Final Push: Trump and Harris Battle for Victory on Election Eve

As we approach the eve of Election Day, a presidential campaign that has been nothing short of eventful comes to its climax. The journey has been fraught with unexpected twists and turns, including a felony trial, an incumbent president being pushed off the ticket, and multiple assassination attempts. All eyes are now on a handful of states that will make the crucial decision.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump: The Final Push

Kamala Harris will spend the entirety of Monday in Pennsylvania, a state whose 19 electoral votes make it the most significant among those expected to determine the Electoral College outcome. The vice president and Democratic nominee will visit working-class areas including Allentown, concluding her day with a late-night Philadelphia rally that includes Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has planned four rallies across three states. Beginning in Raleigh, North Carolina, he will stop twice in Pennsylvania with events in Reading and Pittsburgh. The Republican nominee and former president ends his campaign the same way he ended the first two, with a late Monday night event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Historic Outcome Anticipated

Despite about 77 million Americans having already voted early, Harris and Trump are pushing to turn out many millions more supporters on Tuesday. The result on Election Day will yield a historic outcome, regardless of who wins.

• A Trump victory would make him the first incoming president to have been indicted and convicted of a felony, following his hush-money trial in New York. He will gain the power to end other federal investigations pending against him. Moreover, Trump would also become the second president in history to win non-consecutive White House terms, following Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century.
• Harris, on the other hand, is vying to become the first woman, first Black woman, and first person of South Asian descent to reach the Oval Office. This comes four years after she broke the same barriers in national office by becoming President Joe Biden’s second in command.

The Journey So Far

The vice president ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden’s disastrous performance in a June debate set into motion his withdrawal from the race. This event was just one of a series of convulsions that have hit this year’s campaign.

Trump survived a would-be assassin’s bullet at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. His Secret Service detail foiled a second attempt in September when a gunman had set up a rifle as Trump golfed at one of his courses in Florida.

Message to The Voters

Harris, 60, has pitched herself as a generational change, emphasizing her support for abortion rights and regularly noting the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. She has assembled a coalition ranging from progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York to Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Trump, renewing his “Make America Great Again” and “America First” slogans, has made his hard-line approach to immigration and withering criticisms of Harris and Biden the anchors of his argument for a second administration. He’s hammered Democrats for an inflationary economy, and he’s pledged to lead an economic “golden age,” end international conflicts, and seal the U.S. southern border.

The Showdown States

The election is likely to be decided across seven states. Trump won Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in 2016 only to see them flip to Biden in 2020. North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada add the Sun Belt swath of the presidential battleground map.

Confidence on Both Sides

Both Harris’ and Trump’s teams have projected confidence in recent days. Despite this, Harris aides have insisted she remains the underdog, while Trump’s team believes that the former president’s populist appeal will attract younger and working-class voters across racial and ethnic lines.