It’s rare for Donald Trump to deliver a message similar to that of Barack Obama and Joe Biden — but it happened when a Republican and two Democrats campaigned in Pennsylvania on the same day.
All political foes urged Americans in key states: Vote.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Obama cast the election as a battle for democracy, while Mr. Trump said the country’s safety and security was being ensured.
Tuesday’s US midterm elections will determine control of Congress.
All 435 seats of the House of Representatives are contested while 35 seats of the Senate are up for grabs.
A razor-thin margin separates Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, 53, from Republican Mehmet Oz, 62, in Pennsylvania. An appearance by two former presidents and President Biden in the final weekend before the election signaled the importance of the state.
Mr. Trump’s victory in Pennsylvania helped propel him to the White House in 2016, after his message of populist anger appealed to the state’s blue-collar voters.
Pragmatism and anti-liberal politics sentiment in urban centers returned him to the Democrats in 2020, when Mr. Biden won his home state by less than 2%.
Speaking in Philadelphia on Saturday, Mr. Biden declared that it was “good to be home” as he stumped Mr. Fetterman and Josh Shapiro, the Democratic candidate for governor.
He warned the crowd that failure to return Democratic majorities in the House and Senate would mean further restrictions on abortion rights and cuts to public health care.
Although Democrats currently hold both houses of Congress, according to polls, they are expected to lose the House and are in the heat for control of the Senate.
“Here in Philadelphia, a place that defines the spirit of America, today we face a turning point,” Mr. Biden said. He said a vote for Democrats would be a vote for women’s health, gun control and health care.
Outside the rally, voters quickly lined up to see the two presidents — Mr. Biden and his Democratic predecessor, Mr. Obama — on the same stage.
Steve Phillips, from Pennsylvania, told JEE News that he hoped it would get people to vote, regardless of which party they supported.
But some in the crowd acknowledged that it was really Mr. Obama they had come to see, and that if Mr. Biden had been here alone, he might not have come.
The midterm elections are often seen as a referendum on the current president, and with Mr. Biden’s approval rating hovering at 40%, Republicans have plenty to criticize as Americans worry about inflation, guns and immigration.
