The Lone Star State will take center stage Friday as former President Trump and Vice President Harris appear alongside some of the most influential cultural icons in the world. -
Trump will visit Joe Rogan’s studio in Austin for what could become the most listened-to podcast of all time.
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“The Joe Rogan Experience” fits neatly into Trump’s strategy of speaking with alternative media outlets that are popular with young men. Trump is also expected to appear with Tucker Carlson sometime before Election Day.
Harris will hold a rally with Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) in Houston, as Democrats hold out hope that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is primed for an upset in a state that Trump is expected to win. -
Harris will be joined by superstar musician Beyonce Knowles-Carter, a native of Houston. She’ll also record a podcast with Brené Brown, a public intellectual who is popular with women.
- Harris is looking to take advantage of her celebrity endorsers. Bruce Springsteen will perform tonight in Atlanta for Harris’s first joint appearance with former President Obama.
Trump and Harris will also be looking to press their advantages on the issues that have been central to their campaigns.
Trump has scheduled an event in Austin to focus on border security and immigration, which polls show is a top issue on the minds of voters. -
Harris has cast herself as a border hawk since becoming the nominee, tacking hard to the right after taking progressive positions on immigration during the 2020 Democratic primary.
- At a CNN town hall on Wednesday night, Harris was pressed on why she supports funding for a border wall now after calling it “stupid” in the past.
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“We need a president who is grounded in common sense and practical outcomes,” she said. “Let’s just fix this thing. Let’s just fix it. Why is there any ideological perspective on this? Let’s just fix the problem.”
- The Wall Street Journal poll found Trump’s advantage on immigration grew from 7 points in August to 15 points now.
In the final days of the campaign, Harris is seeking to cast Trump as a threat to democracy.
She’ll look to drive that point home next week, when she makes her closing pitch to voters from the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. That’s the spot where Trump spoke on Jan. 6 before his supporters rioted on Capitol Hill. Perspectives:
The Hill: 4 questions we’ll ask after the presidential race ends.
Cook Political Report: Harris pays for past progressivism. The Nation: How did Democrats get here? The Hill: Democrats are losing because of their own hubris.
The City Journal: Harris’s blue collar blues.
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Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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© AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File |
8.5 million have voted across 7 battlegrounds
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More than 29 million Americans have already voted nationwide, with nearly one-third of those coming in the seven battleground states, according to the latest data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab. Here’s the breakdown by swing state:
AZ: 900k GA: 2.1m MI: 1.3m NC: 2m NV: 400k
PA: 1.2m WI: 600k
It’s important not to draw too many conclusions based on early voting returns, but veteran political reporter Jon Ralston has been covering elections in Nevada for a long time.
Ralston’s been astonished by GOP turnout so far, writing for the Nevada Independent that a “rural tsunami” has given Republicans a “substantial” early lead. “There is no good news in these numbers for Dems, who are basing their hopes on a deluge of mail ballots coming in during the final days and perhaps the day or two after the election (they can be counted for four days after Nov. 5) and a very favorable split among Indies in urban Nevada.” - Nevada hasn’t broken for the GOP presidential nominee in 20 years, although it’s been more competitive with former President Trump on the ballot.
- Another bullish sign for Republicans:
NBC News reports the top GOP Senate super PAC is plowing $6 million into the Nevada Senate race to boost Republican
Sam Brown against Sen. Jacky Rosen (D).
As votes pour in and the polls remain deadlocked, both Trump and Vice President Harris are facing criticism from within their own parties. -
The Hill’s Alex Gangitano and Niall Stanage report on Harris facing questions about her strategy on everything from the number of days without rallies, her swing through Texas and the multiple appearances with former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
- Harris’s town hall event with CNN on Wednesday night underscored her insistence on sticking to talking points.
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Democratic strategist David Axelrod described the performance as “mixed.” “The thing that would concern me is when she doesn’t want to answer a question, her habit is to kind of go to word salad city, and she did that on a couple of answers,” he said.
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Van Jones leveled a similar critique: “I think that the word salad stuff gets on my nerves. I think that some of the evasions are not necessary.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is keeping GOP divisions front-and-center. -
The Hill’s Alexander Bolton got a hold of a new biography written by Michael Tackett of The Associated Press. He quotes McConnell as saying the “MAGA movement is completely wrong.”
- “Unfortunately, about half of the Republicans in the country believe whatever he says,” McConnell said.
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State Watch: GOP concerns grow over Nebraska Senate race
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Republicans are apoplectic that they’re forced to spend resources defending a Senate seat in deep red Nebraska, where Sen. Deb Fischer (R) is fighting for her political life against upstart independent candidate Dan Osborn.
Via The Hill’s Al Weaver: “Fischer, a two-term incumbent, has found herself in a much more precarious position than she — or any Republicans — imagined mere months ago as she tries to fend off a challenge from independent Dan Osborn. This has prompted finger-pointing on the right, mostly at Fischer for not taking the challenge seriously. That is especially the case after the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) announced it was spending $3 million to boost her in the final weeks.”
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North Carolina says it will need $53 billion to repair damage from Hurricane Helene. U.S. Postal Service officials say it will take “some time” to fully restore service in regions that were hardest hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton. There are currently 4,600 addresses in North Carolina and 600 in Florida that remain inaccessible.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants off the ballot in Wisconsin. He’s petitioned the state’s Supreme Court to remove his name. Kennedy abandoned his independent bid and backed former President Trump.
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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that state law provides voters whose mail ballots are rejected an opportunity to vote by provisional ballot. The decision is a loss for the Republican National Committee and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, which brought the appeal to the state’s top court.
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The culture wars continue across college campuses. The Hill’s Lexi Lonas reports: “Colleges and universities find themselves increasingly trapped with the politics of the state where they reside. As state legislatures pass sweeping measures on everything from abortion to LGBTQ rights, more than a quarter of students, representing both sides of the aisle, are writing off schools simply based on where they are.”
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“FTC’s ‘click to cancel’ rule will make ending unwanted subscriptions easier,” by chair of the Federal Trade Commission Lina Khan for The Hill.
“What America’s small businesses have to say about 2024,” by Gene Marks for The Hill. |
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12 days until Election Day.
88 days until Inauguration Day 2025. |
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Thursday - Harris holds a rally in Atlanta with former President Obama and Bruce Springsteen.
- Trump holds a rally in Las Vegas.
- NewsNation conducts a town hall event with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) that will stream exclusively on X at 8 p.m.
Friday - Trump will sit for a podcast with Joe Rogan and then hold a campaign event focused on immigration in Austin.
- Harris will sit for a podcast with Brené Brown and then join Rep. Colin Allred (R-Texas) for a campaign event focused on abortion in Houston.
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There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: jeasley@digital-staging.thehill.com |
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