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Trump MSG rally sparks backlash; Top polls

Marina Pitofsky
, 
Todd Spangler
, 
Bart Jansen
, 
Rebecca Morin
, 
Sudiksha Kochi
, 
Maureen Groppe
, 
Savannah Kuchar
, 
Zac Anderson
, 
Riley Beggin
, 
Sam Woodward
, 
Francesca Chambers
, 
Aysha Bagchi
, 
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
, 
Phillip M. Bailey
, 
Rachel Barber
 
USA TODAY

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Just eight days until Election Day.

In the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are focusing on two pivotal battlegrounds that could decide the race for the White House: Michigan and Georgia.

Harris on Monday is holding a rally alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Meanwhile, Trump is holding his own rally in Atlanta, Georgia, and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, will gather with voters in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Keep up with the USA TODAY Network’s live coverage from the campaign trail.

Trump to address the press on Tuesday morning

The Trump campaign has been secretive about this week’s non-rally schedule as Election Day nears on Nov. 5. But it did let one cat partially out of the bag Monday: The Republican presidential nominee will be speaking with the media on Tuesday.

Trump “will deliver remarks to the press in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday,” said a short announcement. The event takes place at his Mar-a-Lago home.

No word on topic or whether he will take questions.

– David Jackson

Ballot box attack an ‘attempt to disenfranchise,’ Washington state Dems chair says

Washington state’s Democratic leader is speaking out after reports that hundreds of votes were destroyed after a ballot box was set on fire early Monday morning.

Authorities, including the FBI, are investigating after someone allegedly stuck an incendiary device to a ballot box at a public transit center in Vancouver, Washington, which ignited flames, according to local news reports. The result is hundreds of burned ballots, elections officials said.

Shasti Conrad, chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement to USA TODAY that this represents “an attempt to disenfranchise” voters. State Democrats trut that law enforcement and other officials will “find those responsible and hold them accountable,” she added.

The attack in Washington is the second ballot box fire that police have responded to in the Pacific Northwest region. In nearby Portland, police responded to a fire at a ballot box on Monday morning at an elections office.

Conrad and others stressed how people concerned about their ballot was destroyed should check its status at VoteWA.gov or by calling their county’s auditor or elections department to find out where their ballot is in the process of being counted. To get a replacement ballot, Washington state voters can call the Clark County elections office at 564-397-2345 or send an email to [email protected]. 

— Phillip M. Bailey

Kids pick Harris in Nickelodeon contest to win the presidency

Children across the country selected Kamala Harris to win the White House in Nickelodeon’s nationwide “Kids Pick the President” contest, the network announced Monday.The virtual survey of more than 32,000 of the nation’s children showed 52% supported Harris and 48% supported Donald Trump. The contest is intended for entertainment purposes only and is not a scientific poll. “Kids Pick the President” has accurately predicted the outcome of every election but two since 1988. Kids chose John Kerry over George W. Bush in 2004 and Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016.

Voters in the 2024 election must be 18 years old on or before Election Day on Nov. 5.

– Rachel Barber

Harris to Black men: You’re not in Trump’s club

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris warned Black men thinking about backing former President Donald Trump in 2024 that her Republican rival doesn’t care about them like she does.

“Part of what we have to help people understand is, don’t think you’re in Donald Trump’s club,” Harris, the Democratic nominee, told football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe in an interview on his podcast, “Club Shay Shay.”

“You’re not,” she added. “He’s not going to be thinking about you.”

Harris specifically brought up racial disparities in colon cancer and prostate cancer deaths, and the need to do medical screenings. According to the American Cancer Society, Black men are about 40% more likely to die from colon cancer than other groups and 70% more likely to die from prostate cancer.

Both candidates have rushed to popular podcasts as a strategy to reach undecided voters in this razor-thin contest.

Harris and her allies have been keen on making direct appeals to Black men as surveys for months have shown Trump making slight gains with segments of that demographic. A recent ABC News/Ipsos survey, however, showed Harris winning 85% of the Black male vote.

— Phillip M. Bailey

‘Fixated on his grievances’: Harris responds to Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally

Vice President Kamala Harris accused Republican nominee Donald Trump of “fanning the fuel of trying to divide our country” in response to the former president’s campaign rally at Madison Square County that included racist remarks from speakers.

“Donald Trump’s event in Madison Square Garden really highlighted a point that I’ve been making throughout this campaign,” Harris said Monday before boarding Air Force Two to head to Saginaw, Michigan.

“He is focused and fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country and it is not in any way, something that will strengthen the American family, the American worker,” Harris said.

Comedian Tony Hinchliffe, among the speakers at the Sunday night Madison Square Garden event in New York, referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” and joked about a Black person in the crowd “carving watermelons.”

Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson provided a made-up ethnicity for Harris in his remarks, calling her “Samoan-Malaysian” and a “low IQ former California prosecutor.” In his speech, businessman Grant Cardone said Harris has “pimp handlers.”

– Joey Garrison 

Joe Biden casts last ballot as president

President Joe Biden cast his early-voting ballot in the 2024 general election on Monday, his last as president.

The president waited in line at the Department of Elections office in Wilmington, Delaware, with about 50 people ahead of him. He chatted with people as he waited his turn.

After casting his vote, he shook hands with few people and posed for a photo. Asked if the experience was bittersweet, he said it “just sweet.”

Biden decided to abandon his plans to seek re-election in July after a disastrous debate performance, paving the way for his Vice President Kamala Harris to win the Democratic nomination.

– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Congressional Hispanic Caucus condemns Puerto Rico insults at Donald Trump’s rally

Tony Hinchliffe, a comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at a Trump rally Sunday night, was leveling “a direct attack on countless hardworking Americans,” a caucus representing Hispanic members of Congress said in a statement Monday. 

“This type of language emboldens prejudice, encourages violence, and undermines the values of unity and respect that our country is built on,” CHC Chair Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif. said. “It’s deeply troubling to see Republican leaders celebrate this rhetoric instead of promoting unity and truth.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has an all-Democratic membership, while Republicans have their own Congressional Hispanic Conference.

– Riley Beggin

Elon Musk and his PAC sued by Philadelphia DA over $1 million giveaway

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Elon Musk and his political action committee Monday to stop them from giving away $1 million each day to a swing state registered voter who signs their petition.

“America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens … to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million,” according to the legal complaint.

The lottery violates Pennsylvania’s law requiring all lotteries in the state to be regulated by the government, according to the complaint. It also allegedly violates Pennsylvania consumer protection laws because Musk and his America PAC “have not published a complete set of lottery rules or shown how they are protecting the privacy of participants’ personal information.”

The U.S. Justice Department has already sent the PAC a warning letter, saying the giveaway could violate federal election law, according to a Wednesday CNN report. Federal law prohibits paying people to register to vote, and some legal experts say the giveaway could violate that law because you have to be registered to sign the petition.

– Aysha Bagchi and Josh Meyer

Steve Bannon to be released from prison Tuesday

Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist under the Trump administration, will be released from a Connecticut prison on Tuesday – a week out from Election Day – after serving a four month sentence.

He reported to prison for contempt of Congress after defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. He was also fined $6,500.

— Sudiksha Kochi and Bart Jansen

Wisconsin needed handling. So the Harris campaign sent Kerry Washington.

Washington, who played the fictional uber-fixer Olivia Pope on the hit ABC series “Scandal,” rallied Kamala Harris supporters on Sunday as an exclusive new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll showed a dead heat in Wisconsin between the vice president and former President Donald Trump.

The Harris campaign is leaving nothing to chance in the Midwest in the final days of the presidential race and has been putting every celebrity and national politician available on the road. 

“You here in Wisconsin have the capacity to save the soul of this county, to really stand between us and a man who has said that he wants to be a dictator on day one, to stand between us and a man who said he wants generals more like Hitler’s generals,” Washington told a roomful of Black women on Sunday at a private Harris campaign event at a cafe.

– Francesca Chambers

Can early votes be counted before Election Day?

Laws that dictate when early votes are received, processed and counted vary by state.

Some places, like Alabama, Washington, D.C. and Idaho cannot begin counting votes until after the polls close on Election Day. Others, like Florida, Arizona and Nevada, can begin processing days before. Releasing results early is a felony in some states.

– Sam Woodward

Virginia asks Supreme Court to allow purge of suspected noncitizens from voter rolls

Virginia Republicans have asked the Supreme Court to let them reinstate a purge of suspected noncitizens from voter rolls.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an emergency petition with the high court hours after a federal appeals court on Sunday upheld a lower court’s ruling stopping the purge.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles on Friday blocked a state program that had removed about 1,500 names since Aug. 7 because federal law prohibits voter purges within 90 days of an election. She also ordered the state to restore the registrations of those canceled during that period.

Miyares told the high court that decision violates “Virginia law and common sense.” He asked for a high court decision by Tuesday.

– Bart Jansen and Maureen Groppe

Donald Trump’s campaign stops on Monday come after his highly-touted Madison Square Garden rally courted controversy. A warm-up act from a comedian sparked a political furor with a key constituency Trump is hoping to win over in his bid for a second term in the White House.

During the early stages of the rally, the comedian Tony Hinchliffe, who goes by the stage name Kill Tony, mocked Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” and also said Latino people have too many children. While Trump’s campaign later sought to distance itself from the joke, it had already garnered condemnation from fellow Republicans, major celebrities and others.

– Zac Anderson

Harris would take cognitive test, says Trump should too 

Harris said she would take a cognitive test, and challenged Trump to take one as well, in an interview with CBS over the weekend. 

Trump called for Harris to take and “pass a test on Cognitive Stamina and Agility,” in a post on Truth Social earlier this month. He wrote at the time, “she is slow and lethargic in answering even the easiest of questions.” 

Harris hit back, telling CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell, “This is what he has resorted to.  

“And I think he actually is increasingly unstable and unhinged,” she continued, “and has resorted to name calling because he actually has no plan for the American people,” 

– Savannah Kuchar 

Senate poll roundup: Republicans remain ahead in Montana, ties in Pennsylvania and Michigan

Several new polls released Monday and over the weekend show Democrats have an advantage in Arizona and Wisconsin’s Senate races, while Republicans have an edge Montana, Nebraska and Texas.

And two new polls from InsiderAdvantage in Pennsylvania and Michigan show Senate races there in a statistical tie.  In Michigan, Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin has consistently polled a few percentage points ahead of her opponent, former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers.

The race in Pennsylvania has been tighter, with incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, typically polling around one percentage point above GOP candidate David McCormick.

A poll from The Hill and Emerson College show Montana GOP candidate Tim Sheehy ahead of incumbent Sen. Jon Tester by four percentage points in the race that is likely to determine control of the U.S. Senate next year. Sheehy has consistently polled ahead of Tester in the state.

Incumbent Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Deb Fischer of Nebraska also remained ahead in polls against challengers in their states, according to a poll from the New York Times and Siena College.

Rep. Reuben Gallego, D-Ariz., remained ahead in polling against GOP candidate Kari Lake according to a poll from Trafalgar Group and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., ahead of GOP challenger Eric Hovde by two percentage points in Wisconsin, according to a poll from USA TODAY and Suffolk University.

– Riley Beggin

It is not clear exactly when the election results will be announced, as the timing depends on a variety of factors. Each state handles its elections differently, ranging from weeks-long early voting to strict voter ID laws.

But you can anticipate delays.

Some key swing states that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are vying for, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, aren’t permitted to start processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, which is expected to slow down the count.

– Sudiksha Kochi and Sam Woodward

There are just eight days until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. 

– Sam Woodward

Are schools closed on Election Day?

It depends on your school or district, as well as the state where you live. However, many public schools will be closed for Election Day, which is Nov. 5.

Schools across the country are used as polling places where voters can cast their ballots on Election Day, along with community centers and other local gathering places.

– Sudiksha Kochi

What time do polls open on Election Day?

It depends where you live.

In some states like Arizona and Connecticut, polling locations can open as early as 6 a.m. on Election Day, which is Nov. 5. In other places, locations will open later in the morning, at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m.

 You can find your polling location and its hours by contacting your state and local election office or visiting usa.gov for more information.

– Sudiksha Kochi

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says Donald Trump “demonstrates all of the qualities of somebody who is using peoples’ fears to advance a cause that is antidemocratic” but declined on Sunday to directly label him a fascist. 

“You can put whatever label you want on it, but you’ve heard him say antidemocratic things,” Pritzker told USA TODAY. “And at the same time, he says things that are motivational to some of the worst elements of peoples’ thinking – racism, sexism, you know, xenophobia, the concern about immigrants and so on.”

Pritzker added, “So there’s no doubt that you can take some quotes of Donald Trump’s and read them in the most extreme texts that there are out there, and say, he must be reading those, or someone is telling him those, and he is drawn to them.”

The governor’s comments came after former White House chief of staff John Kelly in an interview with The New York Times last week said the 2024 presidential candidate fits the bill for a fascist.

Last year, after Trump pledged to root out fascists and referred to liberals as “vermin,” Pritzker said the Republican’s comments were “frightening to those of us who know the history of Europe in the 1930s and 40s.” Kamala Harris said last week on CNN that she thinks Trump is a “fascist.”

– Francesca Chambers

Trump-aligned group is already planning lawsuits over election results

A Trump-aligned group that has filed lawsuits in several swing states challenging voter registration lists is already planning to sue over this year’s election results, one of the group’s founders told USA TODAY.

“We feel compelled to file in defense of this beautiful country,” said Marly Hornik, who co-founded United Sovereign Americans in 2023. “We already have signs and numbers coming in of errors inside of the process.”

The organization, which describes itself as nonpartisan, is regularly represented by Bruce Castor, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Lawsuits from both the group and Republican organizations suggest widespread voter fraud could be happening – without providing proof that it is.

The claims feed into the false narrative from Trump that he didn’t lose the 2020 election, which critics fear is a precursor to claiming similar election theft if he loses again. Numerous counts and audits showed President Joe Biden won the last presidential election. Nearly all of more than 60 lawsuits from Trump allies in the wake of that election failed.

– Aysha Bagchi

New polls show slim leads for Republicans in Nebraska and Texas Senate races

New polls from The New York Times/Siena College, conducted between Oct. 23 and Oct. 26, show tight Senate races in both Nebraska and Texas. 

In Texas, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, a Trump-endorsed, two-term incumbent is leading his Democratic opponent Rep. Colin Allred 50% to 46% among 1,180 voters in Texas, according to the poll. Democrats have been eyeing the seat as one they could possibly flip to keep control of the Senate, pouring millions of dollars into the race. 

In Nebraska, Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is leading her independent opponent Dan Osborn 48% to 46% among 1,194 voters in Nebraska. Five percent of likely voters said they were undecided or didn’t answer.

– Sudiksha Kochi

Court rejects Mississippi’s 5-day grace period for mailed ballots − but policy for 2024 is uncertain

A federal appeals court revived a Republican lawsuit against Mississippi’s grace period for mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive up to five days after Election Day.

But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t block the state law that allowed the grace period. Instead, the appeals court sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola for further review.

Guirola had rejected the lawsuit in the July from the state and national Republican Parties that challenged the grace period approved during the COVID pandemic. “The upshot: These statutes ‘mandate holding all elections for Congress and the Presidency on a single day throughout the Union,’” Judge Andrew Oldham wrote for the three-judge appeals panel.

If the case were appealed to the Supreme Court it could potentially have brought implications because more than a dozen states have grace periods for mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive up to 10 days afterward.

−Bart Jansen

Court refuses to revive Virginia policy to remove suspected noncitizens from voter rolls

A federal appeals court on Sunday rejected a Republican case from Virginia that sought to reinstate a purge of suspected noncitizens from voter rolls.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles on Friday had halted the state program that removed about 1,500 names since Aug. 7 because federal law prohibits removing names from voter rolls within 90 days of an election. She also ordered the registration of those who were removed to be restored.

The state appealed but the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Giles’ ruling.

“For the second time in three days, a federal court ruled Virginia’s purge of eligible citizens is unlawful,” said Ryan Snow, a lawyer with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We urge the Supreme Court to stop this madness and make it clear that it is unacceptable to block eligible citizens from voting.”

−Bart Jansen

Harris and Trump locked in dead heat in key battleground state, new poll shows

A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found that Trump and Harris are almost tied in Wisconsin, 48% to 47%, among 500 likely voters.  The results are within the poll’s margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. The poll was conducted Oct. 20 to 23.

In Door County, Wisconsin, which has been a bellwether for the state, Harris has a slight edge. Harris leads Trump in that area, 50% to 47%, the poll of 300 likely Door County voters found. The results are still within the margin of error of 5.7 percentage points.

Wisconsin, which has 10 electoral votes, is among several important swing states that both Trump and Harris are eyeing to help catapult them to the presidency.

− Rebecca Morin and Sudiksha Kochi

Does Puerto Rico vote in the 2024 presidential race?

No, Puerto Rican residents cannot vote for president.

They can help choose each party’s nominee for president, however. The political parties have the ability to include them in the primary selection process.

Trump won Puerto Rico’s 2024 GOP primary, winning 23 of the territory’s Republican delegates. 

While Puerto Ricans on the island can’t vote for President, more than two-thirds of Boricuas live in the United States where they can vote for president.

− Sudiksha Kochi

More: Does Puerto Rico vote for president? What to know about the island’s role in the election

Trump faces backlash from Bad Bunny, Puerto Ricans amid fight for Latino vote

Puerto Ricans, including Grammy-winning artists Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin, widely condemned Trump after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who goes by the stage name Kill Tony, derided the island as a “floating island of garbage” at the former president’s campaign rally in Madison Square Garden.

The backlash comes as Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris are locked in a tight race – and are counting on Latino voters to help get them to the White House. Puerto Rican voters living in the United States make up the second largest Latino group in the country, including in key battleground states like Pennsylvania.

In the face of a growing uproar, senior Trump advisor Danielle Alvarez on Sunday night issued a statement addressing Hinchcliffe’s bit. “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign,” she said.

− Rebecca Morin and Sudiksha Kochi

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are neck-and-neck in national polls. Trump leads Harris by 0.1 percentage points in Real Clear Politics’ average of national polls, well within the margin of error of each survey included.

It’s also a tight race in battleground states across the country. For example, according to Real Clear Politics’ average of polls in Michigan, Trump leads by just 0.2 percentage points.

– Marina Pitofsky

Trump is holding a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday at 6 p.m. Georgia could easily determine the 2024 race, a crucial southern swing state that Trump won in 2016 but lost to President Joe Biden in 2020.

– Marina Pitofsky

Election Day is Nov. 5. Sign up for USA TODAY’s On Politics newsletter for breaking news and exclusive analysis.

Kamala Harris will hold an event Monday in Ann Arbor, Michigan along with her vice presidential running mate, Tim Walz, and singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers, her campaign said Friday.

Harris has been spending a great deal of time in Michigan, a key battleground state, of late: Earlier this month she held three events before campaigning in southeastern Michigan with rapper Lizzo. Last week, she was in Oakland County with Republican former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, and she campaigned on Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama.

– Todd Spangler

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