Donald Trump and Kamala Harris predicted victory whereas campaigning in Pennsylvania and different battleground states on Monday, on the ultimate, frenetic day of an exceptionally shut US presidential election.
The marketing campaign has seen stunning turns: two assassination makes an attempt and a felony conviction for former Republican President Trump, and the shock elevation of Democratic Vice President Harris to the highest of the ticket after President Joe Biden, 81, He deserted his re-election bid beneath stress from his personal social gathering. Greater than $2.6 billion has been spent to affect voter opinion since March, in accordance with AdImpact, an analytics agency.
Nevertheless, opinion polls present that Trump, 78, and Harris, 60, are virtually even. The winner might not be identified till days after Tuesday’s vote, though Trump has already signaled that he’ll attempt to battle any defeat, as he did in 2020.
Each candidates met in Pennsylvania on Monday to induce their supporters who haven’t but forged their ballots to point out up on Election Day. The state gives the biggest share of Electoral School votes of any of the seven battleground states anticipated to find out the result.
Trump campaigned in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan on the final full day of the marketing campaign and was as a consequence of return to his residence in Palm Seaside, Florida, to vote and await the election outcomes.
Harris scheduled 5 marketing campaign stops in Pennsylvania, together with two cities the place Trump additionally visited, Studying and Pittsburgh.
He wrapped up the day in Philadelphia with a star-studded occasion on the Philadelphia Museum of Artwork’s “Rocky Steps,” website of a well-known scene from the film “Rocky.”
Regardless of having fun with assist from A-list celebrities, together with Woman Gaga and Oprah Winfrey, who rallied the Philadelphia crowd earlier than Harris took the stage, Harris referred to as herself the underdog who, like Rocky, was able to “climb to victory.”
“The momentum is on our aspect,” Harris advised a crowd that chanted, “We are going to win.”
“Tonight, then, we’ll finish as we started: with optimism, with power, with pleasure,” Harris stated, predicting one of many closest elections in American historical past.
In Allentown, Harris appealed to town’s giant Puerto Rican neighborhood that was outraged by a comic’s insults at a Trump rally final week. He later went knocking on doorways in Studying and held a short rally in Pittsburgh, the place pop star Katy Perry performed a set.
In Pittsburgh, Trump appeared earlier than a big crowd at an area and delivered what his marketing campaign referred to as his ultimate closing message to voters within the ultimate hours earlier than Election Day.
“We have been ready for this for 4 years,” stated Trump, who organized a comeback bid in 2024 after shedding the 2020 election to Biden.
Trump pushed financial points in his speech in Pittsburgh, saying Harris would convey financial distress if elected.
“We’ll win the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and it will be over,” stated Trump, who later introduced on stage that he had the endorsement of podcast host Joe Rogan.
Harris’ marketing campaign says its inside information reveals undecided voters are shifting in her favor and says it has seen a rise in early voting amongst core sectors of its coalition, together with younger voters and voters of coloration.
Tom Bonier, director of Democratic analytics agency TargetSmart, stated early voting confirmed nice enthusiasm amongst Democratic-leaning teams, particularly ladies. He stated there was no indication of an analogous improve amongst younger males, a key goal of Trump’s marketing campaign.
