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Trump and Harris Neck and Neck in Battleground States on Final Day Before Election Day
With Election Day mere hours away, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are making an aggressive last push to mobilize supporters across key battleground states. Although a record-breaking 77 million Americans have already cast their ballots early, both candidates are striving to rally even more voters to make their voices heard on this decisive Super Tuesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris has laid out an ambitious campaign schedule, targeting critical cities across Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh, Allentown, and Philadelphia. This strategy reflects the weight Pennsylvania holds in securing the electoral college, and Harris’s focus on the state underscores her determination to lock down this pivotal region.
Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, emboldened by his loyal base, is running a similar blitz of appearances, starting his day in North Carolina and then heading to Michigan and Pennsylvania. Trump’s itinerary shows an intense focus on traditionally working-class areas in the Rust Belt—a region that played a critical role in his 2016 win but leaned away in 2020. Both candidates are vying for these voters, who could tilt the election’s outcome in either direction.
Intense Rhetoric Amid Polarization
Opinion polls paint a tight race between the two candidates, with national surveys and battleground states showing no clear leader, signaling a deeply divided America. Some final-day polling even places Harris narrowly ahead in typically conservative Iowa—a finding that the Trump campaign has fiercely disputed, alleging partisan bias. Nationally, Trump has continued to leverage his platform to attack media outlets and appeal directly to his core supporters, claiming that biased polls are an attempt to suppress his voter turnout.
Harris, on the other hand, has focused on issues such as healthcare and foreign policy, promising to prioritize the end of the ongoing Gaza conflict—an effort that resonates particularly in Michigan, home to a sizable Arab American and Muslim population. While this pledge has garnered Harris significant support in cities like Detroit, the vice president faces challenges in appeasing voters who feel the administration’s foreign policy has been lacking in recent months.
Election-Day Concerns: Polarization and the Abortion Debate
Abortion remains a crucial issue, particularly since the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, adding a new layer of significance to this election. Harris’s appeal to women voters, especially those concerned with reproductive rights, could offer her an edge as polls indicate strong turnout among women in early voting. Democrats are hopeful this turnout signals a solid base, as Harris simultaneously works to mend fractures within the Democratic coalition and attract support from Black men and Latino voters.
Trump, in contrast, is emphasizing the economy, inflation, and immigration. His campaign has focused on the rising cost of living, framing undocumented immigration as a crisis at the southern border. This approach seems to resonate with Americans who remain worried about inflation, despite recent economic improvements. Trump’s rhetoric on these issues has aimed to sway Democratic minorities and inspire voter turnout from individuals who may otherwise stay home.
Future Uncertainty Looms
However, Trump’s recent remarks at rallies and his previous actions following the 2020 election have raised concerns. Trump’s behavior and rhetoric suggest he may challenge election results if the outcome doesn’t favor him, reminiscent of the turbulence that followed his 2020 loss, which led to the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021. Harris has voiced readiness to respond to any premature victory claims, warning that, should the results be inconclusive, the U.S. could face days or weeks of election-related uncertainty.
In an election where the stakes have never been higher, both Harris and Trump are on the ground, each presenting their vision for America’s future, hoping to secure every last vote. With no clear frontrunner, this election is set to be one of the most consequential—and perhaps one of the most contested—in U.S. history.