- Erie County is one of ahandful of swing counties

in battleground Pennsylvania.

Traditionally a blue county,

home to many hard-workingblue-collar Americans,

it flipped red for Donald Trump in 2016.

And now in 2020, there'sstill support for him

here on the ground.

But there's also a lot ofenthusiasm for Joe Biden.

And that's somethingHillary Clinton didn't have.

- I travel a little bit,

so when I go to rural areas,

I think I see more Trumpsigns when I'm in the city.

It's more 50-50.

- [Jenna] And that's what we saw too,

on our Rust Belt road trip.

(tires whirring)

In more rural Erie County,

Trump-Pence signs dominate,

but in downtown Erie,

Biden-Harris signs

fill the lawns.

- Well, I think the 2020election contrasts sharply

with what we saw going on in2016, here in Erie County,

- [Jenna] Joseph Morris,

head of the Political Science Department

at Mercyhurst University,

says the signs indicate voter enthusiasm.

- In 2016, it was difficultto find a Hillary Clinton sign

anywhere in the city.

This year,

there're Joe Biden signs everywhere.

- [Jenna] Historically,Erie County votes blue

in local and national elections.

- [Dr Morris] I like todescribe the people who live

in Erie County

as salt of the earth.

These people are hardworking,

a very proud people,

that unfortunately have been without jobs.

Many of them have been withoutjobs for quite a while.

- [Jenna] And that's howDonald Trump flipped it

to red in 2016,

promising to bring backmanufacturing jobs.

- I believe he has kept his word.

He's done what he said.

He's a strong leader.

- Out of my friends, we'reall Trump supporters.

And we have a couple of friendswho were Biden supporters,

but they have switched to Trump this year.

- I think he's a narcissist.

I think he's off his...

I mean, I really dothink he's not all there.

- [Jenna] We got mixed reaction

from locals on the candidates.

Matt Xander says he'snot thrilled with either.

- I talked to a bunch ofdifferent friends and people

and I think that this year, you know,

I think that sometimes

we'll say we don't thinkwe have great choices

but this year, I think it reallyexemplifies this election.

- [Jenna] 15 miles south of Erie,

this Biden-Harris sign hangson Dysa Lindsey's barn.

- When you come through mysmall town of Waterford,

there's actually a billboard that says,

Waterford is Trump country,

in 2020.

And that made me feel really concerned

that it's not Trump country.

There's lots of Bidensupporters in this area.

- [Jenna] During the month of October,

poll after poll has shownBiden with a small lead here,

ranging from plus two to plus seven.

Pollster, Scott Rasmussen tells CBN News,

Biden needs to turn out thesuburban voters of Philadelphia.

If he can do that and suppressthe state's more rural vote,

even just a little bit,

it could spell victory for Democrats.

- This is gonna be a simple equation.

Do the voters in Philadelphia,

do so many people show up to vote

and mail in their votes in Philadelphia

in the immediate surrounding area

to overwhelm the rest of the state?

Because this is a state

that greatly reflects theurban world split in America.

- [Jenna] Both campaigns seeErie as a must-win county,

that have made stops here.

- Hello, Erie.

Remember that greatvictory we had all year?

- It's good to be back

in Erie.

- [Jenna] Professor Morris says

it could test theRust Belt's loyalty to Trump.

He's keeping a close eye onErie and Luzerne counties.

- Demographically, they're very similar.

Luzerne is a little bit largerin terms of its population.

But I think by understanding

what's going on in these two places,

we'll have a pretty darn good idea

about which wayPennsylvania is going to go.

- Most polls got it wrong in 2016.

But if they're moreaccurate this time around,

that's good news for the Biden campaign,

here in blue-collar America,

where the race couldultimately be decided.

In Erie County, Pennsylvania,

Jenna Browder, CBN News.