Harris campaign in Pennsylvania 'a mess,' operatives say

Pennsylvania may well be the deciding state in the 2024 presidential race, and top Democrats there are complaining that the Harris campaign is "a mess" less than three weeks before the election.

The party leaders told Politico they have been left out of events and that Harris's Pennsylvania campaign manager, Nikki Lu, may not know Philadelphia at a deep enough level to be effective there.

“I have concerns about Nikki Lu,” said Ryan Boyer, a powerful black labor leader in the state. “I don’t think she understands Philadelphia.”

Latino and Black leaders met with Harris last month to express their concerns, and more staff were brought in to help in the key areas. But it may be too little, too late for Harris to pull out a victory in the crucial state.

“Pennsylvania is such a mess, and it’s incredibly frustrating," an elected official said on the condition they could speak anonymously.

The Democrat mayor of Easton, Salvatore Panto Jr., told the New York Post that Democrats are being "out-messaged" in the state, adding, "I think the Trump campaign has done a much better job of saying ‘things are really bad.’”