Some 20 knocks on the door from political activists in recent weeks is enough to make many residents in parts of Chester County like Coatesville eager for Nov. 9. The unique trends that have made the county a sweet spot for the election battle are now also leaving a sour aftertaste in voters’ mouths.

“A McGinty sign sits in the grass about three feet from a Trump-Pence sign. This is pretty much a perfect metaphor for Chester County during election time: Every campaign has a shot of winning here, so they make a point of showing up,” a feature in The Atlantic by Emma Green states.

It all stems from the vast diversity within Chester County’s borders: rural conservatives, the wealthy, “middle-class moderates,” and the poor.

“All these voters, of different classes and races and ideologies, live close together,” the article said. “The county is a case study in American demographic change, with its wildly uneven growth in prosperity, influx of Latinos and fallen steel industry. All of the stark divides that have defined this election exist here in Chester County, in close proximity to one another.”

Read much more about the mixed feelings in Coatesville and across Chester County in The Atlantic here, and check out previous VISTA Today election coverage here.