Kamala Harris makes an appeal to Republican voters in Bucks County as Philly burbs take center stage in presidential race

Vice President Kamala Harris will make a “unity over party” pitch to Republicans at Washington Crossing on Wednesday, with just three weeks until Election Day as she looks to expand support in the narrowly divided battleground state.

Harris will deliver remarks to a group that includes more than 100 Republicans who support her candidacy at the Bucks County park, according to a senior campaign official.

Harris’ visit to the Philly suburbs comes just two days after former President Donald Trump’s bizarre town hall in Montgomery County — which featured an extended playlist listening session — intensified scrutiny of the 78-year-old Republican nominee’s mental acuity ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The park, not far from where George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River en route to a victory in the Revolutionary War, will serve as a symbolic backdrop for a speech meant to stress bipartisanship and putting country above party, the official said.

When President Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee the campaign picked historic locations in Pennsylvania for several key moments in the race, including Valley Forge where he spoke urgently about former President Donald Trump’s threats to democracy. Harris has had fewer keystone speeches in the sprint to introduce herself and make the case for her candidacy which only started in July.

Those expected to attend include former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.), one of two Republican members of the Jan 6. Committee convened to investigate the insurrection. Former Republican Rep. Jim Greenwood, who represented Bucks County and now co-chairs the Republicans for Harris arm of the campaign will also attend, as will former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman.

The official said Harris will be introduced by Republican farmers from Malvern who were harassed for being featured in an ad supporting the vice president.

In the home stretch of the election, as the race in Pennsylvania remains tied, Harris is looking to appeal to Republican and moderate voters. Two weeks ago, she was joined by former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney for an event in Ripon, WI, the birthplace of the Republican Party. She has emphasized her pledge to appoint a Republican to her cabinet. And this week it was announced she’d do interviews on Fox and with conservative podcaster Joe Rogan.

Harris’ campaign hopes she can appeal to disaffected Republicans in the critical swing county where 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton narrowly beat Trump in 2016 while losing the state. Biden improved on Clinton’s margins in 2020 on his way to winning the state and the presidency.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won 157,000 voters in Pennsylvania in the GOP primary which included about 12,000 in Bucks County (19% of the vote there). Those are voters the Harris campaign hopes to reach especially as Trump has made some inroads with Latino and Black voters in urban areas and as he continues to grow support with the white working class.