns,” Vance said – public safety, the economy and border security.

On this issue, Pennsylvania voters appear to have slightly more confidence in Trump than Harris on economic issues. And that’s what Vance talked about for much of Saturday’s rally, as well as immigration.

“Bucks County has rejected Donald Trump and his MAGA allies in every election since 2016 because they know he only fights for himself and doesn’t care about us. “J.D. Vance’s visit will be an important reminder of the extreme, job-killing policies that he and Trump vow to restore if re-elected,” Onotse Omoyeni, the Harris Campaign’s Pennsylvania rapid response director, said in a statement.

Saturday’s rally was the first for the Trump campaign in Philadelphia County this year, but Jim Worthington, owner of the Newtown Athletic Club and a staunch Trump supporter, stressed the importance of voter turnout in the purple county.

“If you win Bucks County, you keep the Southeast close, you win Pennsylvania, and he becomes president of the United States,” Worthington said.

In April, Worthington joined other donors in hosting a fundraiser for the Trump campaign in Newtown. Trump’s wealthy benefactor also served as chairman of the Pennsylvania delegation at the Republican National Convention in July. He hosted Trump near a health club in 2016 and previously served on Trump’s President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. On Saturday night, Vance called Worthington one of the Trump campaign’s “MVPs.”

Melvin Howard, 80, said he has been a Democrat for most of his life. He voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, but said Nche Zama, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon who ran in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary, helped him better understand conservatism.

Howard believes Trump needs to continue to make his case and outline exactly what he plans to do if re-elected to further gain the attention of Bucks County voters.

“I think he should tell them, ‘I started it, I’m getting more training now because I’ve done a lot of… positive things and I’d like to continue what I’ve done,'” Howard said.

Gail Thibodeau, 66, of Langhorne is “Captain Trump,” which means she knocks on doors throughout Lower Bucks County to spread the Trump campaign message.

Thibodeau said she thinks Republican voters outnumber Democrats in Bucks County, which is a “good sign” for Trump in the swing county, but said the former president needs to have clear messages on his platform, including including plans to address border security, inflation and other economic issues.

Thibodeau, a commission member in Middletown Township, says residents have been receptive to her message.

At least when people answer the door.