For Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump the state holds particular resonance as it is in the town of Butler, north of Pittsburgh, where back in July a would be assassin narrowly missed him after firing off eight rounds from an assault rifle, while Trump was on the podium.

Undeterred, Trump even returned to Butler itself over the weekend, though this time took the precaution of delivering his address from behind bulletproof glass.

Trump and Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris are practically neck-and-neck nationwide – and in Pennsylvania too; pollsters have the gap at about one percentage point, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.

The race is particularly tight in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, where Harris and Trump are separated by just one percentage point, according to "Aktuaalne kaamera."

One rally-goer, Roby, said: "We had to go as far back away from the stage as possible, and incidentally, just moments later, the shots were fired."

Another Trump supporter, Garry, filled us in some more.

"What we heard was like a 'pop, pop, pop.' Next thing you know, we see a bunch of people running out, screaming, yelling, crying, 'the president's been shot, the president's been shot'."

Now, not even three months later, around 20,000 supporters from across the country gathered to witness the not insignificant event.

One, Rolf, had come a long way.

"It was about a seven-eight hour drive for us. We got up at 3 o' clock this morning to leave from southern-central Virginia. There are people here from Tennessee, which is even farther away."

As to what the showing signifies, Rolf told ERR: "It shows they're not giving up, that they're not stepping down, they're not backing off, they're going to be hopefully re-elected."

Trump's presence was therefore eagerly awaited in Butler. His "Trump Force One" private plane made a flyover over of the venue, to a raucous reception, but, as is typical for Trump, he took to the podium nearly an hour behind the announced schedule.

Since one rally-goer was killed in July's shooting incident, and two others critically injured, the Republican candidate held a moment's silence.

"It is 6.11, 12 weeks to the minute that the shooting began: I would like to ask everyone to join me in a moment of silence," he said.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, dozens of volunteers worked to address the perennial issue that seems to dog U.S. elections, getting people to register to vote ahead of November 5.

Volunteer Zak said they had had a good haul.

"We're in the triple digits for today, so I personally just registered a mother-daughter team. They were not registered to vote, and now they are, so that's a good thing," he said.

Meanwhile Democratic candidate Kamala Harris was in another crucial swing state, Michigan, at the weekend.

Speaking to supporters she said: "Donald Trump makes big promises, but he never delivers."

Both campaigns are now redoubling their final efforts heading into the home straight.

The original "Aktuaalne kaamera" slot is here.

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