With just 5 days to go, Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump continue to battle for votes in swing states Arizona and Nevada on Thursday. Follow here for the live updates:
Trump Tells New Mexico He Will Fix Problems at the Border
At a New Mexico rally, Trump tells his supporters that his advisors told him he didn’t need to come to New Mexico because he wouldn’t be able to win the state.
But he asked for rally goers in Albuquerque to turnout the vote for him in the border state.
“One of the reasons we will win this state is you have one of the worst border problems of any state, and I’m the only one who will fix it,” he said.
JD Vance says Trump Floated VP Idea at Rally Where He Was Shot
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) told podcaster Joe Rogan on Thursday that Trump first broached the topic of the Ohio lawmaker being his running mate on the morning of the July 13 Pennsylvania rally where Trump was shot.
The former president then suggested that Vance accompany him to the Butler rally later that day where they would announce the vice presidential pick together on stage.
“He looks at one of his staff members and says, actually, wouldn’t it really set the world ablaze if we just made the decision today,” Vance told Rogan.
Trump ended up changing his mind and going to the campaign stop on his own.
Detroit Voter Turnout Expected to Be Slightly Above 2020 Election Levels
Detroit has about 524,000 registered voters and its anticipated that voter turnout for this election will be somewhere between 51 percent and 55 percent, City Clerk Janice Winfrey told reporters Thursday.
Detroit voter turnout in the 2020 general election was 51 percent.
Security has been heightened and there will be a heavy police presence at Huntington Place convention center in downtown Detroit where ballots will be counted Tuesday night.
Winfrey says her office has been working with local police agencies, Michigan’s attorney general’s office and the Justice Department on what she calls a “comprehensive security plan throughout this week and the days moving forward.”
“This plan will continue through election night to insure the safety of our election workers and the integrity of the election process,” Winfrey said.
Harris Says Affordable Care Act Is on the Line on Election Day
Harris said Thursday that the health care protections under the Affordable Care Act are on the line on Election Day.
She was responding to a comment by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who told Trump supporters that there would be “massive reform” to the law if Trump wins the presidential election.
Hillary Clinton to Campaign for Harris in Tampa
Hillary Clinton, the former first lady who ran as the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, will campaign in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday to support the Harris-Walz campaign.
Clinton, who also served as the secretary of state during the Obama administration, will be attending two get-out-the-vote events to encourage voters to cast their ballots early.
Clinton endorsed Harris after her campaign launched in July, and the former first lady headlined fundraisers and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of the vice president.
Judge Puts Challenge of Elon Musk’s $1 Million-a-Day Voter Giveaways on Hold
A judge in Philadelphia has put a state challenge of Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter giveaways on hold while lawyers for the billionaire and his political action committee try to move the lawsuit to federal court.
The giveaways aim to boost Trump’s presidential campaign through Election Day. Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner calls the America PAC sweepstakes an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania law.
Experts on election law question whether it violates federal law against vote-buying. Judge Angelo Foglietta heard motions from both sides on Thursday in a City Hall courtroom.
Spending Shatters Record in Senate Race
Billions of dollars in ads are raining down on voters across the Rust Belt, Rocky Mountains and American Southwest as the two major political parties struggle for control of the U.S. Senate.
Republicans need to pick up two seats to capture a surefire majority, and one of those—West Virginia—is all but in the bag for the GOP.
Republican strategists say they’re targeting seven other states where Democrats are defending seats: Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Democrats, conversely, say they are forcing competitive contests in two red states, Texas and Nebraska.
Data from political ad tracking firm AdImpact projects that more than $2.5 billion will be spent on advertising in Senate races in this two-year campaign cycle, slightly more than the 2022 total.
Trump to Campaign in New Mexico and Virginia
Trump is traveling to New Mexico and Virginia in the campaign’s final days.
The former president will campaign in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday. He’ll be in Salem, Virginia, on Saturday. The Trump team is projecting optimism and thinks he can be competitive against Harris in New Mexico and Virginia.
Harris and Trump Court Latino Voters in Battleground Nevada
Harris and Trump will court Hispanic voters on Thursday trips to Nevada, the smallest of the seven swing states expected to play a decisive role in Tuesday’s presidential election.
Hispanics represent about 30 percent of Nevada’s population and Hispanic voters have traditionally been an area of strength for Democrats. Trump, however, has been gaining ground in the nationally and religiously diverse Latino population.
Nationally, Trump had the support of 38 percent of registered Hispanic voters in a series of Reuters/Ipsos polls conducted this month, up from 32 percent at the same point in 2020. Harris’s share of Hispanic voters was at 50 percent, compared with Democratic President Joe Biden’s 54 percent in October 2020.
Singer Jennifer Lopez will speak at a Harris rally in Las Vegas where Mexican pop rock band Mana will perform, while Trump will hold a rally to the southeast of the city in Henderson, which has a population of more than 330,000 people.
Trump’s event will be at Lee’s Family Forum, home to the Henderson Silver Knights ice hockey team. Harris’ rally and concert is part of a series of “When We Vote We Win” events to help mobilize support. Harris will also be in Reno.
Trump on Thursday will also travel to New Mexico, a stop reflecting a late push to try to “expand the map” and win states that were out of reach for him in 2020, a Trump adviser said. In the evening, he will be in Arizona for a live show with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Harris and her running mate Tim Walz on Thursday will also be in Phoenix, Arizona, another state both campaigns are fiercely vying to win.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.