The campaign clock is ticking. Election Day is less than two weeks away, and here in the swing state of Pennsylvania, both presidential campaigns are throwing everything they have at voters.
Scranton has hosted actors canvassing for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, and in Bucks County, former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, got a taste of working a fast food job. WVIA News reporters, Haley O'Brien and Borys Krawczeniuk, say there are definitely more visits to come.
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SARAH: So it's starting to feel like both candidates are scrambling to keep surrogates at least coming to the region. Haley, you covered when actors Adam Scott and Ed Helms were in Scranton for Harris. Borys, you're all over the place, covering things that both Harris and Trump have going on. So is this typical of the last few weeks before an election, or do we think the energy is getting a little bit more frantic right now?
BORYS: It's more typical this year than it's been, although there have been previous elections where we saw a lot of celebrities at this time. It's just a lot more pronounced, and I think you'll see more. I was surprised Adam Scott and Ed Helms showed up. That was one I did not expect, although it's kind of natural if you think about Ed Helms being from "The Office" in Scranton and all that stuff. I'm not sure what sort of effect they have, but it sure gets attention to the campaign.
SARAH: Yeah, and Haley, you were at the stop with Ed Helms and Adam Scott. What sort of effect do you think they had?
HALEY: Sure, yeah, well, the volunteers who were able to mingle with them ... They hosted a canvas launch at a local union building before heading out to knock on doors and actually solicit votes for the Harris campaign themselves. The volunteers who were able to meet them were very excited, but I think their influence was seen on Facebook before going to this campaign event. They went to Alfredo's Pizza Cafe, a restaurant referenced in the show ("The Office"). And of course, Alfredo's posted on their Facebook page pictures with the actors. Those photos went all over and you know, at the same time, that same afternoon, Donald Trump was working behind the counter at a McDonald's. Those pictures were attention grabbing, and they were going all over social media as well. So that was just a very interesting day on Sunday.
BORYS: Both sides were employing all these celebrities to try to raise money, like that's been interesting to read. I have these long lists of people who've been helping each of them raise money. I didn't know that Barbara Streisand and Carole King had such an interest in Bob Casey, or Julia Louis Dreyfus had such an interest in Bob Casey. We know Elon Musk, but you know Colby Covington, the UFC fighter, is a big fan of Donald Trump. And we saw Hulk Hogan at the (Republican) convention. And Harris has, among others, Jane Fonda, Anthony Scaramucci, who used to work for Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Robert De Niro... these are all just like the text messages you get appealing for money, you know. So there's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that's going on too.
SARAH: Now, how much sway do we think a celebrity name or a celebrity endorsement has on the average voter? I'm thinking not someone who's plugged into it every day, like we are, someone who maybe has a passing interest in politics.
BORYS: I'd say almost none. I'd say mostly, it's the campaigns like advertising. If you're advertising, at least you're getting attention. If you're not advertising, nobody knows you exist. They've been offering interviews, like when we I was at the Doug Emhoff rally on Monday, they said, "Would you like to talk to Chris Coons?" Well, Chris Coons was already here. He's the senator from Delaware. In recent weeks, they offered interviews with Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, and the governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey. You know, they're constantly trying to get attention to the campaign. That's what it's really all about. Keep the campaign's name out there.
SARAH: Yeah, I'm having memories of interviewing Elizabeth Banks for one of the Obama campaigns way back.
BORYS: Right. That's exactly the same thing right now.
SARAH: So, you mentioned Doug Emhoff. We're also expecting Minnesota Governor and democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz in Scranton this week as well. So as time is running out. Who else do we think is going to be coming through NEPA?
BORYS: I'm sure that the both of the presidential candidates will be here again. I don't know when. We haven't seen JD Vance yet. I wouldn't be surprised if we see him before Trump gets here, maybe even after. There could be a couple of visits before the election by both candidates. Kamala Harris hasn't been to Lackawanna County. It almost seems like a natural that Biden would come with her, kind of like a passing of the torch, since he could take her around to his old neighborhood haunts. That sounds like a good idea to me, I don't know, but I'm going to guess we're going to be busy the next two weeks.
SARAH: Now, we should mention Vance may not have come through Northeastern Pennsylvania, but he was in North Central - he was in Williamsport. So we have a saying around the newsroom, especially in an election year, that Northeast Pennsylvania becomes the center of the universe, the center of the political universe for sure. Does that hold true this year? Are we still feeling that?
BORYS: Yes.
HALEY: Yeah, and Pennsylvania, there's a lot of focus I think on the Philadelphia suburbs as well.
BORYS: We're getting a lot of attention. Both campaigns are spending a lot of time here. Donald Trump and we have Donald (Trump) Jr. coming on Saturday to Montage (Mountain). You know, Eric (Trump) was at the Lackawanna County Republican Party dinner a week ago Thursday. So they're spending a lot of time in Pennsylvania and and the region, sometimes not always, like well publicized. It's that kind of race, you know. Pennsylvania is the whole ball of wax. So, you know, whoever wins here, it's a good chance they're going to win the presidency.
SARAH: Well, we will see how effective all of these stops are once we get to Nov. 5. Borys and Haley, thank you so much.
HALEY: Thank you, Sarah.
BORYS: Thanks.
