With just over a month left until election day, both candidates continue to campaign in battleground states in a tight presidential race.
According to national polling data from the New York Times, Vice President Harris holds a small lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. In North Carolina, Georgia and Arizona, Trump is leading by an equally small margin.
Neither candidate holds more than a three percentage point lead over their opponent in each battleground state.
In response to former president Trump’s frequent attacks on border policy giving him a polling advantage in Arizona, Harris scheduled a visit to the Grand Canyon State as a part of her intention to push for a tougher, bipartisan border security plan.
While the Trump campaign has stated that it has no plans to have the former president compete in a second debate against Harris, there are still plans to hold a vice president ial debate between Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn) on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
In the buildup to the debate, research from the Associated Press suggests that Vance is the less popular candidate among voters compared to rival Walz.
Winning over undecided voters will be an uphill battle for Vance, as Walz has participated in a mock debate session against Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in preparation for Tuesday night.
Although Tim Walz holds popularity over Vance, he still sees preparation as being necessary to compete against Trump’s VP pick. “Senator Vance, as a United States senator, a Yale Law guy, he will come well-prepared,” Walz stated on MSNBC following the Trump-Harris debate.
On Sept. 15, a few days following the presidential debate in Philadelphia, a second attempted assassination was made against the former president, this time at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course in Florida. The shooter, Ryan Wesley Routh, had allegedly stalked Trump since August.
Routh, who was already facing two federal firearm charges, was indicted on three charges by federal prosecutors. His charges include attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and assaulting a federal officer.
The case against Routh was assigned to federal judge Aileen Cannon, the same judge who oversaw former president Trump’s Mar-a-Lago classified documents trial. Cannon’s overseeing of the assassination attempt case was done at random. In response to the proceedings, Trump made a post aimed toward the Department of Justice, stating that Florida should handle the court case.
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