Vice President Kamala Harris is making her return to the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Monday with a rally in Erie, which says her opponent owes more than $40,000 for public safety costs.
The city has incurred costs for campaign visits there this election season, but the mayor’s office told Newsweek that former President Donald Trump‘s campaign has had outstanding bills since 2018.
“The Trump Campaign still owes the City of Erie a total of $40,329.27 for public safety costs associated campaign visits in 2018 and 2023,” Rob Lee, director of communications, told Newsweek. “These costs were for Police, Fire, and Public Works personnel overtime.”
The Republican nominee owes $35,129.27 from 2018 and an additional $5,000 from 2023, according to Lee.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump (left) gestures during a campaign rally at the Findlay Toyota Arena on October 13 in Prescott Valley, Arizona. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris (right) speaks at a campaign rally at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, on October 13. Harris will have a rally on October 14 in Erie, Pennsylvania, which says the Trump campaign owes more than $40,000 for public safety costs incurred in 2018 and 2023.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci/Susan Walsh
Lee added that the city plans to bill Trump’s campaign for his most recent visit on September 29, but those costs are not available yet.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign for comment.
Similarly, once Harris’ event is over, the city departments involved with the logistics and security will “tally up any overtime costs” and submit the numbers to the city’s finance department, Lee said. An invoice will be sent to the Harris campaign.
The city told the Erie Times-News that a $40,815 invoice was already sent to the Harris campaign after her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned at Liberty Park on September 5.
How to watch Harris’ rally
Harris’ rally will be at the Erie Insurance Arena from 5 to 9 p.m. Doors open at 3, and attendees are asked to arrive by 6:15. The rally can be streamed at Harris’ campaign YouTube page.
“The City of Erie is going through an amazing transformation and revitalization,” Mayor Joe Schember told Newsweek. “Vice President Harris and the Biden Administration have played a big role in that with funding they provided through the American Rescue Plan and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. I am very glad she is coming to see in person the people of Erie who are benefitting the most from these investments.”
Prior to her rally, Harris will meet with Black leaders to discuss her Opportunity Agenda for Black Men. The plan includes fully forgiving loans of up to $20,000 for Black entrepreneurs as well as legalizing recreational marijuana.
“Vice President Harris will also tell us more about her plans for the future of our country and the families in our amazing city,” Schember said.
Pennsylvania’s importance
This is Harris’ 10th visit to Pennsylvania this election season. Erie is a Democratic-majority city but is bordered by areas with a significant number of Republicans.
Also Monday night, Trump will hold a town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Oaks. Last week, he made stops in Scranton and Reading. His running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, held a rally in Johnstown on Saturday.
In the election, the winner will need to carry some or all of the following seven battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes and has been said to be the most important state of this election.
Harris’ clearest path to victory in November is to win the three Blue Wall swing states—Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania—barring surprising results elsewhere. In this scenario, she would need to win the one Electoral College vote in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, and polls suggest she is on course to do so.
Pollster Nate Silver’s latest forecasts showed that Harris was narrowly on track to achieve this, although he said in late September that he believed the vice president’s campaign should be nervous about Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
An internal polling memo circulated by the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, showed Trump trailing Harris by one point in Pennsylvania.
David Plouffe, a former Obama aide who now works as a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, said on Pod Save America that the Democratic nominee’s lead is “not real” because it is “basically a tied race in seven states.”
In 2016, Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by more than 40,000 votes in Pennsylvania. In 2020, President Joe Biden, who is from Scranton, beat Trump by about 80,000 votes in the state.
