Americans vote in close race

Millions of Americans turned out to the polls on Tuesday to vote for their new president as well as choose candidates in ‘down-ballot’ races, including contests that will decide control of the US Congress.

As the historic race for the White House between US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and her Republican rival, former US President Donald Trump, has reached its final hours, the candidates, who have been fighting hard, focused their efforts on the crucial Is. Battleground states are hoping to capture every single available vote on November 5. Nearly 75 million Americans – less than half of all eligible voters – cast their ballots in early voting Sunday.

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Ms Harris ended her campaign in Philadelphia, where America’s ‘Founders’ signed the Declaration of Independence.

Mr Trump made a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as he did in 2016 and 2020. Both candidates’ closing speeches over the past few days had contrasting tones, with Ms. Harris taking a more optimistic stance and stepping back from focusing directly on Mr. Trump, marking a change from what she had done even a few days earlier.

Singer Lady Gaga and TV host Oprah Winfrey were among the celebrities who joined Ms. Harris in Philadelphia.

Abortion and women’s reproductive rights have become a core voting issue, with polling data showing that women of all ages are gravitating more toward Ms. Harris (and, for other reasons, men toward Mr. Trump).

“For more than half the life of this country, women had no voice. Still we raised the children. We kept our families together. We supported men when they were making decisions. But tomorrow, women will have a part in this decision,” Lady Gaga said.

‘New leadership’

“The momentum is on our side,” Ms. Harris said, adding that she was ready to offer “a new generation of leadership.”

“This could be one of the closest races in history,” he said, asking his supporters if they had made any voting plans.

“…You will decide the outcome of this election, Pennsylvania,” she said. Ms Harris spent the day campaigning in Pennsylvania, where 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs. At least 270 electoral votes are required to win the White House.

“We are optimistic and we are excited about what we can do together,” he said, adding that the country is “finally ready to turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division.” “

At a rally in Atlanta on Monday night, Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance, who was following the Trump playbook on many matters during the campaign, said Ms Harris was “trash”.

“In two days, we’re going to take out the trash in Washington, D.C., and the name of the trash is Kamala Harris,” he said. He believed Ms Harris had called Mr Trump’s supporters “trash”. However, Ms Harris has not done so. President Joe Biden said he misspoke when he said Mr Trump was surrounded by “garbage”, after Trump’s humorous inauguration speech at a rally in which he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”.

Mr. Vance confirmed that his wife also voted for Mr. Trump (and himself). Mr. Vance’s wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, is of Indian origin and was a registered Democrat a decade ago.

Mr Trump concluded his campaign with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The rally continued till the morning of election day (Tuesday).

Democrats are preparing for Mr Trump not to accept the election results. The FBI has established a national command post to monitor election-related threats (not new or specific to this year).

In his final rally, the former president delivered his usual messages about illegal immigrants, promises of a better economy under him and attacks on Democrats. Mr Trump promised to end inflation, including by increasing domestic oil and gas production.

“Kamala has delivered rising prices and true economic pain at home, war and chaos abroad, and a nation-destroying attack on our southern border,” he said, adding that some of the “biggest criminals” in the country are Were entering. Mr Trump said the border issue is bigger than any economic issue.

He rhetorically asked who Chinese President Xi Jinping would call if he had to ask a question on the war, Taiwan or anything else.

He said, “Who the hell does he call?…Maybe they’ll call me.”

Mr Trump stopped short of using sexual insults to describe former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her “evil, sick, crazy”.

Mr Trump said there was no war during his tenure and he ended the war against Islamic State (IS), a fight he inherited from the Obama administration.

After the rally, Mr Trump was joined on stage by some of his family members and Aamer Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, America’s only Muslim-majority city. Mr. Ghalib is one of two Muslim mayors in Michigan who have endorsed the former president. The Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza has created a challenge for Ms. Harris with Arab Americans, many of whom live in Michigan.

Mr Ghalib spoke of breaking down the “wall of fear” and “wall of separation” between the Arab American community and Mr Trump with his support.

Mr Trump continued to cast doubt on the electoral process, calling again for the election to be completed in one day and to end the use of voting machines. In 2020, Mr Trump criticized early voting, linking it to fraud, but this year he urged supporters to vote early. Republicans are hoping that early voting will yield favorable results for them.

Sanders goes to bat for Harris

Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who was a former presidential candidate and is a progressive voice in the US Senate, encouraged those unhappy with the Biden administration’s stance on Israel to stick with Ms Harris.

“And to all those who believe in democracy, who believe in women’s rights, who believe that climate change is real and not a hoax, do not sit this out,” Mr. Sanders told CNN on Monday night. told.

“You may disagree with Kamala Harris on this or that issue, but it is absolutely essential that we get out and vote,” he said. Mr Sanders disagreed with Mr Biden and Ms Harris on Israel, however, saying Mr Trump was far worse.

With Ms. Harris becoming president, she is very likely to change policy toward the Netanyahu government, said Mr. Sanders, who campaigned for vice president last week.

If Mr Trump wins, “the global fight against climate change will be over”, Mr Sanders said.

He warned that Mr Trump would declare victory no matter what and said that if he lost it would be because of fraud.

down-ballot races

While all eyes are on Mr Trump and Ms Harris, key down-ballot races are being decided on Tuesday. The U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives control the ballot. Thirty-four seats in the Senate (where Democrats have a slim 51:50 majority) are at stake. West Virginia’s independent senator, Joe Manchin, who worked closely with the Democrats, is not running for re-election as Republicans have a strong chance of winning his seat. Democrats are defending their seats in Ohio and Montana.

The Democrats have a strong chance of taking over the House (which is currently controlled by Republicans), where all 435 seats are up for election. A divided Congress could create policy impasse, creating challenges for the next president.