WASHINGTON – Saturday marks a month until Election Day, giving presidential campaigns little time before the election ends to convince voters that their vision for the country offers the best path forward.
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump will spend most of their time attacking each other, although they are also leaning on high-profile allies to support their turnout efforts and assist sway the dwindling number of undecided voters .
Former Democratic President Barack Obama will rally his supporters in battleground states next month Starting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniaon October 10th.
Obama is expected to argue that Harris is “ready for the job.”
“This is a person who has spent his life fighting for people who need a voice and an advocate,” Obama will say, according to prepared remarks from the campaign. “Kamala was not born into privilege. She had to work for what she has and she actually cares about what other people are going through.”
The campaign did not reveal which other states Obama is likely to visit, but it is a secure bet that he will visit swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
Trump is wants to gather supporters in Butler, Pennsylvaniaon Saturday, return to the location where a gunman previously climbed onto a roof take multiple shots at Trump in July.
The rally will be attended by numerous members of Congress as well as the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed by the gunman.
Comperatore’s widow, daughters and sisters are expected to attend the Trump rally, as are several people who attended the rally where the shooting erupted, a campaign announcement said.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, is expected to attend, along with billionaire businessman Elon Musk. Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt; Pennsylvania Representatives: Mike Kelly, Dan Meuser, Guy Reschenthaler and Glenn Thompson; Florida Rep. Cory Mills; Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson; and several Pennsylvania officials.
Separately, Vice President Harris will travel to North Carolina for a briefing on Saturday Recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene and surveying the storm damage.
On Sunday, former President Trump is expected to give a speech in Juneau, Wisconsin.
Biden warns against refusing to vote
President Joe Biden said in a surprise appearance at the White House news conference on Friday that he expects November’s election to be fair and free, but expressed concern about the possibility of violence.
“I don’t know if it will be peaceful,” Biden said. “The things Trump said and the things he said last time when he didn’t like the outcome of the election were very dangerous.”
Biden criticized Vance for refusing to comment this week Vice President Debate that he would accept the result of the election.
“They didn’t even accept the results of the last election,” Biden said. “That’s why I’m worried about what they’re going to do.”
Trump has falsely claimed for years that he won the 2020 presidential election, even though multiple lawsuits in the court system failed for lack of evidence and numerous Republican officials said there was no evidence of widespread fraud.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is pursuing a case against Trump for attempting to overturn the election results, including actions he took leading up to and during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The final filing in this casewhich contained recent details, was released this week.
Control of Congress
Democrats and Republicans are also focused on the race for control of Congress in the final weeks of the campaign season.
Republicans are expected to retake the Senate, most likely by winning seats in West Virginia and Montana, as well as elections in Michigan and Ohio classified as toss-ups from the Cook Political Report with Amy Walters.
The House could also go one way or the other, although Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has repeatedly said he expects the chamber to stay red and its razor-thin majority to expand.
There are 26 toss-up races This will determine control of the House of Representatives for the next two years, according to the Cook Political Report. The remaining 409 House districts are rated as either leaning, likely or significantly in favor of Republicans or Democrats.
Which party controls the House and Senate will determine how much the next president can actually accomplish.
The chairs of the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a call Friday that they would coordinate efforts to promote Harris and the Democratic candidates in the coming weeks.
DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan and DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington highlighted some of these efforts to delay Nov. 5 by nearly a month.
“I think we have probably one of the most coordinated efforts that we’ve ever seen, at least in my memory, with three committees working together to make sure that we’re using our resources as effectively and efficiently as possible to make sure that “We win across the board,” said Peters.
Harrison said party leaders were focused on dozens of races ranging from “the school board to the White House.”
“When I became chairman of the DNC, I committed to a 57-state and territory strategy,” Harrison said, adding that he was proud to say, “We took that commitment to the next level and rounded out our mission . “Again, election investments are sent to all 57 states and territories in a single cycle to support campaigns.”
