US election: 1 day left – What polls say, what Harris and Trump are up to
One day before Election Day, Trump and Harris focus on swing states as they aim to sway undecided voters.
With just one day remaining until the US presidential election, campaigning has hit overdrive.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump are on a tour of swing states aiming to sway undecided voters. On Sunday, Harris was in Michigan, while Trump focused on North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
What are the latest updates from the polls?
A recent New York Times/Siena poll shows that Trump and Harris are effectively tied in Pennsylvania, each receiving 48 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, according to FiveThirtyEight’s National Polls tracker, Harris holds a narrow lead of 1 percentage point over Trump.
However, this lead is shrinking, indicating that either candidate has a strong chance of winning.
In critical swing states, the competition is intensifying, with candidates frequently alternating their lead based on the latest polls.
Key battleground states include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s daily tracker, Harris holds a narrow lead in Michigan and Wisconsin, with margins of approximately 0.8 points and 0.6 points, respectively.
On the other hand, Trump is gaining ground in Arizona, where he currently has a 2.5-point advantage over Harris. In North Carolina and Georgia, his lead hovers at about 1.5 points. Additionally, Trump maintains a 0.9-point advantage in Nevada and holds a slim margin of 0.3 points in the crucial state of Pennsylvania.
What was Harris up to on Sunday?
Harris made her first stop in Detroit, where she spoke to a church congregation.
“We heard Harris speak about the need to unite the country, to help it heal after a polarising election,” Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo, reporting from Detroit, Michigan, said.
“She’s certainly appealing to the African American voters in Michigan, a crucial swing state. Recent polls show that she’s lagging behind, especially among African American men. Many people we have spoken to say they are not going to vote because they don’t believe it will impact their lives,” Bo said.
Later in the day, Harris mentioned that she had submitted her mail-in ballot for the 2024 election, sending it to California. She continued her campaign in Michigan in efforts to earn the support of Arab American voters.
“I have been very clear [that] the level of death of innocent Palestinian children is unconscionable. We need to end the war, and we need to get the hostages out. And as president of the United States, I will do everything in my power to achieve that end,” she said.
Many Arab Americans, who have historically favoured Democrats, have shifted towards the Republican presidential candidate this election amid widespread anger and frustration over US support of Israel’s devastating war on Gaza.
A recent Arab News/YouGov poll found Trump leading Harris among the group 45 percent to 43 percent.
What was Trump up to on Sunday?
The former president started his campaign in Lititz, Pennsylvania where he said he felt he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his 2020 election loss, which he has yet to concede.
The Republican presidential candidate also launched into a tirade against the voting process, accusing his opponents of “fighting so hard to steal this damn thing”. He also lashed out at the press.
“I have this piece of glass here,” said Trump, referring to the ballistic glass placed in front of him at events following a gunman’s attempt to assassinate him at a July rally. “But all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.”
Reporting from a Trump rally in North Carolina, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher noted that Trump appeared tired during his speech in Kinston.
“It’s a very low-energy sort of performance for Donald Trump, understandably, since he’s been on the road for a long time,” Fisher said.
“He started the day in Pennsylvania, is here in North Carolina, and has still one more rally to do in Georgia. He’s already running about two hours behind.
In Georgia, Trump slammed the Biden-Harris administration on immigrants and the economy. “I am hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.”
On Sunday he also told NBC News that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent remark about removing fluoride from public water “sounds OK to me”. Trump has hinted that Kennedy, who has been a vocal proponent of unfounded public health conspiracy theories, could play a role in shaping health policy in a future Trump administration.
What’s next for the Harris and Trump campaigns?
Harris heads to Pennsylvania
Harris will spend the final day before the election at a series of campaign events in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
She will be joined by several celebrities, including Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Just Blaze and Oprah Winfrey at a Get Out the Vote event in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Harris will also campaign with D-Nice, Katy Perry and Andra Day in Pittsburgh.
In Pennsylvania, which holds 19 Electoral votes, all eyes are on what many see as the “tipping point” in the race for the White House.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the race in Pennsylvania is nearly deadlocked. A recent poll by Univision and YouGov shows that more than 60 percent of Latino voters in Pennsylvania say they plan to support Harris in the election.
Trump is back in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan
Trump will hold a rally in North Carolina in the morning before travelling to Pennsylvania for events in Reading, west of Philadelphia, and in Pittsburgh.
He will end the day with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he will seek to energise his base to vote on November 5.
Trump won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020. But according to Al Jazeera’s Fisher, Trump needs to win again in the swing state.
“The fact that four of his last 10 events have been here in the state tells us his campaign is not certain it is a done deal,” Fisher added.