Busloads of New York Democrats representing a wide swath of organizations have carried on with their weekly trips to canvass for the Harris-Walz campaign in the swing state of Pennsylvania. This past Saturday, Brooklyn Dems and 1199 SEIU members ventured to Stroudsburg.
“We’re getting on a bus to Pennsylvania to bring out support for Kamala Harris,” said Anthony Beckford, district leader for the 43rd Assembly. “This right here is an opportunity for us to be engaged — for the community to be engaged. I brought my 12-year-old daughter out here, so that way, she can experience this moment in history as well. It’s something we’ve been looking forward to.”
Dozens gathered in front of St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn in the early morning of Oct. 19. They filed into two luxury coach buses with their matching navy T-shirts, provided by the Brooklyn Democratic Party. Participants, from high schoolers all the way to retirees, tucked in for the long journey into what has been dubbed for years as “Trump country” or areas that are heavily Republican.
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, are marginally ahead of former President Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in terms of polling: At presstime, she led 46% to 43%, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos public opinion poll. For context, the poll surveyed 4,129 adults online: one-third registered Democrats, one-third Republican, and the remainder independent voters.
Polling should be taken with a grain of salt, but it does serve to highlight how close this presidential election is. Every vote in swing states, like Pennsylvania, matters for the popular vote but also toward the Electoral College vote — or the state system for voting in presidential elections that’s based on their number of Congress members. To be president, a candidate needs 270 electoral college votes. Trump won in PA by less than 1% in 2016, but lost by almost the same percentage in 2020, reported NBC News.
That’s why, with about two weeks until Election Day, dedicated Harris supporters in New York City are spending their weekends traveling more than 70 miles away to knock on doors and possibly sway even a handful of people to vote for their candidate.
“I decided to do this because I’m normally civically engaged, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to contribute to one of the greatest candidates I could ever imagine,” said Leo Terry, a senior manager for a real estate firm. Like many others on the bus, it was Terry’s first time canvassing for a political group.
Sweet Sundays Cafe, a local Haitian-owned eatery, provided the bus group with breakfast, drinks, and snacks. After a late start, the group headed off to the mountainous area of Stroudsburg, a small town in the Poconos about two hours away from New York City. They met up with 1199 SEIU canvassers at the Days Inn drop-off point.
Ariama C. Long photos
Brooklyn retiree Barbara Savage passes by Trump signs in people’s yards. 
Brooklyn Democratic Party volunteer canvassers before bus trip to Stroudsburg, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 19. Credit: Ariama C. Long photo 
199SEIUers and BK Dems canvassing groups arrive in Stroudsburg, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 19. 
Black women were excited to doorknock in neighborhoods in PA for VP Kamala Harris. 
Young canvasser with miniVAN Touch app, a mobile canvassing application, open on her phone.
Stroudsburg was the absolute picture-postcard of a warm Autumn day, with crisp foliage on the mountainside and fluttering leaves, from green to bright-red, falling off the high trees. The terrain did end up being a major hurdle throughout the day, though, with transportation for canvassers sparse.
To make sure that Dems weren’t wandering for miles through the woods, the ground campaign used the MiniVAN app, which allowed canvassers to find registered voters’ addresses on public lists using their phones and target certain neighborhoods in Stroudsburg with undecided or independent registered voters. The canvassers split into small groups, and received maps, lists, scripts, and questionnaires for their door-knocking walks in the community.
Brooklyn retirees Barbara Savage and Carol Singleton, lifelong friends in their 70s, were dropped off in the neighborhood of Tannersville. The small area is primarily known for its waterpark and ski resorts. They eyed elaborate Halloween decorations and Trump signs in people’s yards wearily and pressed on, determined.
“We do this all the time. Every election season,” said Savage, who has door-knocked for Democrats before. “I did the Obama [campaign] and I think there was more energy and enthusiasm, but we did also come to Pennsylvania to Trump territory, smack in the middle. But it was great, we had a wonderful time. Very productive, and people were friendly.”
Many people did not answer their doors for Savage and Singleton or politely refused to engage. But surprisingly, one Tannersville resident, 69, with Trump signs in her yard, was eager to discuss Harris’ stances on issues like Medicare, marriage, abortion, pension, and Social Security.
I voted for Fmr. President Trump in 2020 but now I wonder is a vote for him in 2024 a vote for Elon Musk who spiritually disturbs me. I’m not quite sure why our government got in bed with this guy or why Fmr. President Trump is in bed with him now. Does he not think that he will not have to pay up because Musk has spent a lot of money for the Fmr. President and nothing is free. If I was of the very wealthy or in Media (especially social media) power given to Musk would greatly disturb me. Musk already has way too much power given to him by our government (who he talks to like a dog) with Starlink and other government contracts and God knows this man already acts like somebody has elected him as a world leader and under a second term of Fmr. President Trump (who now owes him big time) what in the world would happen? I don’t blame Musk I blame our government (or any government for that matter) for allowing any one to have so much power. When I read he was going to ban all Apple products from his work sites I was shocked. He has government contracts and this is the United States home of freedom so how can he do that? That’s crazy! I don’t know perhaps the very rich and the media need to be out there knocking on doors themselves because Musk will come for his peers to rule over them. Why Fmr. President Trump got in bed with Musk seeing Musk supported DeSantis in the primary is just beyond me. He has made a big mistake…Huge. Musk is a threat to our democracy but an even bigger threat to his wealthy and social media peers and they of all people need to be knocking on doors for Musk will rule over them and us with an iron fist and that should send fear down their spines and down the spines of every American Patriot who loves freedom and democracy regardless of Party affiliation, Race, or Religion. Folks just because someone has gained an American citizenship does not make them American or have the best interest for America and her children. As someone who is neither Republican or Democrat and more Conservative than liberal the Republicans are leaving us no choice with the company they keep to vote against them to save democracy.