Laura Punnett of Medford recently knocked on a door in Allentown, Pennsylvania, holding a pile of campaign fliers in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The retired professor from the University of Massachusetts Lowell was greeted by a recorded message: “Thanks for stopping by.” She responded, also in a recording: “I want to know what it means to you to vote in the election on Tuesday.” Then Punnett proceeded to the next house on her list.
About 80 miles away in Scranton, Harry Loomos of Lynnfield also was focused on winning over the same group of undecided voters — but on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“I think both campaigns realize that those people are going to probably be the people that decide the election,” Loomos said.
Punnett and Loomos are among the hundreds of Massachusetts volunteers who have headed to swing states across the country to try to sway the presidential election. They have made calls, sent letters and traveled to “purple” states to make a difference in these last days heading toward a tight national race.
Volunteers have traveled to North Carolina, reeling from the effects of back to back storms, and to Georgia, where they have responded to calls from the National Bar Association and Transformative Justice Coalition to help low-income people exercise their rights to vote.
“I have probably knocked on about a thousand doors by now and there have been only three times when someone either shouted at me or slammed the door in my face,” Punnett told GBH News.
The battle for Pennsylvania
Punnett said she has been in Pennsylvania since September working with the Massachusetts-based Swing Blue Alliance, one of several groups that recruited campaign volunteers for the Harris-Walz ticket. She says she grew up in nearby Philadelphia and knows the surrounding communities.
Her fluent command of Spanish is a huge plus in a working-class city where about 55% of residents identify as Latino or Hispanic, she said. A comedian invited to address the recent Trump rally at Madison Square Garden disparaged Puerto Ricans, who make up a huge share of Allentown’s population. She said she has been spurred to action by what she describes as the very real threat to democracy — and finds that fear is widespread.
“People who open the doors to me who are committed to voting Democratic,” she said. “The issue of our democracy being at stake is one of the things that people mention.”
But she said many undecided voters are more concerned about “bread-and-butter issues,” like Trump’s promise not to tax overtime pay.
“One person listed a lot of negatives for Donald Trump,” Punnett recalled, “and then she said, 'Not having taxes taken out of that money would be a huge help to me.’”
Loomos said he is convinced that Trump can win Pennsylvania. He raised money for 30-plus Massachusetts volunteers who traveled last week to the Scranton area with financial assistance from former Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, who chairs Trump’s Massachusetts campaign.
“I would say the overall response was favorable towards President Trump. If we knocked on X amount of doors, the majority were for Trump,'' he said. ”I did meet a woman who was anti-Trump [and] I kind of gave her some facts, but I don’t think I changed her mind.”
An uphill battle in one Michigan city
Dearborn, Michigan, is a complex urban center spotted with industrial towers, finely trimmed lawns surrounding grandiose mansions and proudly built worker’s homes — some dilapidated, others nestled between new restaurants.
The Ford Motor Company for decades served as the pied piper of industry that brought Arab Americans from Yemen, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Iraq. Now, with the war in Gaza is the defining issue for 81% of Arab Americans, that issue is also a talking point for campaign volunteers in Dearborn.
Two Harris-Walz staff members from the Boston area recently traveled to the once solid Democratic Party small city to fight for the hearts and votes of Arab American residents.
Harris communications officials declined GBH News’ request to interview the canvassers, but did allow a reporter to accompany them door-knocking in one neighborhood where Trump and Harris signs competed for attention on front lawns amongst life size Halloween goblins, ghouls and ghosts.
As one man stood on the porch of a registered voter, wind chimes punctuated an awkward silence before the door opened, ever so slightly.
“Hi. I’m from the Harris campaign,” he said.
“No thanks,” replied the person behind the door, then slammed the door shut.
Harris officials privately concede that in the closing days and hours of this election season, winning Arab American votes in Michigan is an uphill battle.
At the American Moslem Society Mosque that was clear as dozens of men in traditional Yemeni clothing answered the call to prayer. Asked by GBH News how they would vote in the upcoming election, a man who introduced himself as Yusef echoed the views of others.
“Uncommitted,” he said. ”Horrible options. There’s no lesser evil anymore.”
That opinion is heartening to a man named Matthew, also from the Boston area, who also declined to provide his last name to protect his privacy. Matthew said he and he and two colleagues had set up a table in front of the mosque filled with pamphlets and leaflets promoting Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, a former Lexington Town Meeting member.
Stein is not expected to win, but some people consider her candidacy as a possible spoiler.
“We’ve talked to people who have already cast the ballot, especially Palestinians and Arab Americans,” said Matthew. “They’re supporting a campaign that supports … the critical stance on ending the genocide at war in Gaza.”
Others in Dearborn appear to be receptive to the message from the Harris-Walz campaign.
On a recent day, a Harris organizer from Boston knocked on someone’s door and was greeted by the smiling occupant, who confirmed that she would be voting for the vice president.
“We’re voting tomorrow,” she said. “I’m not letting him win. I can’t. I can’t.”
After that, the organizers looked at the other dozen or so remaining names on their phones and proceeded to knock at yet another door.
