With almost two months to the day until a historic election, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are working on Wednesday to woo new voters, with a latest poll putting them neck and neck in at least three crucial states.
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This classic campaign day was marked by a tragic incident, when a teenager opened fire in a high school in the state of Georgia, where four people were killed, forcing the candidates to react.
“We must end this epidemic of gun violence in our country once and for all,” Mr.me Harris. On the contrary, his Republican rival, who is opposed to any legislative tightening in this area, has, for his part, described the author of the shots as a “sick and deranged monster.”
A few hours earlier, an opinion poll revealed by CNN confirmed that, as is often the case in the United States, the result of the presidential election will be played out in a very localized way, with a few thousand voters having an oversized influence and millions of others confined to the role of observers.
The three most contested battlegrounds are expected to be Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania, with the latter state seen as the “big prize” that could secure victory.
Donald Trump has also planned to go there again, to the city of Harrisburg, for a town halltown hall meeting with voters, hosted by Sean Hannity.
This political commentator for Fox News, classified as conservative and close to the billionaire, is often favored by the Republican candidate in his televised interventions. The program will be recorded in the late afternoon and broadcast at 9 p.m., Washington time (1 a.m. GMT, Thursday).
Beer brewery
Kamala Harris traveled to the Democratic-leaning state of New Hampshire on a trip focused on small and medium-sized businesses. In the state, she visited a beer brewery founded by two women in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
The 59-year-old candidate pledged to increase the small business creation tax credit tenfold, from $5,000 to $50,000.
She, who is presented as a “communist” by her rival, intends to reinforce her image as a candidate of the middle and working classes in the face of an adversary accused of pampering the wealthy and multinationals.
After having logically benefited from the momentum following the withdrawal of Joe Biden and the major Democratic Convention in Chicago which officially inducted her to carry the party’s colours, the American vice-president is now faced with the risk of running out of steam.
Several editorialists from well-known daily newspapers, who are rather pro-democrats, have in recent days called on her to detail her measures for the country, particularly considering that her highly anticipated interview last Thursday, alongside her running mate Tim Walz, lacked substance.
“The honeymoon period (of Kamala Harris) is over,” Donald Trump said on Wednesday, speaking on a local radio station chosen precisely because it broadcasts in New Hampshire.
“If she wins, our country will never recover, it will be a catastrophe,” added the Republican tribune, who himself lost the national lead he had in July.
15% undecided
Also on Wednesday, the issue of steelmaker US Steel was confirmed as a major issue in this campaign: according to the press, President Joe Biden is preparing to formally block the takeover of the industrial flagship by its competitor Nippon Steel.
In a poll published Wednesday by The EconomistKamala Harris garners 47% of the voting intentions nationally, against 45% for Donald Trump.
Many Republicans would like to see the former business tycoon adopt a calmer tone, focusing on criticism of the Biden/Harris administration’s record, but the septuagenarian continues to pile on the attacks ad hominem targeting his rival. “She is a Marxist, she will destroy our country,” he said again on Wednesday.
The CNN poll found that around 15% of voters were still undecided in swing states that could swing to either side. It gave Kamala Harris the win in Wisconsin and Michigan, but Donald Trump the win in Arizona.
The Democrat’s visit to New Hampshire on Wednesday, where she has not been for years, will most likely be a unique detour for her, before she begins to plough through the seven key states that will decide the future of the world’s leading power on November 5.
Mme Harris plans to travel to Pennsylvania, home of US Steel, on Thursday.
