ATLANTA — Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump zeroed in on the Sun Belt on Saturday as they embarked on one last weekend quest to sway every undecided voter in the battleground states. The presidential candidates pitched rival agendas on the economy — and more — that each insisted is what Americans want.
“We have overcome every attack, every abuse and even two assassination attempts,” Trump said at a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. “And now it all comes down to this.”
Harris has been urging her supporters to vote early so she can be elected and provide the “new generation of leadership” that she argues she represents.
“I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America,” she said during remarks at a rally at the Atlanta Civic Center parking lot. She had to pause a few times to allow medics to attend to people who had fainted after spending hours in the heat.
“It’s hot out here, Atlanta,” the vice president said.
It was unclear whether Harris herself had voted early. Campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said Saturday that Harris’ plan is 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.
“Anybody here already voted?” she asked the Atlanta crowd, which cheered loudly in response. “Oh wow. Oh my goodness. Thank you, thank you.”
Saturday marked the beginning of a final, frenzied push by Harris, Trump, their running mates and their high-profile stand-ins to encourage people to vote early or in person on Tuesday, Election Day.
To that end, Harris’ campaign hoped for a “high-impact” moment with a two-minute spot to air Sunday during NFL games on CBS and FOX, including the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions, two swing state teams. It shows Harris interacting with people during the campaign and talking directly to viewers.
“Now I’m asking for your vote because as president I will get up every day and fight for the American people,” she says at the end.
Campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon projected confidence Saturday on a conference call with reporters as both sides embarked on that final sprint to get out the vote. “If you can hear the joy in my voice it is because we are in GOTV weekend,” she said.
Trump, meanwhile, spoke wistfully, as he has at some of his recent rallies, about how after nearly a decade of campaigning, his final race is nearing its end.
“We’re going to meet again many times I hope,” said the former president, who also was stopping in Salem, Virginia — not a battleground state — before returning to North Carolina for a late-night rally in Greensboro. “This has been the thrill of a lifetime for me and for you.”
As both Harris and Trump moved on to their next stops, their planes met on the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Harris was ending her campaign day.
President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race this summer when it became clear he could not win, was doing his part for the Democrats by making what could be his final 2024 campaign stop. Biden, who turns 82 later this month, struck a nostalgic tone as he tried to help get out the vote for Harris and running mate Tim Walz during an event at the carpenters’ local in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“I’m not just asking you do it for me, I’m going to be gone,” Biden said of his plea to the union workers to support the ticket. “I’m asking you to do it for yourself and your families, people you grew up with, the people you come from.”
Walz and actress Eva Longoria joined a get-out-the-vote event in Las Vegas before the Minnesota governor’s events Flagstaff and Tucson in Arizona. GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance was appearing in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona, with Donald Trump Jr. First lady Jill Biden was campaigning in Georgia and Hillary Clinton was appearing for Harris in Tampa, Florida.
Walz also visited a few homes in the Las Vegas suburbs. He and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus spoke with a couple who were excited to see both politicians — and were hopeful. Walz asked them what issues concern them and heard about women’s rights, Social Security, Medicare and rhetoric from Republicans
“We’re gonna win,” Walz said. “These last days matter and it will be on the margins.”
Elsewhere, other voters sounded notes of cautious optimism about the election outcome.
Marzella and Darrell Pittman said they canceled weekend plans after learning that Harris would be in Atlanta and drove four hours from Alabama to attend.
Marzella 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 tight, and the other side, they got a lot of our people believing in that side, just like we believe in Kamala,” he said.
Until the election, “we have nothing but voting on our mind and we’re talking to everybody,” Marzella 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 Trump’s rally. It was a reference to Trump riding in a garbage truck after Biden said Trump’s supporters were “garbage.” Biden later said he was talking about rhetoric from a speaker at Trump’s recent event at Madison Square Garden.
___
Colvin reported from Gastonia, North Carolina, and Superville from Washington. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington, Matt Brown in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta and Isabella Volmert in Warren, Michigan, contributed to this report.