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Key state targeted in midterms countdown

Updated: 2022-11-07 09:45
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President Joe Biden (R) and former US president Barack Obama (L) greet Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro at the Liacouras Center on Nov 5, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [Photo/Agencies]

PHILADELPHIA — US President Joe Biden, Democratic star Barack Obama and Donald Trump all converged in Pennsylvania on Saturday to push their parties to the finishing line in a race Biden said marks a defining moment for democracy in the United States.

The battle of the serving and two former presidents marked the start of a final push before Tuesday when US citizens will decide who controls Congress during the last two years of Biden's first term.

Polls put Republicans well ahead in the fight for the House of Representatives and show them with momentum in the Senate as voters seek to take out frustration over four-decades-high inflation and rising illegal immigration.

With Pennsylvania being one of the swing states that will decide the overall balance of power, both sides brought out their big guns.

Biden and Obama rallied in Philadelphia alongside Senate candidate John Fetterman and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro.

Trump — who was defeated by Biden in 2020 but has spent the interval denying he lost and plotting a possible White House comeback — flew to the town of Latrobe to boost Fetterman's opponent, TV celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, and Shapiro's far-right opponent Doug Mastriano.

Speaking to thousands in a Philadelphia arena, Biden and the Democratic candidates labeled the Republicans as the party of the wealthy and emphasized their support for trade unions, social security and abortion access.

Voters face "a choice between two vastly different visions of America", Biden said.

But Biden, citing Trump Republicans' growing support for conspiracy theories, said an even bigger agenda was at stake.

"Democracy is literally on the ballot. This is a defining moment for the nation and we all, we all must speak with one voice," Biden said.

Obama, who had also addressed an earlier rally in Pittsburgh, got the loudest cheers of the night, repeatedly urging supporters to make sure they vote.

Still the party's most bankable star six years after leaving the White House, Obama hopes his support will give Fetterman the crucial extra shove.

In Latrobe, Trump was tapping into support from a working-class region that delivered him big margins in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Legal threats

Success for candidates he supports on Tuesday would help Trump launch his own comeback campaign, despite facing serious legal threats over attempts to overturn his 2020 defeat and the hoarding of top secret documents from the White House at his Florida golf resort.

Pennsylvania is seen as a must-win for control of the Senate, but it also weighs on the balance of power among the country's 50 state governors, whose decisions impact most aspects of voters' lives, from education to healthcare and voting rights.

Trump has visited Pennsylvania twice this year, rallying for Oz and Mastriano most recently in early September.

"As Biden's approval rating plummets, Pennsylvania crime spikes, and Pennsylvanians grapple with a 74 percent hike in heating oil, coupled with record inflation, just weeks away from winter," Trump's office said in a statement.

Agencies Via Xinhua

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