“I opened my eyes,” Mr. Mitchko explained. Since Election Day 2016, Republicans have shrunk the Democratic advantage in Pennsylvania by nearly 200,000 voters, from just over 916,000 to just over 717,000 — all in a state that Mr. Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 45,000 votes. The great unknown is how much of that movement consists of ancestral Democrats like Mr. Mitchko who voted for Mr. Trump in 2016, formalizing their departure from the party, and how much is fresh erosion. Olyphant was once “solid blue,” Mr. Mitchko said. On the wall of the garage where he stores the Trump signs, Mr. Mitchko has affixed the hate mail he has received (“Dear American turncoat,” reads one piece).

Source: New York Times October 11, 2020 12:56 UTC