The Economist.

Mississippi is the further south. Much of Indiana used to be called Louisiana. Florida marks what was once the city's northern boundary, and Ohio hugs East Potomac Park.

But of all the streets in Washington, D.C., named after the nation's 50 states,

the most famous, the wide Grand Boulevard that links the Capitol building and the White House,

is called Pennsylvania Avenue.

No one knows for sure why it was the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which was awarded the Crem de la Crem of D.C. streets.

The most likely explanation is that the nation's capital,

having been moved from Philadelphia to D.C., it was intended as a consolation prize.

Pennsylvania Avenue is the road of the White House.

And for Donald Trump and Carmelah Harris, the road of the White House.

And for Donald Trump and Carmelah Harris, the road to the White House is likely to lie via Pennsylvania's 19 electoral college votes.

With 32 days to go until the 2024 election, I'm John Priddo, and this is checks and balance from The Economist.

Each week, we take one big theme shaping American politics and explore it in depth.

Today, who's winning in Pennsylvania? Whoever captures Pennsylvania will probably be elected president.

According to the Economist's forecast model, it's the most likely tipping point state.

We've traveled to three different parts of the Commonwealth to assess how the campaign is going and to try to read the electoral tea leaves.

What will it take to win in Pennsylvania in November?

Thank you. will it take to win in Pennsylvania in November? With me this week to discuss what's going on in the Keystone State in the last few weeks of this election are Charlotte Howard and Idris Kalun.

We've all been to Pennsylvania recently, but we didn't manage to go together,

which seems like a bit of a shame.

But that does mean we covered a lot of ground. Charlotte, how are you doing? What's going on? I can see you're back in New York. What's up there? I'm doing well. We haven't discussed Erica Adams on the pod yet. As a New York resident, I'm waiting to see when or whether our mayor will decide that he should no longer be the mayor, given the range of charges brought against him by the federal government. It's an amazing story. It does feel a bit like D.C. in the 80s. Idris, how are you doing? What's up in Washington? Washington is good. I just got back from Pittsburgh, which I really like. I spent a summer there many years ago interning for the local paper. I really like it. I think it's one of these charming cities that has a lot of beauty that people don't appreciate.

There's something about the hills and the bridges and everything. And also it peaked at the right time, which is important. You want a city that peaked around Art Deco time, not a city that peaked around brutalism time. That's very bad. This episode of the podcast is not sponsored by the Pennsylvania Tourist Board, but it might as well be because the part of the state that I went to, Pennsylvania 8,

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