US Vice President Kamala Harris (left) and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at their respective campaign rallies in Pennsylvania on Nov 4, 2024. (Photos: AFP/Charly Triballeau, Rebecca DROKE)

Harris, Trump fight through final campaign hours

Both sides say they are encouraged by early turnout, with more than 82 million people having cast ballots ahead of election day.

04 Nov 2024, 21:01 · CNA · Join

PITTSBURGH: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump made their final case on Monday (Nov 5) in the hours before election day, when voters will either choose America's first woman president or hand the Republican an unprecedented comeback likely to rattle the world.

With polls showing a dead heat, Trump promised to lead the United States to "new heights of glory" while Harris said the "momentum is on our side", as the rivals held their last rallies of the 2024 race in crucial battleground states.

The Democratic vice president finished on a high note in Philadelphia in the must-win state of Pennsylvania, with a rally on the steps immortalised by the boxing movie "Rocky".

"This could be one of the closest races in history - every single vote matters," said Harris, who was joined by celebrities including Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.

She also referenced the film, telling thousands of supporters that "here at these famous steps" she was paying "tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory".

Harris, 60, has repeatedly said she is the underdog, having only joined the race three months ago after President Joe Biden dropped out. But she insisted she would win.

Former president Trump brought several family members - with the conspicuous absence of his wife Melania - up on stage at his closing rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

There, as in an earlier swing through North Carolina and Pennsylvania, his speech bristled with dark rhetoric.

"With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America - indeed, the world - to new heights of glory," he told the crowd, as the clocks ticked over into Tuesday.

"SHOW UP"

Their final pitches reflected the critical importance that turnout is likely to play in a nail-biting race.

Both sides say they are encouraged by early turnout, with more than 82 million people having cast ballots ahead of election day.

A charged-up Trump said his supporters can "put ourselves in a position to win, which we can do very easily if we show up".

Harris said: "We need everyone to vote in Pennsylvania and you will decide the outcome."

Polls open on the East Coast at 6am on Tuesday - although in the tiny New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch they opened at the stroke of midnight, recording three votes for Trump and three for Harris.

In the final days, the Republican and Democrat have delivered sharply contrasting messages.

Speaking earlier in Reading, Pennsylvania, Trump pursued his apocalyptic vision of a US in decline and overwhelmed by illegal immigrants, whom he described as "savages" and "animals".

Harris, meanwhile, hammered home her opposition to Trump-backed abortion bans across the US - one of her key vote-winning positions.

But she also took an upbeat, centrist note, calling for a "fresh start" after nearly a decade of Trump dominating US political discourse.

LAST-MINUTE STRATEGIES

Political analyst John Aughenbaugh told CNA's Asia First that a decline in early voting in some states could indicate that many voters there "have already come to a conclusion about what will be the outcome in those states".

Data has shown that fewer voted early overall at the national level, but more in the key swing states.

In terms of both candidates' last-minute strategies, Aughenbaugh said campaign events on the final day "should tell us quite a bit about what they think is their path to victory".

Harris' campaign views Pennsylvania as essential in winning 270 Electoral College votes, which will guarantee the presidency.

"You combine Pennsylvania with, for instance, Michigan and Wisconsin (which are) the infamous blue wall - her path to victory becomes significantly easier," said the associate professor of political science from Virginia Commonwealth University.

"For former president Trump, without North Carolina, he would basically have to... win at least Pennsylvania and (either) Michigan or Wisconsin."

Trump has campaigned for three consecutive days in North Carolina, which carries 16 electoral votes. It used to be safely Republican but is now polling extremely close between both candidates.

HIGH TENSION

At 78, Trump is the oldest major party nominee ever to run for US president

But despite being tarred with criminal convictions and the scandal of his supporters' violent attack on Congress four years ago, when he refused to accept the results of the 2020 election, he goes into election day with major advantages.

Trump has pressed home on voter concerns about the economy and illegal migration while his harsh rhetoric is catnip to his right-wing base.

His message struck home for first-time voter Ethan Wells, a 19-year-old restaurant cook in Michigan.

Biden "let a lot of illegals in, and they've been murdering and raping our own people", he told AFP.

"When Trump was president, nobody messed with America."

Harris has had to build an entire campaign in three months but she has quickly galvanised the Democratic Party and stirred excitement among young voters and women.

"Tomorrow, we will elect the first female president," Luke Little, a 24-year-old server, said in Philadelphia.

The world is anxiously watching as the outcome will have major implications for conflicts in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine, and for tackling climate change, which Trump calls a hoax.

The most immediate fear is that US democracy will be tested if Trump loses but refuses to accept defeat like he did four years ago, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

With Trump having narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July and police foiling a second alleged plot, the fears of violence are very real.

In Washington, growing numbers of businesses and office buildings are being boarded up in case of unrest.