Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro led a team of Democratic governors into the heart of south-central Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon to rally Cumberland County Democrats in the final days of the election cycle.

With just 16 days to go and more than 10,000 Democratic votes already cast in the county, Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Maine Gov. Janet Mills ended their 2,600-mile, 40-stop “Blue Wall Bus Tour” in rural Carlisle. They were joined by local Democratic candidates including Sara Agerton, candidate for House District 88, and Rick Christie, candidate for House District 199.

The governors told voters that freedom is on the ballot and criticized policy proposals outlined in Project 2025 and campaign promises made by Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Shapiro has become one of the strongest pro-freedom surrogates in the Democratic Party and regularly lambasts the GOP for what he views as their distorted definition of the word.

“This is a fight for freedom, and Kamala Harris is the candidate who stands on the side of freedom here in this commonwealth and across this country,” Shapiro said. “I need Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the White House to help continue our progress here in Pennsylvania.” 

Whitmer, who was greeted with cheers of “Big Gretch,” spoke on the power that grassroots campaigning can have in swing state communities.

“A family member, a trusted neighbor, someone that you know in your life who talks to you, that is where the power is, and that’s why we are here,” Whitmer said. “We gotta stay caffeinated, we gotta stay hydrated and we gotta stay motivated.”

This comes as Harris and Trump have been locked in a statistical tie for weeks. The national polling average as calculated by "The New York Times" still has Harris up one point with 49 percent, but polls have slowly leaned toward Trump in the weeks since the Democratic National Convention.

“None of this is a surprise. It was close last time. It was close the time before. We knew right from the get-go this was gonna be close,” Evers said.

“That’s why we’re on this bus…to let [people] know what is at stake in this election and the unique power that Pennsylvanians, Wisconsinites and Michiganders have about the future of this nation,” Shapiro said.

Along with the Blue Wall governors, voters also heard from Olivia Troye, a national security expert who worked in the Trump administration until her resignation in August 2020.

Troye has since become a staunch critic of the former president and is campaigning for Kamala Harris.

“The president should be serving for everyone, and that is why I am supporting Kamala Harris,” Troye said.

Troye is relying on other Republicans who are no longer able to support the GOP to vote blue.

“The only RINO (Republican in name only) I see right now is Donald Trump,” Troye said.

Cumberland County is historically red — it’s home to roughly 90,000 registered Republicans, according to data from the county — and voted for Donald Trump by 10 points in 2020. Many homes surrounding Sunday’s campaign stop were scattered with Trump signs, and drivers audibly voiced their support for the Republican nominee as they passed.

While Troye and the governors were campaigning, Trump was serving food at a McDonald's  across the state in Bucks County. Trump has criticized Harris for her saying she worked in McDonald’s in the 1980s while in college at Howard University. Questions have arised, however, about ​​the authenticity of Trump’s visit. 

“He’s mocking everyone who works for a living. I know he’s trying to insult Kamala Harris, but he’s mocking working people when he does things like that. It’s a gimmick,” Whitmer said. “We shouldn’t fall for his gimmicks.”

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