US Elections: Race against time with Harris and Trump to win votes 48 hours before the election confrontation

Kamala Harris and her rival Donald Trump began a frenzied final campaign on Sunday to win votes in crucial states less than 48 hours before the election, which is witnessing a historically close voter turnout.

“This year has been difficult given the amount of death and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon,” Harris was quoted as saying by the American network NBC.

“I’ll do everything in my power if elected president to end the war in Gaza and return the hostages home,” she added.

“I’ll do everything in my power to ensure Israel’s security and to ensure the Palestinian people’s ability to determine their own destiny,” she added.

She stressed, “We continue to work to reach a diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanon that ensures the protection of civilians and provides lasting stability”.

“I’ll work tirelessly for a future where everyone in the Middle East enjoys security and dignity,” Harris pledged.

For his part, Trump said at his first campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where he is betting on unfounded allegations of fraud attempts, “The fate of our nation is in your hands… You have to rise up on Tuesday”.

More than 76 million people have voted early by Tuesday, with polls showing the two candidates neck-and-neck at this stage to an unprecedented degree.

A recent New York Times/Siena poll conducted Sunday indicated some gradual changes in key swing states, but results from all seven states remained within the margin of error.

Harris, who is seeking support in the Great Lakes states that are key for Democrats, plans to spend the day in Michigan, starting in Detroit before stopping in Pontiac and holding an evening rally at Michigan State University.

“I just filled out my ballot and mailed it in,” Harris said in a chat with reporters in Detroit, adding that “my ballot is on its way to California,” her home state.

On the other hand, Trump’s agenda for Sunday focused on Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, where a win would be crucial under the Electoral College system, which gives states power based on their population.

Trump is expected to reject the results if he loses, as he did four years ago.

On Sunday, Trump seized on isolated irregularities discovered by election officials to amplify his claims of widespread fraud.

“They are fighting hard to steal this thing,” he told supporters in Pennsylvania.

Republicans in Pennsylvania, which has a large Puerto Rican community, are also trying to contain the fallout from a speaker’s description of Puerto Rico at a Trump rally in New York as a “floating garbage island.”

Michigan is one of seven critical states where developments are being closely watched.

Trump won over the former Democratic stronghold when he defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016.

President Joe Biden returned it to the Democratic fold in 2020, with support from union workers and a large African-American community.

But this time, Harris risks losing the support of a 200,000-strong Arab-American community that has denounced Biden’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Polls have indicated a decline in black support for the Democratic candidate, while Harris’s aides acknowledge that they still have a lot of work to do to get enough African-American men to support Harris, as was the case with Biden in 2020.

In an effort to reach beyond her traditional base of supporters, Harris capped off her campaign day Saturday with a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” where she mocked her rival Trump.

“Keep Kamala and move on, everyone,” the US Vice President said.

Harris’ campaign, seeking to get as much television exposure as possible, booked two minutes of airtime Sunday during football games, including a game between two NFL teams from two battleground states: The Green Bay Packers (Wisconsin) and the Detroit Lions (Michigan).

In the ad, Harris pledges to be “a president for all Americans” and promises to “build a greater future for our nation”.

“Campaign research shows that the past week has proven to be critical in cementing the choice in this election among undecided voters and those less prepared” to vote, her campaign said.

“The closing argument at Madison Square Garden across from The Ellipse broke through and made the choice clear for this group of voters,” she added.

Harris, (60), received a boost Saturday when a Des Moines Register poll ahead of Election Day, a reliable gauge of the public mood, showed Harris ahead in Iowa, a state Trump won handily in 2016 and 2020.

It advanced by three points in the poll after being four points behind its rival in September.