Listen to business owners and voters in Erie, Pennsylvania. They could help decide the White House.

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — It wasn’t much when he bought it, but Michael Hooks has made the old garage his own haven. And the city of Erie knows it. Half a dozen cars honk as they pass by one October afternoon, the people hanging out of car windows to wave hello at him. About a dozen cars await servicing in the shop as a dog Hooks adopted the day before barks in its new cage. Exercise equipment, motorcycles and power tools abut the kitchen on the side of...