Pittsburgh Likely To Again Be Pivotal In Biden's Reelection Bid

PITTSBURGH, PA — In 2020, the Pittsburgh area played a key role in propelling Joe Biden to the presidency. It again will be significant as Biden seeks a second term.

The president announced his reelection bid Tuesday with a video that began with images of the January 2021 insurrection and abortion rights activists protesting at the U.S. Supreme Court. "When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” he said over the images.

“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer,” he continued. “I know what I want the answer to be and I think you do too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

Biden's win in Pennsylvania in 2020 clinched the win over former President Donald Trump and his showing in Allegheny County helped to put him over the top.

Biden amassed 430,759 votes to Trump's 282,913 in the county. The 148,000-vote difference was the largest margin of victory in the county since 1964, when Lyndon Johnson clobbered Barry Goldwater in a 475,207-241,707 rout.

Statewide, Biden won by 80,000 votes - 3.45 million to 3.77 million - underscoring Allegheny County's substantial role in his victory.

Since becoming president, Biden has made five visits to Western Pennsylvania:

• In March 2021, he visited Pittsburgh as part of his "Help is Here Tour," delivering remarks at the Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center.

• In September 2021, he and First Lady Jill Biden visited the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Somerset County, in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the victims of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed on 9/11.

• In January 2022, Biden visited the site of the collapsed Fern Hollow Bridge connecting Squirrel Hill and Regent Square. He also delivered remarks on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act at Carnegie Mellon University's Mill 16.

• In September of last year, he helped celebrate Labor Day at the United Steelworkers of America Union Local 2227.

• In October, he spoke at the site of the under-construction Fern Hollow Bridge replacement and also visited a Primanti Bros. restaurant.

With Trump currently the leading Republican candidate for president in polling despite facing criminal charges, expect more visits from Biden in the coming year in an attempt to shore up his reelection bid.