Presidential candidates crisscross Pa. ahead of primary

Tuesday is the Pennsylvania primary, and that means your vote is in the crosshairs of the various presidential campaigns.

An election season that started out with 20 candidates and was predicted by some to be a repeat of Bush versus Clinton — except with Jeb and Hillary — has instead turned into one of the most hotly contested nomination races in recent memory as outsider candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders turned their respective races upside-down.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both been in Philly and across Pennsylvania in recent weeks.

Polls show Clinton with a commanding lead of 52.8 percent, while Sanders was at 37 percent, according toRealClearPolitics.

Clinton appeared in Philly Sunday at black churches to deliver her message, speaking atTriumph Baptist Church in North Philly and African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Overbrook.

Clinton has raised some eyebrows while campaigning in Pennsylvania by declaring her support for Mayor Jim Kenney’s pitched 3-cents-per-ounce soda tax to raise funds for universal pre-K. Her opponent Bernie Sanders said he opposes the tax because it would hurt poor people, calling it “regressive.”

Bill Clinton attended a reception supporting Hillary’s campaign in Wynnewood later on Sunday. Chelsea Clinton is scheduled to hold an event and primary eve celebration in Philly on Monday night.

In recent weeks the two have crisscrossed the state. Bernie Sanders spoke at Temple University to a crowd of thousands on April 6, while Hillary Clinton addressed an AFL-CIO convention that same day, which Sanders addressed the next day.

Clinton spoke in Philadelphia at a forum on gun violence with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on April 20 at the Fillmore Theater and has events scheduled in Pennsylvania on Friday with details to be announced.

Bill Clinton attended a reception supporting Hillary’s campaign in Wynnewood on Sunday afternoon. Chelsea Clinton is scheduled to hold an evening event and primary eve celebration in Philly on Monday, April 25, the day before the primary.

Sanders held a rally at Penn State on April 19, and held town halls in Scranton,Reading and Oakson April 21. Sanders supporters held a rally and march at Philly City Hall on April 23.

Trump is leading the polls in Pennsylvania with 43.8 percent of the GOP vote, over Ted Cruz with 24.6 percent and John Kasich with 23.6 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.

Trump is scheduled to hold another campaign event at West Chester University Monday at 4 p.m. Students have started apetition onlinecalling on the school to cancel the event.

Trump, an alumnus of UPenn’s Wharton School of Business, showed his love for Pennsylvania in a campaign appearance in Pittsburgh last week.

He puzzled attendees with the oddly-worded, “How’s Joe Paterno? We gonnabring that back?” Helater clarified he was referring to the bronze statueof the late Penn State coach that was removed as the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke.

Trump had another rally in Harrisburg on Thursday at the American Farm Show complex.

John Kasich was in Media, Pennsylvania, on Thursday for a town hall about his campaign.

Ted Cruz, who delivered a campaign speech at the National Constitution Center in Philly on April 19, was in Pennsylvania on Friday for an energy and jobs town hall in Williamsport, held a meet-and-greet with the GOP of Clark County and a rally in Scranton that afternoon.

Voting this primary

The Pennsylvania primary is on April 26. Polls in Philadelphia will be open from 7a.m. to 8 p.m.

VisitPhiladelphiaVotes.comto find your polling place.

Need help voting? Call Philly’s nonprofit politics watchdog, the Committee of Seventy, at1-855-SEVENTY (1-855-738-3689).

If you suspect voter fraud or other election-related crimes, contact the DA’s Election Fraud Task Force at215-686-9641, 9643 or 9644.