Pennsylvania Governor Says State 'Will Not Be Intimidated' After Trump Warning

The governor of Pennsylvania—shaping up to be the key swing state in the 2020 presidential election—has said local officials will not be intimidated after President Donald Trump said all eyes would be on the state come Tuesday.

Both Trump and challenger Joe Biden have made their final push in Pennsylvania, hoping to do enough to secure its 20 electoral votes. Both candidates' path to the White House will likely run through the Keystone State.

Biden is currently around 5 points ahead in his home state, but pollsters have warned that is a narrow lead when taking into account margins of error and possible inaccuracies. Trump won the state in 2016 by less than a point over Hillary Clinton.

On Monday, while campaigning in the Pennsylvanian city of Scranton, where Biden lived until he was 10 years old, the president appeared to threaten Democratic Governor Tom Wolf, as the crowd chanted: "Tom Wolf sucks."

"Make sure your governor doesn't cheat, because they are known for very bad things here," Trump said, without elaborating. "But we have a lot of eyes watching, a lot of very powerful eyes here. They don't want that to happen."

"Open up your state and please don't cheat, governor, please don't cheat," the president said to cheers from the crowd. "We're all watching you."

"We have a lot of eyes on the governor and his friends," Trump added. "Couple of other governors out there too."

Wolf replied on Twitter: "Pennsylvanians will not be intimidated. You can watch us count every vote and have a fair election."

Both campaigns reportedly see Pennsylvania as the most likely "tipping point state" for the election—i.e. the state that will put the winner over the required threshold of 270 electoral college votes.

The FiveThirtyEight poll tracking website—which popularized the tipping point state concept—has said that Pennsylvania is the most likely tipping point in around 37 percent of its electoral forecasts.

Though Biden is still ahead in the state polls—and in national and other swing state polls—Trump told supporters at Monday's rally he was confident of carrying Pennsylvania. "They keep saying it's close, but I don't think it's close," he said of the race.

Biden and vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris were also in Pennsylvania Monday as the two campaigns wrapped up their final push. Biden spoke at an event in Beaver county, while Harris spoke at a rally in Philadelphia.

Biden told supporters that the election was a "battle for the soul of America," and that his victory would be the first step to stopping the coronavirus pandemic and addressing the polarization of the country.

"If you elect me your president, I'm going to heal this country and we're going to act," Biden said. "We're going to act to get COVID under control beginning on day one."