The Home Stretch: Here’s the election news for Oct. 31
Share this post:
It may be Halloween, but the scariest thing in many Americans’ minds at the moment is the election. Let’s try to allay some fears with a look at what’s going on in the presidential race today.
Where is everyone?
The four candidates at the top of the major party tickets are still sticking to swing states … mostly.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump will be holding a rally in Albuquerque, N.M. this afternoon before he shoots over to Henderson, Nev. for an event later in the day.
Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris will also be in Nevada. After an early afternoon rally in Phoenix, she will travel to Reno, Nev., and then to Las Vegas, where she will hold a rally, accompanied by actor and musician Jennifer Lopez and band Maná.
The vice presidential candidates will also be on the road today, with Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio in High Point, N.C. for a town hall this morning and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz stumping across Pennsylvania. He’ll stop in Bucks County and the city of Erie.
Some new numbers
Polls abounded in Pennsylvania yesterday.
CNN and Susquehanna polls of the state found Harris and Trump tied among likely voters at 48-48 and 46-46, respectively. Fox News and Quinnipiac each found Trump with leads;Quinnipiac put the race at 49-47 and Fox at 50-49 in the Republican’s favor.
A slew of surveys of the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race between Democrat incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and Republican businessman Dave McCormick — from sources such as Fox News, Susquehanna and CNN — currently give Casey a lead of between two and six points.
The big polling aggregate sites have Trump with a polling edge of between 0.4 and 0.8 point in Pennsylvania. FiveThirtyEight gives Harris a 1.4% national polling lead overall.
What’s going on?
It’s been a crazy 24 hours. Here’s just a sample of the news.
In Green Bay, Wis., on Wednesday night, Trump showed up in a garbage truck after President Joe Biden’s remark seemingly calling his supporters “garbage.” Biden’s team has worked to walk back the president’s words.
Puerto Rican reggaeton star Nicky Jam rescinded his September endorsement of Trump on Wednesday, citing the comment about Puerto Rico made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
“I never thought in my life that a month later a comedian would come along and criticize my country, speak poorly of my country, therefore I renounce any support for Donald Trump,” he said in a video posted to Instagram.
Allegheny County officials released a statement on Wednesday refuting claims that a group of “non-English-speaking” voters supporting Kamala Harris cut the voting line at a South Park early voting location.
Penn State University announced on Wednesday that Trump would no longer be attending the Penn State-Ohio State football game this Saturday.
Nearly 60 million Americans have already voted in the 2024 general election. As of yesterday, about 1,625,000 Pennsylvanians had cast their ballots.
What’s everyone thinking?
It’s a good day to listen to some other perspectives. Here are a few from various publications.
Guest essayist and former National Security Council member Jonathan Stevenson writes in the New York Times, “With Election Day Near, Here’s a Reminder That a Second Trump Term Could Mean Mayhem.” He reasons, “A Trump victory could produce considerable civil mayhem, in part because of Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court’s decision granting Mr. Trump broad immunity for official presidential acts. Equipped with that decision, he has telegraphed his determination to govern by fiat and persecute his perceived enemies. The United States, now a tense democracy, could lurch from being an illiberal republic to a dictatorship by any other name.”
USA Today’s Nicole Russell reveals, “I don’t like Trump, but I’m voting for him. Here’s why many Americans will, too.” “The riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that Trump encouraged was the watershed moment that forced me to rescind my previous support for him. It was an egregious incident in American history. For many reasons, I could make a compelling case that Trump is unfit for the presidency. I’ll always be disappointed that Republican primary voters chose him again to represent millions of conservatives. However, I will vote for Trump this election. About 75 million Americans, perhaps more, also will vote for him. Here’s why.”
Trying to strike a more conciliatory note, Karen Tumulty writes in the Washington Post, “Take all this garbage out to the curb.” “A consequential election, perhaps the most important one in modern times, is just six days away. Is this really the time to be talking trash? Two comments have created a dumpster fire of partisan outrage this week. Neither, it should be noted, was spoken by one of the presidential candidates. But neither would have caused a stir had it not forced the two camps to deny something about themselves that voters have already seen.”