What Harris and Trump are doing on the final day of the campaign: NPR

Tomorrow is election day. That means a final frenzied push by former President Donald Trump and Vice President Harris to stoke tension and motivate supporters to turn out in a race that polls show is essentially undecided – and a big symbolic hurrah at the end, because every one of them.

On the final day of the campaign, neither Trump nor Harris had a clear advantage. In a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll on Monday, the race was a dead heat — 49% to 49% — among registered voters. Among likely voters, Harris led 51% to 47%, a margin still within the margin of error.

In a race that could come down to the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes, Harris and Trump held dueling rallies in the Keystone State.

Harris, who describes herself as an “outsider” to the 2024 race, had four stops planned in Pennsylvania. She will end the day with a concert at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Rocky Steps, made famous by the ultimate underdog film.

Trump began the day in North Carolina before traveling to Pennsylvania. He will wrap up his campaign with a nighttime rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he completed his victory in 2016 — and returned in 2020, noting that he was “a little superstitious.”

This is what the rest of the day looks like.

Former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 4, 2024

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Trump starts in North Carolina

Trump's Raleigh venue on Monday – the Dorton Arena – was also one of his stops on the final day of the 2016 campaign. It followed a familiar pattern of his final rallies: late, low energy and jumping from topic to topic.

Trump's address began 50 minutes late and combined his usual mix of harsh rhetoric on immigration, attacks on his enemies and boasts about his chances of winning the election.

He said on his first day in office that he would tell Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that he would impose high tariffs on all imported goods if her country did not stop the flow of migrants and drugs across the border into the United States. He called Harris a “low IQ.” Individual” and claimed he would win all seven swing states.

“I actually hate that expression, but it’s up to us to lose it,” he said. “Does that make sense to you? It’s up to us to lose.”

Republicans dominated North Carolina for decades, with the exception of former President Barack Obama in 2008. Trump won it twice. But in the final days of his campaign, he spent more time there than in Pennsylvania, another state important to his path to victory amid a closely contested race with Harris.

Trump and other Republicans also continue to sow doubt about the results if Trump loses. Donald Trump Jr. urged Republicans on Tuesday to run vigorously, repeating falsehoods about voter fraud.

“So if we win clearly tomorrow, you don't give them a week to find that magic truck full of ballots, right?” he said of the Democrats. “Nobody knows where they came from. But take your country back, America.”

Vice President Harris speaks at a campaign kickoff event Monday in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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Harris is starting in Scranton, Pennsylvania – Joe Biden’s hometown

Harris spends her entire day in Pennsylvania, starting in Scranton, where she gave a pep talk to recruiters.

The vice president did not mention Trump by name in her remarks, instead calling him “the other guy.” She stood in front of a homemade sign and talked about how she used to campaign with an ironing board, setting it up in grocery stores and handing out flyers.

“An ironing board makes a great standing desk,” she said. “That’s how I love campaigning. I don’t do that as much anymore.”

This race became much more sophisticated.

Campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon told reporters the day will end with a major livestreamed event connecting the seven battleground states, with front-row seats for volunteers who helped make the election possible in recent days .

“We've believed all along that this race is going to be incredibly close and that's why it's really going to come down to mobilization and that's why an event like tonight is so important, that's why the organization we've built is so important “,” said O'Malley Dillon.

Vice President Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speak to guests at the Old San Juan Café in Reading, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2004.

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They were both in Pennsylvania’s “Latino Corridor.”

Both candidates have struggled to win over Latino voters in Pennsylvania this year. There are There are about 580,000 Latino voters in the statemost of them with Puerto Rican ties.

Democrats found a new opportunity after a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of trash” during Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden, sparking outrage in the Latino community.

Trump gathered in Reading, a city that is more than two-thirds Latino – many of whom have Puerto Rican roots. The former president has been trying all year to attract Latino voters, a group that has historically leaned Democratic.

At the roughly half-filled Santander Arena, Trump gave what has become a standard rally speech – he vacillated from topic to topic but promised to carry out mass deportations and lower gasoline prices. In a clearly hoarse voice, Trump criticized Harris for her guest appearance over the weekend Saturday Night Liveand at one point she suggested going into a boxing ring with Mike Tyson.

Harris stopped in Allentown, an hour's drive up the highway. 222 corridor, where she said she was proud of her long record of success in Puerto Rico.

She also reminded voters in the crowd that the race is not over and asked them to let others know why they decided to attend the rally.

“We have a lot of work to do and we need to finish strong,” Harris said.

She then went to a Puerto Rican restaurant in Reading with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

According to the Harris campaign, 75% of Pennsylvanians vote on Election Day, which is why she spent her final election day in the commonwealth.

Former President Donald Trump watches the Pittsburgh Steelers play a home game against the New York Jets on October 20, 2024

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Penultimate stops: dueling rallies in Pittsburgh

Before heading to their grand finale, each contestant stops in Steeltown. Trump is scheduled to hold a rally here at 6:00 p.m. ET, while Harris is scheduled to speak at her rally around 8:30 p.m. ET. Both candidates spent significant time during the campaign in Pittsburgh, a former Democratic bastion when Republicans were making big gains. Harris is joined by D-Nice, Katy Perry and Andra Day.