However you may be feeling this morning, its impossible to deny the part Berks County has played in the 2024 election. This is a departure from my usual analyzing of the past; but I also find it important to document the present historical moment.

As we all know Pennsylvania played a huge part in both candidate’s attempt to hold the highest position in politics. Our state was a must-win for both, and Berks as an extension seemed to be in the spotlight.

Presidential candidates have visited Berks County before by the likes of Nixon, Truman and even Obama. Yet as far as I know Berks has never been visited by both major party presidential and vice presidential candidates during one election cycle. Or visited by one candidate twice during one election cycle. Or visited by any candidates the day before the election, let alone both.

Here is a breakdown of the dates that we were visited by candidates leading up to the 2024 election:

• VP candidate J.D. Vance holds campaign rally at Berks County Fairgrounds on September 21st, 2024
• VP candidate Tim Walz visits Mofongo’s restaurant on South 5th St. in Reading on October 2nd, 2024
• Donald Trump holds rally at Santander Arena on October 9th, 2024
• VP candidate J.D. Vance holds town hall in a hangar at Reading Airport on October 12th, 2024
• Donald Trump holds rally at Santander Arena on November 4th, 2024
• Kamala Harris visits Old San Juan restaurant on N. 9th Street in Reading and knocks on doors on November 4th, 2024

Leading up to election day I had been jokingly saying that “Berks County is the center of the universe”. We sit on the edge – where Philadelphia suburbs meet rural, mountainous swaths of country and farm land. Within our borders we are also composed of a diverse urban center, affluent suburban surrounds, and country farm communities around the edges. We are a microcosm of America.

Yes, obviously the photo below was taken early on election night. It just happened to be the moment I caught Berks on the screen. Feel however you’d like about CNN, John King’s coverage of the electoral map is unparalleled. The way he navigates each county in each state and knows about the demographics and historic voting habits there is incredible. When he spoke about Berks County voters above he mentioned similar sentiments as my own above about us being both developed and rural, as well as our concentrated Puerto Rican population.

On Monday I took a “for fun” facebook poll in which 731 people contributed before the actual results came in. The facebook poll came up with 59% Trump and 41% Harris, nearly mirroring the final count in Berks which went 56% Trump 43% Harris. Obviously I cannot know for sure that everyone who participated is a Berks resident, but considering its within the margin of error I am going to conclude that my facebook following does indeed represent Berks County. Thank you everyone for participating. Feel free to discuss your thoughts in the comments, but please keep things respectful.