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Harris holds narrow lead over Trump in ‘blue wall’ states Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin: poll

Harris holds narrow lead over Trump in ‘blue wall’ states Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin: poll

A slew of new polls show Vice President Kamala Harris taking a narrow lead over former President Donald Trump in the “blue wall” states many forecasters say she needs to win to clinch the presidency.  Marist polls of battlegrounds Michigan and Pennsylvania released on Friday have the Democratic vice president ahead of her Republican rival by two points in each state, 50% to 48%. A third poll of Wisconsin voters shows Harris with a three percentage point lead, 51-48%.  All these results are within the Marist polls’ margins of error, plus or minus 3.4 points for the Michigan and Pennsylvania polls and plus or minus 3.5 points for the Wisconsin survey. The surveys were conducted between Oct. 27-30.  HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN: IN NATION’S BIGGEST BATTLEGROUND, NEW POLLS SHOW ‘IT’S REALLY, REALLY CLOSE’ The numbers point toward another historically close election next Tuesday following the 2020 cycle, when just 44,000 votes spread across key battleground states handed President Biden the Electoral College votes he needed to unseat Trump. Similarly, in 2016, Trump captured the White House by just under 78,000 votes in the three “blue wall” states.  The small leads Harris holds are credited to independent voters, who appear to be moving in her direction in the final days of the election. Harris opened up a six-point lead over Trump among independents in Michigan, 52-46%, improving from a two-point lead in September. She also improved from a four-point edge with Wisconsin independents in early September to a six-point lead at the end of October. HARRIS LAYS OUT HER CLOSING ARGUMENT AGAINST TRUMP WITH THE WHITE HOUSE AS A BACKDROP However, the most dramatic swing comes in Pennsylvania, where Marist finds a 19-point shift among independents, with Harris at 55% and Trump at 40% compared to September, when Trump led Harris among independents 49-45%. “The Keystone State is the biggest prize of the three highly competitive so-called Blue Wall states,” said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “The good news for Harris is she is running stronger among independents and white voters than Biden did four years ago. The bad news is the gender gap is not as wide here as it was in 2020 or, in fact, where it is elsewhere now.” HARRIS, TRUMP, MAKE FINAL PITCHES TO VOTERS IN HIGH STAKES BATTLEGROUND More surveys released Friday show a tight race. A new USA Today/Suffolk poll finds Harris and Trump tied in Pennsylvania with 49% of the vote each, according to a statewide poll of 500 likely voters conducted from Oct. 27 to 30 with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, called the race a “toss up.”  “We have all the results within the margin of error … it’s basically a statistical tie,” Paleologos said, according to USA Today. Additionally, the final Detroit Free Press poll of likely Michigan voters shows Harris with a three-percentage-point lead over Trump, strengthened by support from women and Black voters, although the margin is still within the poll’s plus or minus 4-point margin of error.  The Rust Belt states that comprise the Democratic Party’s “blue wall” collectively are worth 44 Electoral College votes. Pennsylvania is the largest prize with 19 votes, Michigan has 15 and Wisconsin holds 10.  If Harris can win Pennsylvania and one other “blue wall” state, Trump would need to sweep the other swing states, which include the Sun Belt states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, to win the White House.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Harris slammed for hiring advisor with ties to dark money group pushing gas stove ban: ‘Par for the course’

Harris slammed for hiring advisor with ties to dark money group pushing gas stove ban: ‘Par for the course’

Energy advocates are knocking Vice President Kamala Harris for bringing on a top campaign advisor with ties to a controversial environmental group behind the effort to ban gas stoves. O.H. Skinner, executive director of the nonprofit Alliance for Consumers, told Fox News Digital that “this is sadly par for the course.” “For years the left has been focused on assaulting consumers and the things in their homes. That has included a litany of Biden-Harris regulations and mandates,” he said. “From ‘green’ regulations on dishwashers and washing machines to EV mandates and bans on gas stoves, a Harris-Walz administration will no doubt continue to eviscerate consumer choice and force Americans to pay more for everyday products and household appliances that do a worse job.” American energy production is a critical issue this election, especially in the largest swing state, Pennsylvania. The Harris campaign has made overtures to energy producers and consumers, saying that her administration would not ban fracking but would reduce energy production costs while investing in clean energy solutions. BIDEN ADMIN’S REGULATIONS WOULD BAN 96% OF GAS STOVES, REPUBLICAN WARNS However, conservatives are knocking her for hiring Camila Thorndike, who previously worked for the dark money climate activist group Rewiring America as the campaign’s “climate engagement director.” Before joining the campaign in September, Updike worked in multiple positions at Rewiring America between late 2022 and last month, according to her Legistorm profile.  Rewiring America is an environmental advocacy group that made headlines in 2022 for its push to ban gas stoves. The group does not file federal tax forms since it is sponsored by the Windward Fund, a nonprofit that is part of the billion-dollar dark money network managed by the Washington, D.C.-based Arabella Advisors. The only public contribution to Rewiring America is a 2020 grant worth $300,000 from the left-wing nonprofit Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The group was founded by Alex Laskey, Saul Griffith and Ari Matusiak in 2020. The three founders have all pursued various wind, solar, electrification and energy efficiency ventures, some of which have netted them millions of dollars in buyouts or received significant federal funding. They have simultaneously advocated for policies benefiting those ventures through the nonprofit. BIDEN-HARRIS STILL HATE YOUR GAS STOVE, YOU WON’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH Among its key objectives, Rewiring America has maintained that Americans must broadly electrify their homes to combat climate change and has advocated for massive spending on climate programs. In an October interview with Politico, Thorndike indicated that Hurricanes Helene and Milton were caused by climate change. She told Politico that Harris is “not promoting expansion [of fossil fuel drilling]. She’s just said that they wouldn’t ban fracking,” despite Harris repeatedly supporting a fracking ban during her failed 2019 presidential campaign. The climate advisor has a long history of controversial comments, including accusing the oil and gas industry of “ecoterrorism” and calling for Americans in the fossil fuel industry to “consider putting their talents elsewhere” and stop “continuing to cook the planet,” according to a recent Washington Free Beacon report.  She also previously said she is hesitant to have children because of climate change threats, saying it’s an “ethical question that keeps me up at night.” Jason Isaac, a former Texas representative and CEO of the American Energy Institute, told Fox News Digital that Harris’ decision to bring on Thorndike “underscores her administration’s hostility towards American energy sources that power our economy and support millions of jobs.” “If her campaign’s staff is any indication, we can expect Harris to continue pushing policies that harm American energy independence and target the livelihoods of countless workers,” he said. “This isn’t just about gas stoves. It’s a coordinated effort to undermine affordable, reliable energy that Americans depend on.” Rewiring America did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.  Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

GOP lawmakers sound alarm on military voting ‘deficiencies’ ahead of Election Day

GOP lawmakers sound alarm on military voting ‘deficiencies’ ahead of Election Day

FIRST ON FOX: With just four days to go until Election Day, Republican lawmakers are demanding answers from the Pentagon after receiving complaints about inadequate resources to help military service members vote.  Active duty service members claim the Pentagon has not allocated enough resources to let them cast their ballot on time and that the stockpile of write-in absentee ballots on at least one military base is depleted and has not been replenished, according to three GOP congressmen.  Rep. Brian Mast, R-Mich., Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich. and Mike Walz, R-Fla., penned a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, writing “with grave concern” about “deficiencies in the Defense Department’s protocols,” which also includes not making service members aware of their options on how to vote. “Our nation’s brave men and women in uniform brought to our attention that there has been inadequate education at the administrative level on how to register to vote, request an absentee ballot, and fill in a federal write-in absentee ballot if their state-issued ballot does not arrive in time,” the lawmakers write. MAJORITY OF VETERANS POLLED SUPPORT RE-ELECTION OF DONALD TRUMP: ‘WE WANT TRUMP BACK’ “Other service members also stated that when a request for a federal write-in absentee ballot was made, they were told the base’s stockpile of such ballots was depleted and had not been replenished.” The lawmakers say it is imperative that the Pentagon does everything in its power so the nation’s “elite warriors” have every opportunity to vote and that the Department of Defense (DOD) “mobilize all the necessary resources over the next seven days” so that military personnel are given that opportunity. They also requested that Austin clarify what training or guidance is given to service members so that they can vote and what training is given to each unit’s Voting Assistance Office (VAO). The Republicans also asked if there is a sufficient stockpile of federal write-in absentee ballots for service members nationwide to vote if their state-issued absentee ballot does not arrive on time. Additionally, the lawmakers want to know if military personnel have been given sufficient time to review a sample ballot electronically, so they know their voting options ahead of the election or if they have to fill in a federal write-in absentee ballot.  BRIAN MAST: I’M A WOUNDED WARRIOR. I’VE SEEN DONALD TRUMP CARE FOR VETERANS. THAT’S WHY I’M VOTING FOR HIM Fox News Digital requested comment from the DOD regarding the letter but did not receive a response prior to publication. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have mobilized federal manpower, resources, and tax dollars to block state-level election integrity measures, including in Georgia and Virginia, through lawsuits and smears,” Mast, a miliary veteran who lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan in 2010, tells Fox News Digital. “They claim to care about democracy and the right to vote, yet they’ve failed to plan accordingly to facilitate the right to vote for every single one of our nation’s brave men and women in uniform. This is absolutely unacceptable. Our nation’s elite warriors deserve to have every opportunity to vote for the next commander-in-chief, especially since that person will be making life-and-death decisions for our troops.” Waltz, who served 27 years in the U.S. Army and National Guard, echoed those sentiments.  “Both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have dismissed our warfighters serving in combat zones by either falsely claiming the U.S. has suffered no casualties under this administration or by claiming thousands of these service members aren’t in active combat zones,” Walz tells Fox News Digital. “We need assurances these service members who are putting their lives on the line for our country have the information and tools they need to cast their ballot to vote.”  Huizenga too said the situation “is completely unacceptable.” “Sadly, this is the latest example of the Biden-Harris Administration failing to stand up for our servicemembers,” Huizenga tells Fox News Digital.

The ‘garbage’ campaign: Why mistakes and distractions could tilt the outcome

The ‘garbage’ campaign: Why mistakes and distractions could tilt the outcome

If there’s one image that captures the craziness of this campaign, it’s got to be Donald Trump driving around in a garbage truck. He put on the orange vest and talked to reporters after a Joe Biden blunder put Kamala Harris on the defensive. And this was after a Trump rally filled with profane insults, including a comic who mocked Puerto Rico as an island of floating garbage. And that, in turn, followed the spectacle of the former president cooking up some fries at McDonald’s, where he actually likes to eat. THE FATAL FLAW IN KAMALA HARRIS’ SPEECH, MARRED BY BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT But all this is unfolding against the backdrop of the ugliest and perhaps most divisive race in American history, with each side accusing the other of being a danger to democracy.  And the tightness of the polls–assuming they’re not off again–has created an almost apocalyptic sense of drama, with many voters worried about post-election violence if Trump loses. Trump, after all, has survived two impeachments, the Jan. 6 riot, four criminal indictments, one conviction and two assassination attempts. He has spent the last four years insisting, despite numerous failed lawsuits, that the last election was stolen from him. Can there be more than 500 voters in the six or seven swing states who don’t have a rock-solid opinion of him, positive or negative? As for Harris, she was a relatively unpopular vice president thrust into a 100-day sprint when Democrats pressured Biden into stepping aside. She soared through the convention but hid from the media – that’s now changed – yet kept sticking to talking points and didn’t make much news.  What’s more, Harris would be the first female president–and, of course, woman of color–to win the presidency in a country where some men, especially Black men, are reluctant to take that step.  BACKLASH BUILDS AGAINST BEZOS AS NON-ENDORSEMENT SPARKS HUGE SURGE IN CANCELLATIONS I have never witnessed such a chasm in coverage as in 2024, not even when Barack Obama first ran for the White House. The Kamala coverage ranges from glowing to gushing, with minimal scrutiny even when she makes false claims. The Donald coverage is overwhelmingly negative, right down to the Hitler comparisons–which the press has pushed for years, even before John Kelly went on the record with his accusations. It’s not hard to sense the frustration in the press that the improving economy isn’t helping Harris, especially with the news that inflation has dropped to 2.1 percent.  The New York Times says voters feel “relatively glum” about the economy, with the “lingering pessimism…The job market has been chugging along, although more slowly, overall growth has been healthy and even inflation is more or less back to normal.”  A Wall Street Journal columnist said yesterday the next president will inherit a “remarkable economy,” but that 62 percent of those in its poll rated it “not so good” or “poor.” There is generally a lag in public perception, as when George H.W. Bush found when he talked up economic improvements in 1992 but lost to Bill Clinton. In this supercharged environment, every mistake counts. JAKE PAUL ENDORSES TRUMP IN FIERY VIDEO TORCHING BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION: ‘CAN’T SIT BACK AND WATCH THIS’ Trump, speaking about criminals who cross the border illegally, said “I told women I will be their protector. They [his advisers] said, ‘Sir, please don’t say that.’ Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not.”  That has an unfortunate ring to it, and Harris said yesterday it is “very offensive to women,” including on controlling “their own bodies.” All of which brings us back to the last few days. When every hour counts, every distraction is costly. If you’re explaining, you’re losing. If you’re playing defense, you can’t put points on the board. Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally was marred by racist and misogynist talk, the coverage of which totally overshadowed his speech. What drew the most attention was comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and his ridicule of Puerto Rico. Podcaster Joe Rogan said he heard the joke the day before and told the comic there would be a big backlash. But the Trump camp hadn’t vetted the speakers. When Harris naturally denounced the “garbage” language, Trump hopped on the sanitation truck emblazoned with his name. Biden has been hurting his VP’s candidacy with a series of screwups. First he said of Trump, “Lock him up.” Then the president blurted out that “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” He stumbled before adding that this was about the “demonization of Latinos.” Castigating the other side’s voters is about the worst thing you can do, as Hillary Clinton learned eight years ago. That choked off the favorable coverage of her speech on the Ellipse–itself designed to mirror Trump’s Jan. 6 speech–and was the focus of reporters’ questions the next morning. Harris distanced herself, saying Biden had clarified his remarks and she would never criticize voters who don’t support her. An NBC reporter asked her about it again yesterday. Trump’s brief stint at McDonald’s was meant to highlight his contention that Harris never worked at one during college, as she has insisted. It was a brilliant tactic and one her side should have conjured up first.  National Review writer Noah Rothman says the candidates are just “trolling” each other, presenting voters with “a choice between two gratingly flip campaigns that are consumed with frivolities.” I would differ on the main point. The whole point of a campaign is for voters to size up how the candidates perform under pressure, since no one knows what crises may arise. How they react to attacks, stunts and interviews gives us a sense of their rapid-response abilities that go beyond policy positions–especially in such a razor-thin election.