US Election 2024

US election: 13 days left — What polls say, what Harris and Trump are up to

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump targeted Latino voters with their campaign activities on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it’s Georgia on their minds.

Voters in Hawaii, Missouri, Utah, and Wisconsin began casting their ballots on Tuesday, joining a growing number of states that have kicked off early voting in recent weeks.

Polls indicate a tight race between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump, both running neck-and-neck nationwide and in key battleground states.

On Tuesday, Kamala Harris conducted two interviews, one with NBC News and the other with Telemundo. Meanwhile, Donald Trump held a rally in North Carolina following a roundtable discussion with Latino leaders.

Here's a breakdown of recent polling, key campaign highlights from the past day, and what to watch for next.

What are the latest updates from the polls?

Polls indicate a tight race between the two candidates. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showed Kamala Harris holding a narrow lead over Donald Trump, with 46% support to Trump's 43%.

Harris’s lead in the six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, mirrored her previous advantage of 45% to Trump’s 42% in last week's Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The new poll also indicated that voters hold a negative view of the economy and immigration, with many preferring Trump’s stance on these issues. Around 60% felt the economy was heading in the wrong direction.

As of October 22, FiveThirtyEight’s daily election tracker showed Harris leading in national polls with a 1.9-point advantage over Trump.

Who’s ahead in the national polls?

Source: 538/ABC News | Last updated: October 22, 2024 at 15:30 GMT (11:30 ET)

National surveys offer useful insights into voter sentiment, but the winner is ultimately determined by the Electoral College, with state-by-state results playing a decisive role. Seven key battleground states are expected to be crucial in deciding the outcome.

In these battlegrounds — Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Nevada — the race between Harris and Trump is extremely close, with differences falling within the margin of error. Trump holds a slight edge in the polling averages for Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona, while Harris leads by a razor-thin margin in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

If these slim margins hold, Trump is likely to secure the presidency. However, if polls have underestimated support for Harris in even one of the battleground states where Trump currently leads, she could pull off a victory.

Who is in the lead in swing state polls?

Source: 538/ABC News | Last updated: October 22, 2024 at 16:30 GMT (11:30 ET)

What was Kamala Harris up to on Tuesday?

In an interview with NBC in Washington, DC, Harris stated that her team is ready to contest any premature victory claims made by Trump, stressing that her top priority is defeating him.

She affirmed that the Democrats "have the resources and expertise" to push back against any efforts by Trump to undermine the election results.

"This is a man, Donald Trump, who tried to overturn a free and fair election, still denies the will of the people, and incited a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol, resulting in the assault of some 140 law enforcement officers, some of whom lost their lives. This is a very serious matter," Harris said.

Harris also spoke with Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language network, where she reiterated her commitment to building an economy that "supports the working class." According to a report by The Associated Press, she emphasized solutions to "bring more capital" to underserved communities. The interview is set to air on Wednesday at 23:00 GMT.

Meanwhile, her running mate, Tim Walz, criticized Trump while speaking to a crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, ahead of former President Barack Obama’s appearance. Walz accused Trump of lacking stamina and rambling in his speeches.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump took a jab at Harris for not holding any campaign events that day.

During his speech in Madison, Obama announced he had already voted in Chicago and told the crowd, “If you haven’t voted yet, I won’t be offended if you walk out right now to go vote.”

Obama also took jabs at Trump, saying, "You’d be worried if your grandpa were acting like that."

"This is someone who seeks unchecked power," Obama continued. "So, Wisconsin, we don’t need to find out what a more unhinged Donald Trump looks like without guardrails. America is ready to turn the page."

Former US President Barack Obama speaks at a rally [Go Nakamura/Reuters]

What was Donald Trump up to?

Trump held a roundtable with Latino leaders in Florida, where prominent Republicans, including Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and U.S. Senator Rick Scott, praised his record of supporting the Hispanic community during his previous term.

According to Trips And Tricks News Guide, reporting from Miami, Harris enjoys strong support among Latino voters, while Trump is actively seeking key endorsements from the community, especially in critical swing states.

“In battleground states, data from Voto Latino shows that Harris has the backing of 63% of Latino voters, while Trump lags behind with 31%.” 

He added, “Trump’s goal isn’t to overtake Harris’s support but to peel away enough Latino voters, particularly in states like Nevada and Arizona, to carve a path to victory. There are indications, particularly among male Latino voters, that he could make inroads.”

During his appearance, Trump criticized Harris, stating, “She’s sleeping right now... This is not what you want.”

His comments came in response to Harris's efforts to portray him as "exhausted" after he backed out of several interviews.

Trump also took the opportunity to condemn the Biden administration for the leak of classified documents allegedly detailing Israel’s plans for an attack on Iran, calling it a “bad thing.”

“Can you imagine someone doing that? That’s the enemy. I suppose it could be the enemy from within,” he said.

Additionally, Trump painted a bleak picture of the stakes in the upcoming election just two weeks away.

“If we lose this election, we might not have a country anymore,” Trump warned.

Later in the day, he held a rally in North Carolina, where he criticized the state’s economy and took aim at Harris once again.

What’s next for the Harris and Trump campaigns?

Harris to participate in a CNN town hall

On Wednesday, CNN will host a live town hall with Harris just outside of Philadelphia, featuring a live audience of undecided voters. Walz is scheduled to return to the city on Friday, marking his first visit to Philadelphia since being named Harris’s running mate earlier this summer.

Additionally, on Thursday, iconic musician Bruce Springsteen is set to join Harris and Obama at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, according to sources.

Trump to campaign in battleground Georgia

Trump is also expected to campaign in Georgia, a state with 16 Electoral College votes. According to FiveThirtyEight’s daily election tracker, Trump holds a 1.5-point lead over Harris in the state.

Both campaigns are intensifying efforts to secure Georgia, a pivotal state that narrowly went to Joe Biden in 2020, helping clinch his presidential victory. Trump had previously won Georgia in 2016 on his way to the White House.

On Friday, Trump will sit down for an interview with popular podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan.

The two have a complicated history. Although they briefly chatted and shook hands at a UFC event, Trump later criticized Rogan after Rogan expressed support for then-candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., saying he was the only one who made sense to him. 

"It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC ring??? MAGA2024," Trump posted on his social media in August.