ROCHESTER, Pa. (AP) Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz gave pep talks to campaign volunteers and a high school football team Sunday, with their bus tour in a corner of Pennsylvania serving as a modest, small-town version of the grand rally shes expected to have at the Democratic nominating convention in Chicago this week.

Vice President Harris and Walz, the governor of Minnesota, were joined by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, as they stopped off to visit volunteers at a campaign office not far from Pittsburgh before continuing on to a firehouse and a high school in another town. The tour, in a bright blue bus decorated with the candidates names and the phrase A new way forward, also included pilgrimages to a convenience store and a restaurant known for its towering sandwiches.

Despite running as the sitting vice president, Harris told reporters she feels she has ground to make up in the race against former President Donald Trump , the Republican presidential nominee.

I very much consider us the underdogs, Harris said at a stop in the township of Moon. We have a lot of work to do to earn the vote of the American people. Thats why were on this bus tour today, and were going to be traveling this country as weve been and talking with folks, listening to folks, and hopefully earning their votes over the next 79 days.

Southwestern Pennsylvania is a critical part of a key battleground state that has long commanded the attention of presidential candidates. The state voted for Trump in 2016 and for Biden in 2020. Both Harris and Trump are vying to see who can put Pennsylvania in their column on Nov. 5.

Trump, who is counting on strong turnout from his base of white, working-class voters, is not conceding the area. The counties around Pittsburgh have shifted from Democratic to Republican in recent presidential contests, delivering for Trump in both of his earlier runs.

In a demonstration of the areas competing politics, Harris bus and motorcade twice on Sunday rolled past groups of Trump supporters with signs and banners bearing his name.