Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump kicked off their last Saturday before the presidential election within mere blocks of each other in Milwaukee, only to find themselves parked on the same tarmac several hours later in Charlotte, where their planes landed just a few hundred yards apart.
It marked the fourth day in a row that the candidates were campaigning in the same state—a sign of the relatively small playing field as the highly competitive race nears its finish line and only a handful of states are seen as competitive.
Trump rallied a crowd in Gastonia, N.C. by warning that the “suburbs are under attack”. Hours later, Harris addressed a crowd at a rally in the heart of Democratic-leaning Mecklenburg County, roughly 35 miles away, casting Trump as “increasingly unstable” and obsessed with personal grievances rather than the well-being of the American public. “This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better,” Harris said.
The candidates’ contrasting approaches highlighted the stakes of the election in North Carolina, a pivotal battleground with a history of flipping between parties. Early voting in the state ended on Saturday afternoon, and polling shows a tight race within the margin of error, making it essential for both campaigns to mobilize their bases and sway undecided voters with three days left in the election. “Please talk to your friends, your family and your neighbors,” Harris said, encouraging those who had already cast their ballots to advocate for turnout among others. “To those who have not voted, no judgment, but please do get to it.”
In North Carolina, the Harris campaign has been focused on building a coalition of voters that extends beyond traditional Democratic strongholds, targeting independents and moderate Republicans who may be disillusioned with Trump’s rhetoric, a campaign official says. Her closing argument in the state was aimed at reassuring voters that her…
