Election 2024 recap: Trump, Harris both hold Nevada rallies; latest polls
Editor's note: This page reflects the news from the election campaign trail for the 2024 election from Thursday, Oct. 31. For the latest news on the presidential election, read USA TODAY's live election updates for Friday, Nov. 1.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are both addressing supporters in a key swing state on Thursday: Nevada.
Trump held a rally in Henderson, Nevada, located southeast of Las Vegas. That's not the only Western state where Trump is campaigning on Thursday ? he also stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the afternoon.
Harris, meanwhile, held rallies in Reno and Las Vegas to encourage Nevada voters to go to the polls. She also had a stop in Phoenix, Arizona.
Keep up with the USA TODAY Network's live coverage from the campaign trail.
Jennifer Lopez asks Puerto Ricans, Latinos to support Harris
Jennifer Lopez, Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer and actress, called on voters – especially Latino and women voters – to cast their ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris, saying the Democratic presidential nominee cares about “not just some Americans, but all Americans.”
“I believe in the power of our community,” Lopez said of Latino voters during Harris’ rally at the Craig Ranch Amphitheater in Las Vegas. “I believe in the power of all our votes. I believe that together we are the difference in this election. I know that together we are the difference in this election.”
The comments come after former President Donald Trump fell under fire after a comedian at his Madison Square Garden rally called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Although Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, tried to distance himself from the racist joke, he was met with backlash from Puerto Rican and other Latino voters.
Lopez criticized the offensive joke, saying “it wasn't just Puerto Ricans that were offended that day. It was every Latino in this country. It was humanity and anyone of decent character.”
– Rebecca Morin
Record turnout in Georgia? 50% of active voters have cast ballots
As of Thursday, more than 50% of active Georgia voters – about 3.7 million – have already cast their ballots in the Peach State, according to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office. Thursday was the seventeenth day of early voting, and the office said it expects turnout to increase on Friday, the last early voting day.
The current tally dwarfs early voting numbers from Day 17 in the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, which were about 1.5 million, 2.3 million, and 1.9 million respectively, according to a Thursday press release.
The updated figure marks a continuation of what Raffensperger has described as record-breaking early turnout numbers: "Georgia voters are smashing through every voting record, with more than 3 million for in-person early voting turnout, which is unprecedented in Georgia history," Raffensperger said at a press conference Wednesday.
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer within Raffensperger’s office, suggested Wednesday that, with early turnout so high, Election Day polling places could be a "ghost town."
– Aysha Bagchi
Vance jabs Biden, says he's 'trying to help' Trump win
JD Vance suggested during an interview on Joe Rogan’s podcast that Joe Biden is “trying to help” Donald Trump win the election after the president’s “garbage” comments earlier this week. The president appeared to call Trump's supporters "garbage," but he later said he was only talking about a comedian who told insulting jokes at a Trump rally over the weekend.
“After we win, I'm gonna be convinced that Joe Biden was trying to help us the whole time,” Vance said, referencing a moment where Biden jokingly put on a Trump 2024 hat during a visit to Pennsylvania.
Earlier, Vance told Rogan that he’d bet $20 that Biden was planning to vote for Trump and $100 that his son, Hunter Biden, would also back the Republican nominee over Kamala Harris. Biden immediately endorsed Harris after he stepped out of the 2024 race in July and has been a vocal supporter of Harris’ campaign ever since.
– Karissa Waddick
Harris ponders late mother's advice
Vice President Kamala Harris reflected at a stop in Phoenix on Thursday about what her late mother would think of her campaign for president against Donald Trump.
In an interview with NBC News, Harris was asked what advice her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, would give her in the final days of the days of the campaign.
“Just go beat him. That’s probably what she’d say,” Harris said. Laughing, she added, “Yeah, that’s my mother.”
Harris has credited her mother as a major influence on her life. Shyamala Gopalan, who came alone to the United States from India when she was 19, was a biomedical scientist who wanted to cure breast cancer. She died in 2009.
– Michael Collins
Trump sues CBS News over '60 Minutes' interview of Harris
Trump has filed a long-shot damages lawsuit against CBS News over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview of Harris.
The lawsuit accuses the network of "voter interference through malicious, deceptive, and substantial news distortion calculated to confuse, deceive, and mislead the public." Don't expect the lawsuit to go anywhere. Networks routinely edit taped interviews of newsmakers.
In this case, there was no effort to deceive, CBS said. In an Oct. 20 statement, 60 Minutes said it "gave an excerpt of our interview to 'Face the Nation' that used a longer section of her answer than that on 60 Minutes. Same question. Same answer."
– David Jackson
Gaza protesters interrupt Harris rally in Phoenix
Protesters against the war in the Gaza Strip interrupted Kamala Harris several times Thursday while she was speaking at campaign rally in Phoenix.
A protester started shouting about five minutes into Harris’s speech but was quickly hustled out as the crowd chanted “Kamala.” Over the next few minutes, other protesters began shouting, prompting a response from the vice president.
“Let’s talk for a moment about Gaza,” she said. “We all want this war to end and the hostages home. I will work on it full time when I am elected president, as I’ve been.”
–Michael Collins
Trump announces he would create new Cabinet post aimed at reducing costs
Trump said at a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday that he would create a new Cabinet position aimed at reducing the cost of living if he wins a second term.
“I will create a new Cabinet position for a senior member of my administration who will be tasked exclusively with doing everything in the federal government’s power to reduce the cost of living,” he said.
He added that on day one of his presidency, he would sign an executive order that would direct every federal agency to remove regulations that are “driving up the cost of goods,” but didn’t provide specific government regulations he'd target.
– Sudiksha Kochi
Basketball legend LeBron James endorses Harris
Basketball superstar LeBron James added his name to the list of celebrities from the sports and entertainment worlds who are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
The Los Angeles Lakers legend posted a video Thursday evening on the social media platform X featuring some of the disparaging remarks Harris’s opponent, Republican Donald Trump, has made over the years, including his claim that immigrants “are poisoning the blood of our country” and that the country would be “like Detroit” if Harris wins. The video also shows footage of protesters and Trump saying he’d like to punch them in the face.
“What are we even talking about here??” James wrote on X. “When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!”
– Michael Collins
Stormy Daniels honored in Salem with witch award
Practicing witches gathered in Salem, Mass. on Thursday to honor adult film actress Stormy Daniels with a new award, according to the Boston Globe.
The group of witches, who gather in the spooky New England town every Halloween for their annual "magic circle," gave Daniels the first ever "Salem’s Witches’ Woman of Power Award." They said she was the victim of a modern-day witch hunt.
Daniels was at the center of Donald Trump's New York hush money trial earlier this year. Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records in an effort to hide hush money payments to Daniels, who has alleged that they had an affair.
"I can't find the words to explain emotionally how big this is to me," Daniels told the Globe. "No one understands what the last six years have been like for me... The persecution those witches felt hundreds of years ago feels very familiar to me."
- Karissa Waddick
Trump aide: RFK Jr. will not be in charge of health agencies
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Trump “promised” to put him in charge of public health agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Trump's transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick said Wednesday Kennedy would be in no such position.
“He’s not getting a job for HHS,” Lutnick told CNN.
"He's not going to be the (HHS) secretary, no," he added. "That's not what he wants to do.”
Kennedy, a former 2024 presidential candidate, has earned a reputation for being anti-vaccine and spreading COVID-19 related conspiracy theories. Lutnick said Wednesday that Kennedy's real goal was not a cabinet position, but rather access to data from these agencies in an attempt to paint vaccines as unsafe and take them off the market.
– Savannah Kuchar
Trump again claims to be 'father of IVF'
Trump went a little more than 90 minutes Thursday in Nevada, bashing Harris, attacking immigration policy, and - twice - claiming parentage of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
"I feel like I'm the father of IVF," Trump said at one point during the rally at Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas; a little more than an hour later, he said that "I'm like the father of IVF."
Trump's comments, echoes of a joke he made at a Fox News town hall earlier this month, again drew rebukes from Democrats who say that Republican anti-abortion policies threaten IVF.
"IVF is under threat across the country because Trump ended Roe v. Wade and his Project 2025 plan could effectively ban IVF altogether," said an X post from the Harris campaign rapid response unit.
Trump said Democrats are lying about his support for IVF, and that he wants the government or insurance companies to cover the costs of IVF treatments.
- David Jackson
‘Stay tuned’: Undated absentee ballots in Pennsylvania remain center of court fight
A Pennsylvania court ruled that absentee ballots in Philadelphia with missing or incorrect dates should be counted in the Nov. 5 election despite a prohibition in state law, but advocates are waiting for the final word on the dispute from the state Supreme Court.
The stakes are potentially significant in the key swing state because 2.1 million requests for absentee ballots were approved and nearly 1.5 million have been returned through Wednesday, according to state Secretary of State Al Schmidt.
The portion with missing or wrong dates won't be known until the ballots are processed, but advocates say mistakes are decreasing as problems with the ballots are publicized.
– Bart Jansen
Vance says he went home to 'load all my guns' after Trump was shot
When Donald Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, JD Vance, his soon-to-be running mate, was mini-golfing with his family in Cincinnati. Vance told the story on Joe Rogan's podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," on Thursday.
"I actually thought they had killed him because when you first see the video he grabs his ear and then he goes down," Vance recalled after seeing the video of Trump's July 13 rally. "I'm like, 'Oh my God, they just killed him.'"
After seeing the video, the Ohio senator said he brought his family back to their Cincinnati home and grabbed his guns.
"At first I was so pissed, but then I go into like fight or flight mode with my kids... We were at a mini golf place in Cincinnati, Ohio. I grab my kids up, throw them in the car, go home and load all my guns. And basically stand like a sentry in our front door, and that was my reaction to it," he said.
– Victoria Moorwood
Harris to spend election night at Howard University, her alma mater
Kamala Harris will spend election night at her alma mater Howard University, the campaign said Thursday.
Harris, the Democratic nominee, graduated from Howard, an HBCU in Washington, in 1986. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Black sorority.
Republican nominee Donald Trump will have an election night watch party at a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, his campaign has said.
– Joey Garrison
'It means everything': Howard University reacts to Kamala Harris' historic nomination
Cardi B to speak at Harris campaign concert event in Milwaukee
International star and rapper Cardi B will campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket Friday in the battleground state of Wisconsin, the campaign announced Thursday.
The Harris-Walz campaign will hold a concert event, "When We Vote We Win," in Milwaukee and Cardi B, along with other popular artists Flo Milli, GloRilla, MC Lyte, DJ Gemini Gilly and the Isley Brothers will perform.
In 2023, Cardi B said in an Instagram Live that she would not be endorsing in the 2024 presidential election after she openly supported President Joe Biden in 2020, citing concerns with spending in foreign conflicts.
– Sam Woodward
Trump asks voters whether they prefer to be called Hispanic or Latino at New Mexico rally
Donald Trump during a campaign rally in New Mexico asked attendees whether they prefer to be called "Hispanics" or "Latinos"? The crowd cheered louder for "Hispanic."
"First of all, Hispanics love Trump." the candidate said. "I like them. They're smart."
The moment came as Trump has faced days of backlash over insulting jokes a comedian made about Puerto Ricans and other Latino people at his Sunday rally in Madison Square Garden.
?David Jackson
Kerry Washington, Bon Jovi to headline Kamala Harris campaign rally in North Carolina
Actress Kerry Washington and musician Jon Bon Jovi set to headline a Harris campaign rally Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina, three days before Election Day.
Washington, star of the television series “Scandal,” will speak at the rally, dubbed “When we vote we win,” while Bon Jovi is among a slate of musical acts that also includes Brittney Spencer, Khalid and The War and Treaty.
Washington made an appearance at the Democratic National Convention in August, and Bon Jovi has also endorsed the Democratic nominee.
The Harris campaign has worked to move North Carolina, which has 16 electoral votes up for grabs, back to the Democratic column for the first time since Barack Obama carried the state in 2008.
?Joey Garrison
Trump visits New Mexico ? a long shot state
Trump began a western swing Thursday in a state that is more of a long shot than a battleground: New Mexico. At the start of an airport rally in Albuquerque, Trump said advisers told him "you can't win New Mexico," but he disagreed.
"We can win New Mexico," Trump said; he acknowledged he lost the state in both of his previous elections, but claimed without evidence that those votes were "rigged."
Pollsters don't give Trump much of a chance in the Land of Enchantment. Real Clear Politics' average of New Mexico polls has Harris with a solid lead over Trump, 49.7% to 42.3%. New Mexico has only 5 electoral votes, but that could be enough to decide a close election.
?David Jackson
Jake Paul tells supporters to vote for Trump, even though he can't
Boxer and controversial media figure Jake Paul urged his 80 million YouTube subscribers to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in a video on Thursday despite not being able to vote himself.
The 27-year-old former Disney Channel star, who now resides in Puerto Rico and cannot participate in presidential elections, told his audience the offensive "floating island of garbage" joke made Sunday at a Trump rally was not reflective of the former president's views and that shouldn't stop people from voting for him.
"Please, for the love of God, go, exercise your right to vote on my behalf and vote for Donald Trump in this election," Paul said in the 18-minute-long video also posted to his 4 million X followers. "America depends on it."
- Sam Woodward
GOP backlash after Mark Cuban says Trump is 'never' around 'strong, intelligent women'
Billionaire and Harris-Walz campaign surrogate Mark Cuban told 'The View' on Thursday morning that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is intimidated by "strong, intelligent women," saying that's why he has a soured relationship with former GOP candidate Nikki Haley.
"Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women, ever," Cuban said. "He doesn't like to be challenged by them, and, you know (Haley) will call him on his nonsense with reproductive rights and how he sees and treats and talks about women. I mean, he just can't have her around, it wouldn't work."
Cuban's comments quickly garnered backlash from Republicans, claiming they were rooted in misogyny and divisive politics.
"@mcuban this is extremely insulting to the thousands of women who work for President Trump, and the tens of millions of women who are proudly voting for him. These women are mothers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. And yes, we are strong AND intelligent! #WomenForTrump," Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary said on X Thursday.
- Sam Woodward
Dodgers (and Chiefs) win 2024 sports titles: Good omens for Harris?
The Los Angeles Dodgers became baseball champions Wednesday night by wrapping up the World Series - and some sports astrologists think that's a good omen for California native Kamala Harris.
After all, the Dodgers last won the World Series in 2020, days before Donald Trump lost that year's presidential election. But wait sports fans: There's more.
In February, the Kansas City Chiefs won football's Super Bowl - just like they did in 2020.
Democratic strategist Ally Sammarco on the X social media site put it this way:
"2020: Chiefs win the Super Bowl ... Dodgers win the World Series ... Donald Trump loses the election
2024: Chiefs win the Super Bowl ... Dodgers win the World Series ... ????"
? David Jackson
Co-conspirator in Trump Georgia 2020 election interference case has law license suspended
A New York court suspended Kenneth Chesebro's law license on Thursday based on his guilty plea in former President Donald Trump's Georgia criminal case. Chesebro pleaded guilty in 2023 to a single felony, conspiring to file false documents, as part of a deal that requires him to do community service and testify against other defendants.
Nineteen defendants, including Trump, were originally charged in the sweeping indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Chesebro is one of four to plead guilty so far.
Prosecutors alleged Chesebro created and distributed false documents in Georgia and elsewhere to help people pose as presidential electors in an effort to reverse President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election.
In trying to protect his New York law license, Chesebro argued that the outcome in his Georgia case isn't yet final. He cited the Georgia judge overseeing his case, who said that under the state's First Offender Act Chesebro will be "completely exonerated of guilt" once he completes his five-year probation sentence.
But a group of five New York judges rejected that argument.
"In our view, it is of no moment that respondent may ultimately be 'exonerated' under Georgia law, as it (is just) as plausible that he may violate the terms of his probation and be subjected to additional criminal penalties as a result," they wrote.
The suspension isn't necessarily permanent. The judges directed Chesebro to make his case down the line for why they shouldn't enter a final order of suspension.
– Aysha Bagchi
Waiting on Pennsylvania Supreme Court for status of undated absentee ballots
Absentee ballots that are undated or have incorrect dates will be counted in Philadelphia, under a state court decision Wednesday. But Republicans are expected to appeal the ruling and advocates are waiting to see what the state Supreme Court will do.
The case at stake involved 69 ballots with missing or incorrect dates from a September special election for state House seats. Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote for the 3-2 majority the ballots should be counted despite “meaningless dating provisions” in state law.
But Judge Matthew Wolf, who disagreed with the ruling, wrote that the decision risked causing confusion on the eve of the general election.
The Republican National Committee is expected to ask the state Supreme Court to review the case because the high court already ruled in September that undated ballots should not be counted.
Marian Schneider, senior policy counsel for voting rights at the ACLU in Pennsylvania, said election officials in Philadelphia, which was a party to the lawsuit, expect to count absentee ballots on Election Day despite missing or incorrect dates unless the high court acts. She said the dispute could be resolved after the election.
“Stay tuned,” Schneider said. “I do not expect this to be the last word on this issue. To the extent that it’s not resolved before the election, there will probably be proceedings after the election with regard to specific provisional ballots.”
- Bart Jansen
New polls: Harris and Trump essentially tied in Georgia and North Carolina
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are in a dead heat in both Georgia and North Carolina with Election Day closing in on Tuesday, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.
The polls found that 47% of likely voters in Georgia support Harris, while 48% back Trump. Forty-eight percent of likely voters in North Carolina support Harris, while 47% support Trump.
The poll was conducted between Oct. 23 and Oct. 28 among 732 registered voters in Georgia and 750 registered voters in North Carolina. Both candidates were within the margins of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
- Sudiksha Kochi
‘Get pissed off’: Vance makes closing argument to young voters
At a town hall in North Carolina, Vance offered the crowd of High Point University students this closing message: “You should be pissed off.”
“And why should you be pissed off?” Vance said. “You should be pissed off because you’re the first generation in the history of the United States of America that is unlikely to be able to own a home, that is unlikely to be able to earn a wage on which you can raise a family, that is more likely to be indebted than you are to accumulate wealth.”
The Republican vice presidential candidate focused on the economy, including high costs of living and college tuition debt, in his address to students Thursday morning. Vance also fielded questions from the young voters related to immigration and public safety.
“We can make a different policy choice, but only if you guys get pissed off about the position you’ve been put in and vote for a change in leadership,” Vance said.
- Savannah Kuchar
Walz attempts to court male voters in Pennsylvania amid notable gender gap
At a campaign rally in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Walz directly called out undecided male voters in his speech asking them to “think about the women in your lives you love.”
“This election literally is about their lives,” he said, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. “Their lives are at stake in this election.”
Walz’s comments come as the Harris campaign is trying to address a notable gender gap. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found that women decisively Harris, 53% to 36%, while men overwhelmingly support Trump, 53% to 37%.
The Minnesota governor also criticized comments Trump made at a rally in Wisconsin last night where the former president vowed to protect women “whether the women like it or not.”
“We trust women to make their own decisions. We trust them to go to their doctors. We trust them to make these types of decisions,” said Walz.
“Here's what's going to happen on Tuesday. They are going to send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump on Nov. 5. They're going to send that message whether he likes it or not,” Walz added in his speech.
-- Sudiksha Kochi
Harris: ‘Very offensive to women’ that Trump said he would protect women whether they ‘like or not’
Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters Thursday that Donald Trump’s vow to protect women “whether the women like it or not” was a “very offensive” statement.
“It actually is, I think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their right and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” Harris told reporters on Thursday.
The Harris campaign has capitalized on Trump’s comments, releasing an ad hours after Trump made those remarks on Wednesday.
Trump during his rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday said that he wants to protect women, something he said his advisors urged him to not say.
“I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not,” Trump said. “I’m going to protect them. I’m going to protect them from migrants coming in. I’m going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles.”
Harris also said Trump will repeal the Affordable Care Act, pointing to comments House Speaker Mike Johnson made this week where he said there will be "no Obamacare" if Trump and congressional Republicans win the upcoming election on Nov. 5. Trump during this election cycle has vowed to improve upon the ACA but avoided proposing any specific policies.
“He is not going to be fighting for women's reproductive rights,” Harris concluded. “He does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make decisions about their own lives and health care for all Americans is on the line in this election as well.”
– Rebecca Morin
Josh Shapiro rebuts Trump, promises secure Pennsylvania election
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro promised a free and fair election after Donald Trump amplified claims of voter fraud in the state.
"They've already started cheating," Trump told the crowd at a rally in Allenstown Tuesday.
On social media this week, the GOP nominee continued laying the groundwork to claim voter fraud following the election.
"We caught them CHEATING BIG in Pennsylvania. Must announce and PROSECUTE, NOW!" Trump said on Truth Social. "Who would have ever thought that our Country is so CORRUPT?"
The state has asked for patience as investigations into thousands of potentially fraudulent voter registration applications filed in Lancaster and possibly other counties continue. Shapiro responded to Trump's claims in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday.
"Let’s remember, in 2020, Donald Trump attacked our elections over and over," Shapiro wrote. "He's now trying to use the same playbook to stoke chaos, but hear me on this: we will again have a free and fair, safe and secure election — and the will of the people will be respected."
- Sarah Wire and Rachel Barber
‘Fingers crossed’: Viktor Orbán wishes Trump good luck for Election Day
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday that he spoke with Trump over the phone and wished him “the best of luck for next Tuesday.”
“Only five days to go. Fingers crossed,” he wrote in the post.
Orbán is a hard-right politician who has drawn controversy for his efforts to limit press freedom and political opposition. Trump has praised authoritarian leaders like Orbán, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China at campaign rallies.
Harris has previously knocked Trump for openly admiring these leaders and cast the former president as a threat to democracy.
- Sudiksha Kochi and Kinsey Crowley
Trump and Harris in dead heat in crucial swing state
Trump and Harris are neck and neck in Michigan, a key swing state, less than a week out from the Nov. 5 election, according to a new Washington Post poll released Thursday.
The poll found that 47% of likely voters would back Harris while 46% would back Trump. Among registered voters, 47% said they would back Trump while 45% said they would back Harris.
Six percent of voters in both groups said they had no opinion or skipped answering who they would vote for.
The poll, conducted between Oct. 24 and Oct. 28 among 1,003 registered and likely voters, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
- Sudiksha Kochi
Trump vows to "protect women," Harris responds to the comment
Trump told a crowd in Wisconsin Wednesday he would protect women – “whether the women like it or not.”
Campaign advisers to the former president had urged him to not to say that, he said.
“I want to protect the people, I want to protect of our country. I want to protect the women. 'Sir, please don’t say that.’ Why? They said, ‘We think it’s very inappropriate,’” Trump said.
“Well, I’m going to do it whether the women like it or not. I’m going to protect them,” he added. “I’m going to protect them from migrants coming in. I’m going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles.”
The Harris campaign jumped on the statement, releasing an ad hours later using clips of Trump’s comment side-by-side with headlines related to reproductive rights.
Democrats have criticized Trump for appointing conservative Supreme Court judges that helped overturned Roe v. Wade. In turn, Trump has boasted about his role in upending a constitutional abortion right and returning limit decisions to the states.
-- Savannah Kuchar
Americans are anxious and frustrated about the 2024 campaigns
Most Americans reported feeling anxious or frustrated about the presidential election in a new poll by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released Thursday.
Democrats and Republicans are similarly frustrated by the campaigns, but more Democrats reported feeling anxious about the race. The poll found 79% of Democrats said they were anxious compared to 66% of Republicans.
A majority of Americans are not excited about the presidential contest. Only 24% of independents, 37% of Democrats, and 41% of Republicans said they feel excited about the election.
The survey of 1,233 Americans had a +/- 3.6 percentage point margin of error.
-- Rachel Barber
NFL owners' political donations surge to $28 million, lean Republican
NFL owners have donated at least $28 million to federal political candidates and causes during the 2023-24 election cycle ? a hefty sum that, according to USA TODAY Sports research, marks a sevenfold increase from the amount spent over the same time period four years ago.
The significant increase in owners' political giving can be attributed in large part ? though not exclusively ? to the addition of the Walton-Penner ownership group, which purchased the Denver Broncos in 2022.
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank ($3.3 million), Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper ($2.9 million) and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson ($1.8 million) are among the other NFL leaders who have eclipsed seven figures in donations.
In response to a request for comment, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy wrote in an email that "it is up to club personnel to determine to which candidates and causes they will contribute."
-- Tom Schad and Sudiksha Kochi
Harris campaign seeks to shore up support from Puerto Rican, Latino voters
The Harris campaign released a new ad Thursday aimed at targeting Puerto Rican and Latino voters in key battleground states just a few days out from the Nov. 5 election.
The new Spanish-language ad, titled Somos Más, takes a direct hit at comments that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made at Trump’s Madison Square Rally on Sunday, where he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
“Puerto Rico is an island of scientists, poets, educators, stars and heroes. ?Boricua! We're not trash, we're more,” the narrator in the ad says.
A press release from the campaign notes that the ad will air on Spanish language TV, including Univision, Telemundo and WAPA America, as well as social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube to reach voters.
-- Sudiksha Kochi
How ballot counting will be protected on election night and beyond
More than a dozen county and city election officials spoke with USA TODAY about what they are doing to make sure they can count ballots at central ballot counting locations once polls close, no matter what happens outside.
Election officials have built new warehouses where ballots will be counted under increased security. Local and state law enforcement have run through multiple scenarios for large crowds descending on the ballot counting locations.
Some jurisdictions have reduced the number of observers allowed to attend and required them to obtain credentials far in advance.
-- Sarah D. Wire and Sudiksha Koch
Who is ahead in the polls?
In the final days of the election, battleground states like Pennsylvania remain tightly-contested for Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump and could represent the key to an Electoral College victory.
Two recent polls show just how close the race is in Pennsylvania, which is among seven swing states that could determine a victory in the race for the White House. A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS found that in Pennsylvania, the race is tied, while a new poll from Quinnipiac University gave Trump a 1-point edge on Harris.
Nationwide, Trump and Harris are tied at 48% in the latest TIPP Tracking Poll.
As the nail-biter of a race approaches its conclusion in five days, Trump and Harris plan to both address supporters Thursday in Nevada, another key swing state.
--Eric Lagatta
Arnold Schwarzenegger endorses Harris
Former California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he will vote for the Democratic ticket in the presidential election.
"I will always be an American before I am a Republican," he wrote in a social media post Wednesday. "That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz."
The professional bodybuilder and actor turned GOP politician served as governor from 2003 to 2011. California is Harris' home state.
Schwarzenegger encouraged his followers to vote even if they disagree with him, but gave reasons he will not support former President Donald Trump.
--Rachel Barber
Historian who correctly predicted 9 of last 10 presidential elections picks Harris, still
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States and beat Republican rival Donald Trump on Election Day, or so historian and election forecaster Allan Lichtman still predicts.
Known for correctly predicting the results of the last nine out of 10 presidential elections, Lichtman said on his YouTube channel Tuesday night that his prediction has not changed, despite Democratic nominee Harris' leads in battleground states shrinking and polls being nail-bitingly close.
"Nothing has changed to change my prediction that I made on Sept. 5," Lichtman said, "in defiance of the polls."
--Sam Woodward
Harris campaigns in Wisconsin Wednesday night
Vice President Kamala Harris went back to a familiar place in the final stretch of her presidential campaign.
As she runs on preserving personal freedoms and protecting democracy, she made her pitch on Wednesday evening a few miles from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her progressive parents participated in various civil rights causes in the late 60s. She spoke at the nearly 10,000-seat Alliant Energy Center here, to a majority-female crowd.
As president, Harris pledged that she would seek common ground and common-sense solutions to problems.“I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress," she said in her speech.
--Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Trump milks Biden's garbage gaffe in insult-laden stump speech in Wisconsin
Former President Donald Trump made President Joe Biden's "garbage" gaffe a central theme in his campaign rallies Wednesday. He also continued to take shots at his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Her gross incompetence disqualifies her from being president of the United States," Trump said during a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Wednesday evening. "No one respects her, no one trusts her, no one takes her seriously.”
Trump rode into the Wisconsin event in the front seat of a personalized garbage truck, donning a neon orange trash collector's vest. The move was in reference to Biden's statement Tuesday, calling supporters of the former president "garbage."
--Savannah Kuchar and David Jackson
Where do Donald Trump, Kamala Harris stand in the polls
The 2024 race for the White House will be razor-close until Election Day. In Real Clear Politics' average of national polls, Trump leads Harris by just 0.4 percentage points, well within the margin of error for each of the surveys included.
It's even closer in some of the swing states that could ultimately decide the election. For example, Harris leads Trump by 0.2 percentage points in Real Clear Politics' average of Wisconsin polls.
– Marina Pitofsky
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Where is Donald Trump campaigning on Thursday?
Donald Trump on Thursday is holding rallies in two Western states: New Mexico and Nevada. Trump will address Albuquerque voters in the afternoon before making a campaign stop in Henderson, located outside of Las Vegas.
The former president unveiled one of his signature campaign promises during a June rally in Las Vegas, vowing that, if elected, he would try to end federal taxes on tips, a likely winner in Nevada, whose casino and entertainment economy depends on tips.
– Marina Pitofsky, Mark Robison
Where is Kamala Harris campaigning on Thursday?
Kamala Harris will hold rallies in Reno and Las Vegas, calling on Nevada voters to make a plan to vote. The Silver State is one of the pivotal swing states that could ultimately decide the 2024 election.
It will be the vice president’s first Northern Nevada visit since landing at the top of the Democratic ticket. Her last trip was in April 2023 when she spoke with Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and actress Rosario Dawson about reproductive rights on the University of Nevada, Reno campus.
Harris is also set to address voters in Phoenix, Arizona Arizona at a Thursday morning rally.
– Mark Robison
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2024 recap: Trump, Harris hold Nevada rallies; latest polls