Harris, Trump focus on Sunbelt states in final push

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump turned their attention to the Sun Belt Saturday as they went on a campaign over the weekend to sway every swing voter in battleground states. They proposed competing programs on economics—and beyond—and each insisted on what Americans wanted.

“We have overcome every attack, every abuse, and even two assassination attempts,” Trump said at a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, near Charlotte. “And now it all comes down to this.”

Harris is urging her supporters to vote early so she can be elected and provide the “new generation of leadership” she says she represents.

“I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America,” she said during a speech at a rally in the parking lot of the Atlanta Civic Center. She had to pause several times to allow paramedics to treat people who had lost consciousness after hours in the heat.

It is unclear whether Harris herself voted early. Campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said Saturday that Harris plans to vote by mail, but he could not say whether she had returned her ballot to her home state of California. Trump was expected to vote in person on Tuesday in Florida.

“Has anyone here voted yet?” she asked the Atlanta crowd, who cheered loudly in response. “Wow. Oh my God. Thank you, thank you.”

It was part of a latest, furious effort by Harris, Trump, their vice presidential nominees and their top backups to encourage people to vote early or in person on Tuesday.

Harris’ campaign was hoping for a “high-impact” moment with a two-minute spot that would air Sunday during NFL games on CBS and FOX, including the Green Bay Packers’ matchup against the Detroit Lions, two teams from different states. It shows Harris interacting with people during the campaign and speaking directly to viewers.

“Now I ask for your vote, because as president, I will stand up every day and fight for the American people,” she says at the end.

Harris’ campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon expressed confidence Saturday during a conference call with reporters as both sides began the final sprint to get out the vote. “If you hear the joy in my voice, it’s because it’s GOTV weekend,” she said.

Meanwhile, Trump, as he has at some of his recent rallies, spoke wistfully that after nearly a decade of campaigning, his final race was drawing to a close.

“I hope we meet many more times,” said the former president, who also stopped in Salem, Virginia – not a battleground state – before returning to North Carolina for an overnight rally in Greensboro. “It was the thrill of a lifetime for me and you.”

The planes carrying Harris and Trump met on the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the vice president wrapped up her campaign day.

She was joined there by actress Kerry Washington and rocker Jon Bon Jovi, who performed a new song, “The People’s House,” which he said he wrote shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump insurrectionists.

“We still have work to do,” Harris said at a rally in Atlanta, adding: “Make no mistake, we will win.”

She also called her campaign and supporters “the promise of America.”

President Biden, who dropped out of the race this summer when it became clear he couldn’t win, has contributed to the Democratic cause in what could be his final stop on the 2024 campaign. Biden, who turns 82 this month, struck a nostalgic tone as he tried to help vote out Harris and his running mate Tim Walz during an event at a wood shop in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Walz joined actress Eva Longoria for a voting event in Las Vegas ahead of Minnesota governor’s events in Flagstaff and Tucson, Arizona. Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance appeared in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona, along with Donald Trump Jr. First lady Jill Biden campaigned in Georgia, while Hillary Clinton spoke on behalf of Harris in Tampa, Florida.

Walz visited several homes in the Las Vegas suburbs. He and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus spoke with the couple, who were happy to see both politicians and hopeful.

“We will win,” Walz said. “These last days matter, and they will be in the margins.”

Elsewhere, other voters expressed cautious optimism about the election results.

Marcella and Darrell Pittman said they canceled weekend plans after learning Harris would be in Atlanta and drove four hours from Alabama to attend.

Marcella thinks Harris will win, but Darrell is nervous because many of the young black men in his life support Trump and are hesitant to vote for a woman for president.

“It’s complicated, and on the other hand, a lot of our people believe in this side, just like we believe in Kamala,” he said.

Before the election, “we have nothing but votes, and we’re talking to everyone,” Marcella Pittman said.

Trump supporters were equally passionate about their candidate.

“Mr. Trump came in a garbage truck. I came in a garbage bag,” said Elmer Baber, who lives in Gastonia, North Carolina, and attended the Trump rally. This was a reference to Trump riding in a garbage truck after Biden called Trump supporters “trash.” Biden later said he was referring to the speaker’s rhetoric at Trump’s recent event at Madison Square Garden.

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