The Home Stretch: Here’s the election news for Oct. 23
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As Nov. 5 draws closer, political campaigns are making the most of every opportunity to sway the elusive undecided voter. Here’s how the sprint to Election Day is going.
Where is everyone?
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris is in Pennsylvania today, where she will participate in a CNN town hall event tonight at 9 p.m. with undecided voters.
Republican nominee former President Donald Trump will spend the day in Georgia, attending a town hall in Zebulon this afternoon and a Turning Point USA rally in Duluth this evening.
The vice presidential candidates will also be on the road today, with Republican JD Vance making stops in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev. and Tim Walz recording a Univision radio interview before heading to Louisville, Ky. for a campaign fundraising reception.
The freshest data
Polls continue to hover around an even split between the two major party candidates for president.
TIPP Insights, which conducts a tracking poll — meaning that they poll the same pool of voters every day leading up to the election— has Harris up 2 points, 49-47. Today’s poll has Harris pulling ahead from yesterday’s dead-even result.
A YouGov/Times of London national poll conducted between Oct. 18-21 finds Harris up three points, with a split of 48-45.
The firm Redfield & Wilton found Trump leading by two points, 47-45, in a national likely voters survey conducted on Oct. 21. That same pollster found the two tied among Pennsylvania likely voters, each sitting at 48% support.
It’s clear this race will be all about the margins — FiveThirtyEight’s average has shifted slightly towards Trump, but it’s still anybody’s game.
What’s the buzz?
The political news world is talking about a pair of stories — one from The Atlantic and one from the New York Times — that feature John Kelly, who served as chief of staff to former President Trump while he was in the White House.
The Times reported Kelly’s assertions that, “in his opinion, Mr. Trump met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.” The Atlantic recounts an exchange in which Kelly claimed Trump expressed a desire for military generals “like Hitler’s generals.”
Former Democratic congresswoman and 2020 Democratic candidate for president Tulsi Gabbard announced yesterday that she was formally switching her allegiance to the Republican Party. Gabbard has endorsed Trump in this year’s presidential election.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has reportedly donated $50 million to a pro-Harris super-PAC. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist typically remains mum on politics, and he neither confirmed nor denied the report.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday, “We’ve got to lock him up. Politically lock him up,” referring to former President Trump. The controversial comments occurred at a New Hampshire Democratic campaign office.
Fox News discussed the Arab-American leaders in Michigan — a key swing state in the presidential race — who are abandoning their traditional Democratic loyalties due to the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in the Middle East.
A McKees Rocks woman received $1 million from billionaire Elon Musk’s political action committee — all for signing a petition.
And lastly, Barack Obama gave a little performance of “Lose Yourself” after being introduced by rapper Eminem at a Detroit rally last night.
Obama raps Eminem's "Lose Yourself," after being introduced by the rapper at a rally for Harris in Detroit, MI. pic.twitter.com/MqXJzplZPY
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) October 23, 2024
A sampling of opinions
Here’s a look at what some pundits are postulating today.
- Starting out with a bang, legendary Democratic strategist James Carville gave readers of the New York Times “Three Reasons I’m Certain Kamala Harris Will Win.” Among those reasons is “There simply do not seem to be enough voters — even in the battleground states — who turn out at Mr. Trump’s behest anymore when he’s simply preaching to his base.”
- Across that same opinion column is stats guru Nate Silver, in “Here’s What My Gut Says About the Election. But Don’t Trust Anyone’s Gut, Even Mine.” His gut, for the record, says Trump. However, “you should resign yourself to the fact that a 50-50 forecast really does mean 50-50. And you should be open to the possibility that those forecasts are wrong, and that could be the case equally in the direction of Mr. Trump or Ms. Harris.”
- The Washington Post zeroes in on Pennsylvania voters, telling them to “Ignore Musk’s giant checks — and his effort to sow election doubts.” They warn that his cash giveaways (like the one in McKees Rocks on Sunday) are covering up an ulterior motive. “Mr. Musk’s oversize checks are distracting from a less-visible campaign the world’s richest man is conducting: laying the groundwork to cast doubt on the election results if his favored candidate, former president Donald Trump, loses.”
- Over at USA Today, Louie Villalobos, Dace Potas and Sara Pequeño aren’t pulling any punches with voters in “Voting for Trump or Harris means you totally support who they are. Accept it.” They bluntly say, “Vote for Trump, and you stand behind everything about him and his MAGA movement. Vote for Harris, and you support her governing record and progressive tendencies.”