Donald Trump has a huge Pennsylvania problem

Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries did not feature a contested election, but Trump managed to lose nearly 17% of the vote to Nikki Haley, who dropped out and never campaigned in the state.

Trump received 83.5% of the votes and Haley 16.5%.

In the Democratic primaries, Joe Biden defeated Dean Phillips 93.1% to 6.9%.

With absolutely nothing at stake, Biden received almost 917,000 votes. Trump received 786,000 votes. Both candidates were unopposed, but Democrats are more united in Pennsylvania and came out voting for Biden to send a message about November.

To receive more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Scranton’s own Joe Biden will be difficult for Trump to beat in the Keystone State. The backbone of Trump’s support for the state is in rural counties, which are suffering from declining populations. Trump squeezed every Republican vote out of rural parts of the state in 2020 and still lost to Joe Biden.

There are signs of trouble for Trump all over Pennsylvania. Enthusiasm for Trump has waned. It’s hard to find a Trump sign in rural Western Pennsylvania, and a red hat is even rarer. Democrats have an advantage in voter registration in the state, and if those Democrats in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the surrounding suburbs come out in November, Trump may not be able to win the state.

The Republican primaries in Pennsylvania showed that the Republican Party is in disarray, and that there is a part of the party that will never unite around Trump.

A special message from PoliticusUSA

If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep PoliticusUSA’s doors open during this crucial election year, you can do so here.

We are honored to have put your interests first for 14 years because we are accountable only to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core value of PoliticusUSA.