Trump to hold campaign rally in Pennsylvania on May 20

President Trump next week will stage a rally in Pennsylvania, a state crucial to his reelection chances in 2020, his campaign announced on Monday.

The May 20 rally will take place in the town of Montoursville in northeastern Pennsylvania, where Trump’s strong performance in 2016 helped flip the state from blue to red. Trump’s campaign said it will be his 48th visit to the state and his sixth appearance in that region since launching his first run in 2015.

“President Trump will be returning to Pennsylvania to share his long litany of achievements on behalf of the American people,” said Trump campaign chief operating officer Michael Glassner said in a statement.

Trump’s political team is counting on a repeat performance in the Keystone State next year, but several recent polls show him running behind a number of possible Democratic rivals.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, a native of nearby Scranton, is also making a strong play for Pennsylvania, holding his kickoff rally in the union stronghold of Pittsburgh. Biden is expected to hold a rally 90 miles away in Bethlehem, Pa., two days before Trump’s appearance in Montoursville.

Trump became the first Republican presidential nominee to win Pennsylvania since 1988, edging Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by just 44,000 votes.

It is one of six battleground states chosen by the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action for a $250 million investment designed to boost Trump’s chances of winning a second term.

The Trump campaign said the president also intends to plug the candidacy of state Rep. Fred Keller (R), who is running in a special election to fill the House seat vacated by former Rep. Tom Marino (R).