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Harris-Trump showdown: Vice president picks up the pace on trail, makes pitch to progressives

Harris-Trump showdown: Vice president picks up the pace on trail, makes pitch to progressives

ANN ARBOR, MI – For a second straight day, Vice President Kamala Harris made a trio of stops in a key battleground state as the clock quickly ticks towards Election Day in her race against former President Donald Trump. One day after campaigning in Philadelphia, swing state Pennsylvania’s largest city, the vice president made three stops in Michigan, another crucially contested Rust Belt battleground. With Harris and Trump locked in a margin-of-error race in both the national and swing state polls and eight days to go until Election Day, Harris is kicking off a fast-paced final week of campaigning. WHY TRUMP IS MAKING LAST MINUTE STOPS IN BLUE-LEANING STATES For the first time in two months, the vice president teamed up at a large rally with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as they spoke in front of what their campaign said was a crowd of roughly 21,000 gathered on a brisk autumn evening. On the eve of what is being touted as her closing argument in an address in the nation’s capital, Harris gave a preview, saying “we have an opportunity to turn the page [from Trump] and chart a new and joyful way forward.” CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION The vice president, who has spent parts of the past couple of weeks courting Republican voters disaffected with Trump, interjected into her Monday night speech appeals to the progressive base of the Democratic Party. She spotlighted that health care insurance “should be a right, and not just a privilege for those who can afford it.” When interrupted by demonstrators protesting U.S. support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza, she responded “I hear you on the subject of Gaza.” “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and to get the hostages out,” the vice president said. “I will do everything in my power to make it so.” Ann Abor, a Democratic-dominated city that is also home to Michigan’s flagship state university, has also seen plenty of protests over the war in Gaza. WHAT THE MOST RECENT FOX NEWS POLLS SHOW IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN Walz, speaking before Harris, made a passionate pitch on gun violence, emphasizing that freedom includes being “free to send your kids to school without them being shot dead in the halls.” “I’ll take no crap on this. I know guns, I’m a veteran. I’m a hunter. Kamala and I are both gun owners. We know that you can uphold the Second Amendment, but also uphold our first responsibility – protecting our children,” the governor added. Harris, after delivering her closing address on Tuesday, returns to the battleground states on Wednesday, with stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Those three states, along with Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, had razor-thin margins that decided President Biden’s 2020 White House victory over Trump. Additionally, the seven states are likely to determine if Trump or Harris wins this year. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are also the three Rust Belt states that make up the Democrats’ so-called “Blue Wall.” The party reliably won all three states for a quarter-century before Trump narrowly captured them in the 2016 election to win the White House. Four years later, in 2020, Biden carried all three states by razor-thin margins to put them back in the Democrats’ column and defeat Trump. Both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, as well as their running mates, have made repeated stops in the three states this summer and autumn. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Harris-Trump showdown: The Vice President to give closing argument with White House as backdrop

Harris-Trump showdown: The Vice President to give closing argument with White House as backdrop

Vice President Kamala Harris brings her presidential campaign to the nation’s capital on Tuesday, as she delivers what’s being billed as her closing argument address to American voters. With one week until Election Day, the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee will call on Americans to ‘turn the page’ on former President Trump, the Republican nominee. And a senior Harris campaign adviser also said the vice president, in what’s being touted as an optimistic and hopeful speech, will pledge to always put country and common ground above party to achieve results for all Americans. WHY TRUMP IS MAKING LAST MINUTE STOPS IN THESE TWO BLUE-LEANING STATES According to her campaign, Harris plans to argue that Trump – who four years later continues to charge that his 2020 election defeat to President Biden was due to an election rigged with massive voter fraud – is all-consumed by his grievances and desire for retribution that he’s not focused on the needs of Americans. It’s an argument the vice president has been spotlighting in recent days.  WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE SHOW “He is focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country, and it is not in any way something that will strengthen the American family, the American worker,” Harris told reporters on Monday. And at a large rally in suburban Atlanta, Georgia last Thursday, the vice president asked supporters to “just imagine the Oval Office in three months.  Picture it in your mind….It’s either Donald Trump in there, stewing — stewing over his enemies list, or me — working for you, checking off my to-do list.” The vice president is expected to expand on that contrast in her speech. Trump, who has been indicted multiple times and made history as the first current or former president convicted in a criminal case, has regularly threatened during the 2024 campaign that if he returned to the White House, he would prosecute his political foes. And both Biden and Harris – who replaced her boss atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in July after Biden ended his re-election bid – have repeatedly warned voters that Trump poses a threat to democracy if he’s re-elected. “Our democracy is at stake,” the president said last week. “Think about it. Think about what would happen if Donald Trump wins this election.” Harris will deliver her address from the Ellipse, a large park located just south of the White House and north of the National Mall. The Harris campaign points to two symbolic reasons for the Ellipse as the location of the vice president’s address. First, the backdrop is the White House, where either Harris or Trump will soon succeed Biden in the Oval Office. And second, Trump headlined a large rally of supporters at the Ellipse on Jan 6, 2021. Many of those who attended Trump’s rally then marched to the U.S. Capital and joined other protesters in storming the building in an attempt to upend congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump. The Harris campaign says the vice president will also use her address to spotlight her plans and priorities for the country going forward. And they say at the top of that list is offering specifics on how she’ll bring down costs and put more money in the pockets of average Americans. Trump gave his closing argument at a large rally Sunday at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where the former president’s message was partially outshined by controversial comments from speakers during the pre-show that grabbed national headlines. Harris’ address comes as the latest national polls indicate a margin-of-error race between her and Trump. It’s the same story with the most recent surveys in the seven crucial battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump and will likely determine if Harris or Trump wins the 2024 election. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Harris-Trump showdown: Margin-of-error presidential race with one week until Election Day

Harris-Trump showdown: Margin-of-error presidential race with one week until Election Day

With one week to go until Election Day, it remains a coin-flip White House race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump. Facing a margin-of-error race in both the national polls and the swing state surveys, both the vice president and the former president, their running mates, and top surrogates continue to fan out across the seven crucial battleground states that will likely decide the 2024 presidential election. On the trail The Republican presidential nominee starts Tuesday from his home base in Palm Beach, Florida, where his campaign says Trump will deliver remarks to the press. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION The former president then holds two events in Pennsylvania, which, with 19 electoral votes at stake, is the largest prize among the key swing states. Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, campaigns with two stops in battleground Michigan. WHY TRUMP IS MAKING LAST MINUTE STOPS IN BLUE-LEANING STATES The Democratic nominee is in the nation’s capital, taking a break from swing state travel for a day, as she delivers what the Harris campaign touts as her closing argument, in an address from the Ellipse, with the White House as a backdrop. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, makes three stops in the crucial southeastern battleground of Georgia. Casting ballots Early voting turnout has been brisk, with swing states such as Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina breaking records. And with Trump apparently fully on board, the GOP’s efforts to convince Republicans to vote early appear to be working.  WHAT THE MOST RECENT FOX NEWS POLLS SHOW IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN The GOP hopes this surge in early voting will help the party rebound from setbacks in the 2020 and 2022 elections, when Democrats dominated early in-person voting and absentee balloting. Poll position A handful of national polls point to a dead heat between Harris and Trump, while others indicate the vice president with the slight advantage or the former president with the edge. But getting past the top lines, there are warning signs for both candidates. Harris has lost her favorability advantage over Trump in some of the most recent surveys. After replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket in July, the vice president’s favorable ratings soared. But they’ve steadily eroded over the past month. Another red flag for Harris are polls indicating her support among Black voters is below Biden’s levels in the 2020 election. For Trump, his support among White voters is on par with his standing in the 2020 election, when he lost the White House to Biden. And the former president still faces a healthy deficit to the vice president when it comes to being trustworthy and caring about people. While national polls are closely watched, the race for the White House is not based on the national popular vote. It’s a battle for the states and their electoral votes. And the latest surveys in the seven crucial battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump and will likely determine whether Harris or Trump wins the 2024 election, are mostly within the margin of error. The most recent Fox News national poll indicated Trump had a two-point edge, but Harris had a 6-point advantage among respondents questioned in all seven battleground states. Cash dash  While there’s a margin of error in the polls, there is a clear frontrunner in the battle for campaign cash, another important indicator in presidential politics. And it’s Harris. According to the latest figures the two major party presidential campaigns filed with the Federal Election Commission, Harris hauled in $97 million during the first half of October. That far outpaced the $16 million the Trump campaign said it raised during the first half of this month. Both campaigns use a number of affiliated fundraisings committees to raise money. And when those are included, Trump narrowed the gap, but trailed $176 million to $97 million during the first two weeks of this month. During the first 16 days of October, the Democratic presidential nominee’s campaign outspent Trump $166 million to $99 million, with paid media the top expenditure for both campaigns. However, Harris finished the reporting period with more cash in her coffers. As of Oct. 16, she had $119 million cash on hand, while Trump had $36 million. When joint fundraising committees are also included, Harris holds a $240 million to $168 million cash-on-hand advantage. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

‘Untapped voters’: Experts explain how campaigns turn out vote in Michigan, other battlegrounds in final days

‘Untapped voters’: Experts explain how campaigns turn out vote in Michigan, other battlegrounds in final days

Election swing state Michigan will be decided by which campaigns can get the most voters out to the polls in the final week of the race, according to multiple experts. “The campaign’s No. 1 priority and the party’s priority right now is getting our people out to vote,” Jimmy Keady, the founder and president of Republican consulting firm JLK Political Strategies, told Fox News Digital. The comments come with just one week to go in a dramatic election season, with just a handful of battleground states in play that will decide the fate of the race. MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN STOPS FROM PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ALREADY DOUBLE THAT OF 2020, 2016 Perhaps the most important of those states is Michigan, a swing state that narrowly went to Donald Trump in 2016 before flipping back to Joe Biden in another close race in the 2020 election. Polls indicate yet another tight race brewing in the state, with the RealClearPolitics polling average showing a razor-thin 0.1 point lead for Trump as of Monday. Meanwhile, the latest Fox News Power Rankings lists Michigan as a toss-up, and Trump is only a slight betting favorite in the state, with ElectionBettingOdds.com showing the former president with a 53.2% chance of carrying the state as of Monday. According to Keady, the part of the race in which candidates attempt to persuade voters is mostly over, with Michigan coming down to who has the ground game to get the numbers out between now and next Tuesday. Republicans will also be focused on turning out low propensity voters, Keady said, a demographic the party has targeted in the hopes the group could potentially push them over the top. “A lot of these campaigns are going to be focused a lot on low propensity voters … voters that are voting in like one out of four elections, making sure that they’re hit several times, making sure we’re dragging people out to the polls to vote,” Keady said. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION Jason Roe, a GOP strategist working in Michigan, echoed a similar sentiment, telling Fox News Digital that the time to persuade undecided voters is mostly over. “There’s not a lot of undecided voters left, but there’s untapped voters who’ve never heard from a Republican campaign,” Roe said. “In addition to getting mail-in ballots returned and people to vote early, finding and mobilizing low propensity voters and getting them to the polls is everyone’s focus.” Keady also believes that such a strategy could help down-ballot Republicans in Michigan, where races such as the Senate campaign between former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers and Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin will help determine which party controls the Senate. “Michigan and Nevada are one of two of the seven swing states on the map that basically have straight ticket voting,” Keady said. “Getting low prop voters out to vote that are Republican and conservative means it’s going to help down-ballot.” POLITICAL ROCK STARS AND ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITIES HIT THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL That optimism is shared by Rogers himself, who told Fox News Digital that issues such as the “open border, job-killing EV mandates and rising gas and grocery prices” will help motivate voters out to the polls in hopes of avoiding “more of the same.” “Over the next week, Team Rogers will be burning the shoe leather to earn every vote,” Rogers said. “We will be hosting numerous rallies and stops across Michigan sharing our message of getting America back on track.” Keady also noted another opportunity unique to Michigan in the battle to get blue-collar and union voters out to the polls with just a week to go. “We are seeing a lot of union members move to the Republican side because of their economic policies … particularly when it comes to manufacturing jobs,” Keady said. “The campaigns absolutely have to be moving through their microtargets and talking to these union voters.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.