Are Trump’s campaign rallies energizing his base – or sowing doubt?

Trump was on his seventh visit to Luzerne county since he first ran for president in 2016 .

But much has changed in the area since the former president first ran eight years ago .

The local Republican party has been torn apart by infighting amid accusations of racism and “sledgehammer politics” Meanwhile, support for Democratic candidates in local and state elections has been rising.

Luzerne County Republican party split earlier this year over how to win back voters.

More than half the leadership quit after a “grassroots” Trump -aligned faction set up a breakaway organisation.

The county chair, PJ Pribula, accused the insurgent group of “sledgehammer politics and intolerance”.

Democratic share of vote in Luzerne county has risen with each election since Trump ’s 2016 victory.

Democrats have also made inroads into the county government in which Republicans previously held all but one of the 11 commissioner seats.

Some Republicans say, more in hope than expectation, that Biden quitting the presidential race will cost the Democrats voters who were loyal to the president because he makes much of having spent part of his childhood in Scranton .