The 2024 US presidential election is headed into the home stretch, and the candidates are pulling out all the stops to sway undecided voters in key battleground states. With the race still a dead heat according to most polls, these final days of campaigning could make all the difference in determining who occupies the White House for the next four years.
Trump and Harris Target Critical Swing States
Former President Donald Trump, looking to regain the office he lost in 2020, has a packed schedule this weekend. According to his campaign, Trump will hold rallies today in Novi, Michigan and State College, Pennsylvania before heading to Georgia tomorrow. His running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, will join him in Pennsylvania after his own event in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is teaming up with former First Lady Michelle Obama for a major get-out-the-vote rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It will be Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail this cycle, lending her enduring star power and popularity to Harris’s cause.
The VP’s husband, M, will be stumping for the Democratic ticket out west, with planned stops in Phoenix and Window Rock, Arizona, capital of the Navajo Nation. Native American voters were critical to Biden’s narrow win in Arizona in 2020.
A Star-Studded Houston Rally for Harris
Yesterday, Harris held what her campaign called their biggest event yet in Houston, featuring a slew of celebrity guests:
- Beyoncé, global superstar and Houston native
- Congressional Representative Colin Allred, a rising Democratic star
- Legendary musician Willie Nelson
- Actress and activist Jessica Alba
- Several Texas OB-GYNs and families impacted by the state’s restrictive abortion laws
Harris devoted much of her speech to attacking Texas’s near-total abortion ban, which triggered a wave of copycat bills in Republican-led states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Abortion access has been a centerpiece of Harris’s campaign.
When extremists in state houses pass laws trying to control our bodies and our lives, I say don’t get mad – get even. And the best way to get even is to win this election.
— Kamala Harris in Houston, Oct. 25, 2024
Trump’s Michigan Rally Delayed by Lengthy Rogan Interview
The former president’s rally last night in Traverse City, Michigan started hours behind schedule after his live interview with controversial podcast host Joe Rogan stretched to nearly three hours in length.
The free-wheeling conversation covered everything from the 2020 election and January 6th to Hunter Biden, trans athletes, and Trump’s vision for a second term. Fact-checkers have already highlighted numerous false and misleading claims made by Trump during the marathon discussion.
Trump has appeared on Rogan’s show several times before, often using it to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation to Rogan’s millions of listeners. Critics argue Rogan gives Trump an uncritical platform for his views.
Final Polls Show a Dead Heat
As the candidates make their closing arguments to the American people, voters appear as evenly split as ever. The last national poll of the race, conducted by The New York Times and Siena College, shows Trump and Harris deadlocked at 48% support each among likely voters:
| Candidate | Party | Support |
|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump | Republican | 48% |
| Kamala Harris | Democratic | 48% |
| Other/Undecided | N/A | 4% |
With up to 4% of the electorate still undecided and several key swing states like Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania essentially tied, the presidency could once again come down to the narrowest of margins in a handful of battlegrounds. Both campaigns will be urging their supporters to leave nothing to chance and get out to vote.
Washington Post Declines to Make Endorsement
In another notable development, the editorial board of The Washington Post announced it will not endorse a candidate for president this year, breaking with decades of tradition. According to a source familiar with the deliberations, it’s the first time the Post has declined to back a nominee since the 1980s.
Some Post journalists have privately alleged that the paper’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos made the call, overruling the editorial board. Both the Trump and Harris campaigns had actively sought the influential endorsement. The Post has not officially commented on the controversy.
As the seconds tick down to November 8th, all eyes are on the swing states that will likely decide the winner of this bitter and closely fought race. Will Trump pull off another upset to reclaim the White House? Or will Harris make history as the first woman and person of color to be elected president? Only the voters can answer that question now, and they have just 10 days left to do it.
