MARTINSBURG • With eight days to go until the Nov 3 election, President Donald Trump addressed boisterous rallies in Pennsylvania on Monday, while Democrat Joe Biden made a low-key appearance in the state considered crucial to the chances of victory for both men.
"We win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ballgame," Mr Trump told a rally in Martinsburg, his third and final event of the day, as he predicted a win in the state despite trailing Mr Biden in most opinion polls.
Mr Biden made a small-scale appearance in the city of Chester, near Philadelphia, meeting about a dozen campaign volunteers and speaking with newsmen.
According to him, he was "not overconfident about anything" and "with the grace of God", he would win Pennsylvania, the state where he was born.
"I think we're going to win Michigan, I think we're going to win Wisconsin. I think we're going to win Minnesota.
"I think we've a fighting chance in Ohio. I think we've a fighting chance in North Carolina. We've a fighting chance in Georgia," Mr Biden added, referring to other election battleground states.
Mr Biden also stepped up his criticism of Mr Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 225,000 people in the United States, saying: "The bottom line is, Donald Trump is the worst possible president, the worst possible person to lead us through this pandemic."
Surging coronavirus cases in several parts of the country have dominated the campaign, along with news of a Covid-19 outbreak among VP Mike Pence's staff.
Mr Pence, who campaigned in Minnesota, tested negative for the coronavirus on Monday, his office said, after multiple senior aides tested positive over the weekend.
In a case over Wisconsin's election procedures, the US Supreme Court on Monday rejected on a 5-3 vote an effort by Democrats to allow officials in the state to count mail-in ballots postmarked on election dayNov 3that arrive up to six days afterwards.
The action by the apex court's conservative majority keeps in place a state policy that mail-in ballots must be in the hands of Wisconsin election officials by the close of the polls.
Returning to the White House from Pennsylvania, Mr Trump tweeted: "Big problems and discrepancies with Mail In Ballots all over the USA. Must have final total on November 3rd."
Twitter flagged the tweet with a disclaimer describing the post's content as "disputed" and potentially misleading.
Experts say, however, it may take days or even weeks to process the huge number of mail-in ballots, spurred by voters seeking to avoid crowded polling stations because of Covid-19.
Some 42.7 million Americans have already voted by mail, part of the more than 63.6 million who have cast ballots ahead of the election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest US voter turnout by percentage in more than a century.
Despite Mr Biden's solid lead in national opinion polls, the contest appears tighter in the most critical battleground states that could decide the outcome.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Oct 20 to Oct 26 gave Mr Biden a narrow advantage over Mr Trump in Pennsylvania.
A state where a majority of voters can swing towards either major party, Pennsylvania has been heavily courted with frequent visits by both candidates.
Mr Trump went from Allentown to Lititz and then finally to Martinsburg, all towns outside the large suburban hubs where the race may be decided.
He also planned multiple stops in Michigan and Wisconsin this week, as well as visits to Arizona, Nebraska and Nevada.
Mr Trump told newsmen he expected to win Pennsylvania by a larger margin than the 0.72 per cent victory he achieved in defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Addressing supporters, Mr Trump touched on what he called an "existential" issue for PennsylvaniaMr Biden's comment during the previous week's presidential debate that, if elected, he would "transition" the US away from oil and natural gas.
"He wants to go with windmills that are made in Germany and China," Mr Trump said.
He added: "Biden's plan is an economic death sentence for Pennsylvania's energy sector."
In Chester, Mr Biden defended his stance, saying: "I'm not shutting down oilfields.
"I'm not eliminating fracking. I'm investing in clean energy."
REUTERS