MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
What does it mean to be a voter in a swing state right now? So much attention. So what's it like? We've asked reporters from NPR member stations in two of those swing states to tell us. Carmen Russell-Sluchansky from WHYY is in Philadelphia. Good morning.
CARMEN RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: And Sarah Kallis with Georgia Public Broadcasting is in Atlanta. Good morning to you.
SARAH KALLIS, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: OK, Sarah, I'm going to start with you. I want to mention that in Georgia, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Tim Walz, made stops in Savannah and Columbus on Tuesday. So, Sarah, what's the mood there among voters?
KALLIS: So I would say, overall, there's definitely some anxiety concerning the race. People seem to be pretty ready for it just to be over. They're seeing campaign texts, ads, signs everywhere all over Georgia and on social media. And a lot of folks just seem ready to move on. We're also dealing with a lot of traffic from these campaign rallies that seem to be happening nearly every day in the state.
MARTIN: How about that? Traffic - that's something, you know, here in Washington, D.C. - you know, motorcade city - we don't think about. But I can imagine that if that's not a part of your daily life, it can be pretty annoying. All right, so early voting started in Georgia on October 15 for people who just want to get this over with, Sarah. Have some voters done that and cast their ballots already?
KALLIS: Absolutely. We have record-breaking early voting numbers. We've had especially high numbers in Atlanta since those are the population centers, but also in rural areas. And overall, over 3 million people have already voted statewide, like Bill Fleur (ph), who I met at a Trump rally near Atlanta. And he said that he was swayed to early vote despite usually voting on Election Day.
BILL FLEUR: And I was going to hold my vote until November 5 this time until - I've talked to a lot of people, and they changed my mind to go out there and vote early.
KALLIS: Of course, there are some people who are very passionate and they're excited about their candidate, and they might not be feeling that dread and anxiety that others are.
MARTIN: All right. So, Carmen, let's hear about Pennsylvania, where Steve and I spent a lot of time last week and some of it with you. I'm also going to mention that last night, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump visited Allentown. So how would you describe the mood?
RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY: Well, there's definitely apprehension because the polls are just so tight. Also the political ads are relentless. For example, I was having lunch the other day and heard the same radio ad play four times back-to-back - literally back-to-back - over the speaker. People are just ready to be - for it to be over. For example, this is Silvia Lucci (ph), who I met at the rally with former President Barack Obama and rock legend Bruce Springsteen on Monday.
SILVIA LUCCI: All this stuff that you hear on TV, it really brings you down. You almost - like, they're fighting your faith, you know, that it's impossible that this country could go into this direction.
RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY: It's like, just end our suffering already, you know?
MARTIN: Yeah, she did sound like she was over it. You know, as we said, your states are getting - both of those states that you live in are getting a lot of visits. So, Sarah, who's also heading down south? What about the Boss? What about Obama?
KALLIS: So Bruce Springsteen and former President Obama both headed to Atlanta to campaign for Vice President Harris with Harris. And that was a very large rally that people came from other corners of the state to see, including Stephanie Stone (ph), who drove about two hours from Macon to see Harris, Obama and Springsteen.
STEPHANIE STONE: Very stoked. I am excited. The energy was amazing. So just happy and just look forward to saying Madam President next year.
KALLIS: Celebrity visits definitely seem to be uplifting the mood of voters. Jason Aldean campaigned with Trump last week in Georgia as well.
MARTIN: Carmen, I understand that you were at that campaign rally that I mentioned with former President Trump in Allentown. What stood out to you there?
RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY: Well, first of all, let me note that more than half of Allentown is Latino, and Puerto Ricans make up the biggest share of the 500,000 Latino voters in Pennsylvania, a state that Trump won only by about - just over 40,000 votes in 2016. So, you know, there were protests outside the event after Tony Hinchcliffe's referral to Puerto Rico as an island of garbage at the Trump rally at New York - in New York over the weekend.
However, maybe looking to blunt the impact that may have here in Pennsylvania, they had Puerto Rico's shadow Senate delegate speak at the rally. And she told people they just need to focus on the issues. For his part, he said - for Trump's part, he said that he had done more for Puerto Rico than any other president, but some Puerto Rican voters I've talked to recall a pretty lackluster response to Hurricane Maria that devastated the island during his term.
MARTIN: And, Carmen, when was the last time you saw Harris in Pennsylvania?
RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY: Well, she spent a full day here on Sunday right here in Philadelphia, actually, making several stops, including a church, a barbershop, a youth basketball camp. I should note that her chances really heavily appear to reflect that she is focusing on getting the vote out in this - what is a really reliable Democratic stronghold. They're also concerned about the Black male vote. Four years ago - recent polling shows that Harris is several points down among Black male voters compared to President Biden in 2020. I was interviewing voters in North Philly and found several people who reflected what the polls were saying, such as Cliff Copper (ph).
CLIFF COPPER: These last four years with the Democrats - not impressed by the smoke and mirrors. At least with Trump, if you don't like his politics, at least they stay the same. He don't flip-flop.
RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY: Now, of course, Black male voters are the - still the second-most reliable Democratic voters. But, you know, like, a 10-point swing among them could really change the election here.
MARTIN: And, Sarah, very briefly, we're seeing Harris and her supporters reach out to other sort of traditional places that - for African Americans - churches. Harris made a stop at African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. Former President Clinton pitched for Harris in Southwest Georgia. How were those received?
KALLIS: Absolutely. Both of those drew huge crowds, and the congregation seemed to be pretty receptive. Harris also brought Stevie Wonder to her stop at the AME Church.
MARTIN: OK. That is Georgia Public Broadcasting's Sarah Kallis in Atlanta, WHYY's Carmen Russell-Sluchansky in Philadelphia. Thank you both.
RUSSELL-SLUCHANSKY: Thank you.
KALLIS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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