A supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump rallies outside an early polling precinct as voters cast their ballots in local, state, and national elections, in Clearwater, Florida, U.S., November 3, 2024. REUTERS/Octavio Jones
CNN reporter John King visited three congressional districts in the north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to ask about the upcoming election and where they stand on President Donald Trump.
King began his road trip by saying that if those districts go for Democrats, then the House is lost. While the party in power generally loses during midterm elections, Republicans have been so fearful that they've tried to pass new congressional maps to change districts to be more GOP-friendly.
Speaking to one voter in Bucks County, King explained that while the man really likes his Republican congressman, he's angry his elected official is not standing up to President Donald Trump.
"Big picture, Trump is the problem that I see," Michael Pesce said. "The president is not doing what I think a president should be doing, and that's disturbing to me. One more person in Congress that is going to stand up to Trump. That's going to get my vote."
His member of Congress is Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R), who won in 2024, but whose district was also won by Vice President Kamala Harris. He is seen as one of the Democrat's top targets in a district that could easily flip.
Pesce bragged that he was a "Reagan Republican" until Trump came along. He's since switched to being a Democrat, saying he wants no part of Trump's takeover of the GOP. He's also a former Coast Guard veteran and "angry at the price of a war he says makes no sense."
Gerard Babb voted for Trump three times, and now wants to see a check on the president's power.
"As of right now, I see President Trump is kind of acting like a regular old politician to me. And no love," he said.
King asked if Trump should have more checks on him by Democrats.
"Yeah," Babb agreed. "No love lost from my opinion."
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R) is his congressman, who beat Democratic Rep. Susan Wild in 2024. He beat Wild with a mere 4,000-vote margin.
Democratic Spanish radio host Victor Martinez said that his listeners thought that with President Joe Biden gone, "things are gonna change. He promised he was gonna fix it. Let's see. Here we are a year later and things are actually worse."
Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) is in the northernmost district. He, too, was elected in 2024 with a small margin (6,000 votes) over Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.). Once known as "Joe Biden country," the district voted for Trump in 2024 with a 54 percent edge over Harris.