Obama to start campaign blitz for Harris in critical battleground Pennsylvania

Former President Barack Obama rallied in Pittsburgh Thursday night, kicking off a blitz through battleground states as Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign deploys its strongest political asset headed into the final stretch.

With early voting already underway in critical battleground Pennsylvania, campaign officials told ABC News Obama's focus would be getting out the vote, inspiring people, and setting up the stakes of the presidential election.

On Thursday, he defined the stakes as four more years of Harris' opponent, former President Donald Trump.

"We don't need four more years of arrogance and bumbling and bluster and division," he told the crowd. "America is ready to turn the page. We are ready for a better story, one that help us work together instead of turning against each other. Pennsylvania."

He also made a push for the reelection of Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who introduced him on the stage.

While voters at the Obama rally were fired up for Harris, and the campaign is hoping to carry the torch from the political coalition that Obama started, it was a starkly different picture on the streets of Pittsburgh.

Several voters said they haven't registered to vote and don't plan to vote this November.

Cameron Lane, a 26-year-old from Pittsburgh, said he's never voted before and that there's virtually nothing that would persuade him to go to the polls this time.

"I don't like the options," Lane said.

Nikki Marsh said she's going to vote, but is not even telling her family or friends who she's voting for because of how politically divided they are.

Marsh said politics is a "very sensitive subject in the community" and doesn't believe at this point that anything is going to sway voters to change their minds, regardless of any big-name endorsement. For instance, she didn't believe Harris endorsements from political figures like Obama or Liz Cheney would move people one way or another.

Ivan Gil-Silva, who owns a restaurant in Pittsburgh, said he's voting for the first time this year and he's voting for former President Donald Trump.

"I have a business, and I've been struggling heavily for the past four years. It's been awful," Gil-Silva said. "My neighborhood's become absolutely dangerous. I've never seen this many homeless people in my life. In 20 years I've been in Pittsburgh. I've never seen it be like this."

While Gil-Silva says he isn't a fan of Trump as a person, he says at least "everything was peaceful" when he was in office. Gil-Silva called Harris a "joke," saying she has no "substance."

But Harris supporters at the rally site said they remained "hopeful."

"Cautiously optimistic. I'm very excited for her campaign," Sam Carew-Jones said. "I'm very excited for her to win. It's going to be close. I'm holding my breath."

ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.