A few hours' drive north and west from liberal Washington, Johnstown -- the beating heart of Trump Country -- is a world away from the US capital.
Industry in the region has been on the decline for decades. Smoke stacks from the steel plants have been quiet for years and large parts of its downtown are deserted.
There are few jobs remaining from the steel, coal and garment industries that once kept the local economy humming.
Trump's campaign has stalled after lackluster performances at all three presidential debates with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
It also has been hurt because of the scandal over his alleged groping of women, and the furor over his unprecedented suggestion that he might not accept the outcome of the election.
But inhabitants of this part of Pennsylvania -- including several thousand supporters who thronged the local convention center for a rally yesterday -- pay little heed to predictions of the Republican candidate's demise, lapping up his message of economic resurgence after decades of decline.
"He's going to get the steel mills running again," she said.
A candidate known for his dystopian descriptions of America's inner cities or the plight of the economy and military, Trump offers a seductively upbeat vision of how life will be after he moves into the White House.
"Your jobs will come back under a Trump administration. That I can tell you -- including your steel, which has been decimated in this area," he promised his ardent supporters at the rally.
"We will bring prosperity back to Johnstown. We will be putting your miners back to work... All across this city and country."
That message resonates with Chris, who remembers what life was like when Johnstown was still an industrial mecca, before being forsaken by its business leaders and politicians.
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