What to watch over the final weekend of the 2024 presidential campaign

NEW YORK (AP) — The 2024 statesmanlike title speeds into its last play pinch Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump locked successful a razor-thin contest.

At this precocious shape successful nan campaign, each time matters. And while fewer voters mightiness alteration their minds this precocious successful a emblematic election, location is simply a consciousness that what happens successful these last days could displacement votes.

Harris and Trump are crisscrossing nan state to rally voters successful nan states that matter most. They’re trying — pinch varying degrees of occurrence — to enactment focused connected a clear and concise closing message. At nan aforesaid time, each broadside is investing monolithic resources to thrust up turnout for nan last early voting period. And successful these captious days, nan travel of misinformation is intensifying.

Here’s what we’re watching connected nan last play earlier Election Day, which is Tuesday:

Where will Harris and Trump be?

You only request to look astatine nan candidates’ schedules this play to cognize wherever this predetermination will apt beryllium decided.

Note that schedules tin and apt will alteration without warning. But connected Saturday, Trump is expected to make abstracted appearances successful North Carolina pinch 1 eyebrow-raising extremity successful Virginia successful between.

No Democratic statesmanlike campaigner has carried North Carolina since Barack Obama successful 2008, though it has been decided by little than 3 points successful each predetermination since. Trump’s determination to walk Saturday location suggests Harris has a existent opportunity successful nan state. But Trump is besides trying to convey assurance by stopping successful Virginia, a authorities that has been safely successful nan Democratic file since 2008.

There is possibly nary much important plaything authorities than Pennsylvania, wherever Trump is expected to run Sunday. But he besides has different quality scheduled for North Carolina successful summation to Georgia, different Southern authorities that has leaned Republican for almost 3 decades — that is, until Joe Biden carried it by little than a half percent constituent 4 years ago.

Meanwhile, Harris is expected to run successful North Carolina and Georgia connected Saturday successful a motion that her squad is sensing genuine opportunity successful nan South. She’s readying to make aggregate stops successful Michigan connected Sunday, shifting to a Democratic-leaning authorities successful nan alleged Blue Wall wherever her friends judge she is vulnerable.

Do they enactment connected message?

Trump’s run activity wants voters to beryllium focused connected 1 cardinal mobility arsenic they hole to formed ballots, and it’s nan aforesaid mobility he opens each rally with: Are you amended disconnected coming than you were 4 years ago?

Harris’ squad wants voters to beryllium reasoning astir another: Do they spot Trump aliases Harris to put nan nation’s interests complete their own?

Whichever campaigner tin much efficaciously support voters focused connected their closing arguments successful nan coming days whitethorn yet triumph nan presidency. Yet some candidates are disconnected to a challenging start.

Trump opens nan play still facing nan fallout from his caller New York City rally successful which a comedian described Puerto Rico arsenic a “floating heap of garbage.” Things sewage harder for Trump precocious Thursday aft he raised nan imaginable of Republican rival Liz Cheney’s death by gunfire.

It was precisely nan benignant of inflammatory remark his friends want him to debar astatine this captious moment.

Harris’ campaign, meanwhile, is still moving to displacement nan speech distant from President Biden’s comments earlier successful nan week that described Trump supporters arsenic “garbage.” The Associated Press reported precocious Thursday that White House property officials altered nan charismatic transcript of nan telephone successful question, drafting objections from nan national workers who archive specified remarks for posterity.

The spotlight of statesmanlike authorities ever burns brightly. But it will pain brightest, perhaps, this last weekend, leaving nan campaigns virtually nary separator for error. In what some sides judge is simply a existent tossup election, immoderate final-hours missteps could beryllium decisive.

How will nan gender spread play out?

Trump’s schematic onslaught against Cheney was particularly troublesome fixed his allies’ heightened concerns astir women voters.

Polling shows a important gender spread successful nan title pinch Harris mostly having a overmuch amended standing among women than Trump has. Part of that whitethorn beryllium nan consequence of nan GOP’s conflict to restrict abortion rights, which has been disastrous for Trump’s party. But Trump’s divisive activity has besides pushed women away.

Going into nan weekend, Trump allies, including blimpish firebrand Charlie Kirk, are informing that acold much women than men look to beryllium casting early ballots. While it’s intolerable to cognize whom they’re voting for, Kirk intelligibly believes that’s bad news for Trump.

Trump isn’t helping his cause. A time earlier his convulsive rhetoric astir Cheney, nan Republican erstwhile president made waves by insisting that he would protect women whether they “like it aliases not.”

Harris, who would beryllium nan nation’s first female president, said Trump doesn’t understand women’s authorities “to make decisions astir their ain lives, including their ain bodies.”

It remains to beryllium seen whether nan Democrat’s statement tin break done connected this packed weekend. But Harris’ squad believes there’s still a important chunk of persuadable voters retired there. And they opportunity nan undecideds are disproportionately Republican-leaning suburban women.

What happens pinch early voting?

More than 66 million group person already formed ballots successful nan 2024 election, which is much than one-third nan full number who voted successful 2020.

They see importantly much Republicans compared pinch 4 years ago, mostly because Trump has backed disconnected his insistence that his supporters must formed ballots successful personification connected Election Day.

And while early in-person voting has ended successful galore states, location will beryllium a immense push for final-hours early voting successful astatine slightest 3 cardinal states arsenic nan campaigns activity to slope arsenic galore votes arsenic imaginable earlier Election Day.

That includes Michigan, wherever in-person early voting runs done Monday. Voters successful Wisconsin tin ballot early in-person done Sunday, though it varies by location. And successful North Carolina, voters person until 3 p.m. Saturday to formed early ballots in-person.

The early voting play officially ended Friday successful Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, questions stay astir nan Trump campaign’s get-out-the-vote operation, which is relying heavy connected well-funded extracurricular groups pinch small acquisition — including 1 group funded mostly by billionaire Elon Musk that’s facing caller questions astir its practices.

Harris’ campaign, by contrast, is moving a much accepted get-out-the-vote cognition that features much than 2,500 paid staffers and 357 offices successful battleground states alone.

Will misinformation intensify?

Trump’s friends look to beryllium intensifying baseless claims astir elector fraud, and immoderate are being amplified by Trump himself. He has spent months sowing doubts astir nan integrity of nan 2024 predetermination successful nan arena he loses — conscionable arsenic he did 4 years ago.

His unfounded accusations are becoming much specific, successful immoderate cases, arsenic chaotic claims statesman to show up connected societal media.

Earlier this week, Trump claimed connected societal media that York County, Pennsylvania had “received THOUSANDS of perchance FRAUDULENT Voter Registration Forms and Mail-In Ballot Applications from a 3rd statement group.” He has besides pointed to Lancaster County, which he claimed had been “caught pinch 2600 Fake Ballots and Forms, each written by nan aforesaid person. Really bad “stuff.””

Trump was referring to investigations into imaginable fraud related to elector registration applications. The find and investigation into nan applications supply grounds nan strategy is moving arsenic it should.

The Republican nominee has besides raised baseless claims astir overseas ballots and noncitizens voting, and suggested without grounds that Harris mightiness person entree to immoderate benignant of concealed wrong accusation astir predetermination results.

Expect specified claims to surge, particularly connected societal media, successful nan coming days. And retrieve that a wide conjugation of apical authorities and manufacture officials, galore of them Republicans, recovered that nan 2020 predetermination was nan “most secure” successful American history.”

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AP writers Jill Colvin and Michelle Price successful New York; and Zeke Miller and Will Weissert successful Washington contributed.