Divided on abortion, inflation and immigration, Pittsburgh suburbs could swing 2024 presidential race

Andrese Wright chats politics as she does hair at her Wright Hair Salon in West Mifflin on Aug. 1. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource) “PublicSource is an independent nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region. Sign up for our free newsletters.” by Charlie Wolfson and Stephanie Strasburg, PublicSource September 3, 2024 Molly Caterino served beers at the West Mifflin bar Village Idiot Tap Room one weekday afternoon in late July with a small crowd of regulars occupying stools. She said she’s worked at the bar, owned by a family member, for 20 years. She’ll definitely be voting for Donald Trump in the November election, she said. Why? “The economy sucks. [Customers] are tighter with their money when things are more expensive.” Less than a mile away, Andrese Wright was cutting hair at the salon she started eight years ago. One of few Black business owners in the borough, she said Trump’s 2016 election corresponded with a rise in racist behavior in her community, and she plans to vote for Kamala Harris this fall in hopes of bolstering abortion rights.& “I’m praying we get these rights back to get abortions,” she said, reacting to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe vs....