Contesting US presidents focus on pivotal swing state Pennsylvaniaas Donald Trump and Barack Obama and Joe Biden all had the same message when they were campaigning in Pennsylvania on the same day. This doesn't happen very often.
All of the political opponents in the key state told people to go vote. Mr. Biden and Mr. Obama framed the election as a fight for democracy, while Mr. Trump said the safety and security of the country were at stake.
The US midterm elections on Tuesday will decide who controls Congress. In the House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for grabs. In the Senate, 35 seats are up for grabs.
In Pennsylvania, the race for the Senate between Democrat John Fetterman, 53, and Republican Mehmet Oz, 62, is very close. The fact that two former presidents and President Biden came to the state the weekend before the election showed how important it was.
In 2016, Mr. Trump's win in Pennsylvania helped him get elected as president. His message of populist anger resonated with blue-collar voters in Pennsylvania.
In 2020, when Mr. Biden won his home state by less than 2%, it went back to the Democrats because of liberal and pragmatic politics in urban areas.
US president Joe Biden wearing a black suit with his hand on his forehead as though he is trying to look at something far On Saturday, Mr. Biden said, "it's good to be home" while campaigning for Mr. Fetterman and Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate for governor, in Philadelphia.
He told the crowd that if the Democrats didn't win back the House of Representatives and the Senate, abortion rights would be limited even more and public health care would be cut.
Even though Democrats control both houses of Congress right now, polls show that they are likely to lose the House and are tied for control of the Senate.
Mr. Biden said,
“„Here in Philadelphia, a place that defines the soul of America, today we face an inflection point.- President of the United States, Joe Biden
He said that a vote for the Democrats would be a vote for the health of women, stricter gun laws, and better health care.
Outside the rally, people lined up early to see Mr. Biden and Mr. Obama, who was the Democratic president before Mr. Biden.
Steve Phillips from Pennsylvania said that he hoped it would get people to the polls, no matter which party they supported.
But some people in the crowd said they really came to see Mr. Obama, and they might not have come if Mr. Biden had been here by himself.
Midterm elections are often seen as a vote on the current president. With Mr. Biden's approval rating hovering around 40% and Americans worried about high inflation, guns, and immigration, Republicans have found a lot to criticize.
About 250 miles (402 km) west of Philadelphia, in the small town of Latrobe, Mr. Trump warned Pennsylvanians that if the Democrats kept control of Washington, there would be more crime and unrestricted immigration.
There, too, people came out hours early to see Mr. Trump.
“„If you want safety and security for your family, you need to vote every single Democrat out of office. There's only one choice - if you support the decline and fall of America then you must vote for the radical Democrats. If you want to stop the destruction of our country then you must vote Republican in a giant red wave.- Former US president Donald Trump
The former Republican president also hinted again that he might run for office again in 2024. This is even though he has kept saying that the US election system is rigged, which is not true. "The election was rigged and stolen - it's a shame," Mr Trump said.
One person told RSBN, a conservative network, that he was there to support Mr. Trump because the former president had helped make sure that people could "live a life without suppression and being told what we need to do."
Fears and false claims of fraud have been a big part of these midterms. Many people say that the vote on November 8 will be a test of how well the election system works.
Back in Philadelphia, where he spoke right after Vice President Biden, President Obama warned:
“„Truth and facts and logic and reason and basic decency are on the ballot. Democracy itself is on the ballot - the stakes are high.- Former US president Barack Obama