HAVERFORD, Pa. _ With a week before Pennsylvania's voter-registration deadline for the November election, Hillary Clinton stopped in Delaware County on Tuesday for an intimate town hall before a friendly audience and promoted her pro-family platform.
Speaking at the Haverford Community Recreation and Environmental Center and accompanied by her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, and actress Elizabeth Banks, Clinton for more than an hour answered questions on topics ranging from gun violence to health care to her plan for reducing college debt. In contrast to a recent campaign appearance in the region, Clinton spoke calmly, her tone explanatory.
"What I've been trying to do in this campaign is what I have tried to do through my entire life," Clinton said. "To put kids and families front and center."
At Temple University last month she spoke before a crowd of hundreds of millennial voters, urging _ almost imploring _ them for their support. But on Tuesday, as a fresh Franklin & Marshall University poll showed the Democratic presidential nominee leading Republican Donald Trump by 9 percentage points in the state, she breezed through her platform points, outlining ways she would curb gun violence and improve resources for local schools.
Clinton's visits underscore how important the region has become to the outcome of the election. Pennsylvania is considered a swing state, and the counties neighboring Philadelphia, especially Delaware County, are among the state's most pivotal. Trump has stumped in Delaware County twice.
Once a Republican stronghold defined by a GOP machine, Delaware County has increasingly become a county viewed as up for grabs for presidential candidates. Currently, Democratic registration in Delaware County outpaces Republicans by just 14,000 out of total of over 400,000 voters.
Among the 200 inside the town hall, seats were filled by dozens of women and children _ two groups upon which Clinton has built her campaign.
To win Delaware County, however, Clinton must boost her appeal to white, blue-collar, middle-class voters, experts say _ a demographic that dominates Delaware County and a population that so far has trended toward Trump.
"It should not be so hard to be a young parent," Clinton told the room. "And it should not be so hard to take care of your loved ones. ... I'm going to do my best to ease those burdens."
Taking her first question from a young girl who questioned how Clinton would reverse the "damage Donald Trump has done" with the way he talks about women, Clinton told the crowd that voters need to "refute it and ignore it," a stance that was met with her loudest cheers yet.
"There are too many women online who are being bullied about how they look," Clinton said. "My opponent insulted Miss Universe. How do you get more acclaimed than that?"
From there, Clinton discussed implementing comprehensive background checks for guns and increasing de-escalation training for police. She spelled out her plan for reducing college debt _ waiving college tuition to families who make less than $125,000 _ and to make health care more affordable.
The questions from audience members Tuesday were largely facile, allowing Clinton and her daughter to navigate with little problem.
At times, she and Banks poked fun and took jabs at Trump, who spent the day campaigning in Prescott Valley, Ariz.
