When President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania in November 2020, it had to be a special moment for him. Not only was the president born in Scranton, but the victory put him above the 270-vote Electoral College threshold to win the White House.

With 19 electoral votes – one of the highest counts among all states – the Keystone State again will be a major prize in November for either Biden or his opponent, former President Donald Trump. That number alone points to it as potentially the most important swing state in this year’s race for the White House.

A swing state, according to a by-the-book definition, is one that’s “considered to play a key role in the outcome of presidential elections” and where candidates of both the Democratic and Republican parties “have similar levels of support.” The group of swing states each presidential cycle is often similar, although variations can occur due to factors like changing demographics. Georgia, for example, recently swung into the swing state category in the wake of Biden surprisingly carrying it in 2020 and other lower-ticket victories.

Though Pennsylvania isn’t a stranger to its status as a battleground, Trump’s win there in 2016 stopped a streak of Democratic candidates carrying the state. Four years later, Biden’s win allowed him to secure a “blue wall” that also included Michigan and Wisconsin – key swing states this year as well – and ultimately the White House. Trump won each of those three states himself in 2016, and is now hoping to lure Pennsylvania voters back away from their native son.

Here’s everything you need to know about Pennsylvania, which was ranked No. 40 in the most recent edition of U.S. News’ Best States project, as a 2024 battleground.

In January, U.S. News handicapped Pennsylvania as one of a handful of “toss-up” states for the 2024 presidential election. That’s despite Trump’s 2016 victory being a recent rarity: Democrats had otherwise won the state in every election since 1992. Republicans, however, won Pennsylvania throughout the 1980s.

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The Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes tie it with Illinois for the fifth-most among all states. And, with 10 of the past 12 presidential election winners having won Pennsylvania, it could prove to be a bellwether for the........

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