DETROIT (AP) — Between redistricting and incumbents forgoing reelection, four congressional seats in Michigan are key targets as the parties vie for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Republicans are seeking to flip two open congressional seats in central Michigan as the GOP tries to broaden its majority.
The two seats being vacated were redrawn in 2021, yielding Democratic victories in the midterm elections. Now this year’s races are true tossups and some of the most competitive in the country, with millions of dollars poured into the campaigns.
8th Congressional District
After longtime Democrat Dan Kildee announced he would not seek reelection in Michigan’s 8th District, Republicans saw the first opportunity in decades to flip the seat red. Kildee had served since 2012 when he succeeded his uncle Dale Kildee, who represented the area including the cities of Flint and Saginaw in Congress for 36 years.
McDonald Rivet, a freshman state senator, painted Junge as a Californian outsider and cast herself as a middle class pragmatist. She focused her messaging on preserving reproductive rights and like her opponent, the economy.
Slotkin, the Democratic candidate for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, narrowly defeated Barrett in the 2022 midterms for the district that includes the state capital of Lansing and the surrounding rural areas.
Hertel, a former state senator and more recently the governor’s legislative director, was portrayed as a “regular guy” in an ad campaign where he grills, takes out the trash and prepares to mow a yard. He’s labeled Barrett an anti-abortion extremist, but in an attempt to reach GOP voters, he’s also criticized Democrats over immigration.
Barrett in turn has appealed to voters’ concerns over inflation and attacked Hertel over national security. A former state representative, senator and Army veteran, he has run ads featuring his helicopter pilot background.
3rd Congressional District
The open seats are the most contested in the state, but two other congressional seats have drawn the attention of national parties.
Hillary Scholten became the first Democrat to represent the city of Grand Rapids in the U.S. House since the 1970s when she won Michigan’s newly redrawn 3rd Congressional District in 2022. But the surrounding Kent County has plenty of Republican voters. The county went for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. The Republican ticket has targeted the county with five visits in 2024 between Vance and Trump.
Scholten faces Republican Paul Hudson, who lost a bid for the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022.
The 2024 election is here. This is what to know:
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10th Congressional District
Voters in Michigan’s 10th congressional district — which includes the all-important suburbs of Macomb County north of Detroit — will decide a rematch between Republican incumbent Rep. John James and Democrat Carl Marlinga.
Marlinga lost by just 1,600 votes in 2022, and the district is now seen as competitive, drawing money and attention from Democratic national groups.
Donald Trump has been told by some advisers that he should prematurely declare victory on election night if he’s sufficiently ahead of Kamala Harris in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, according to people close to him, though whether he will heed that advice remains unclear.
The consensus view is that Trump has nothing to lose by claiming he has won if he has a several-hundred-thousand-vote advantage in Pennsylvania or if his internal pollsters think a victory is plausible even if the results are not fully confirmed on Tuesday night.
But even Trump’s most pugnacious allies – including the former White House strategist Steven Bannon who spoke with him last week, one of the people said – have suggested he hold off making a pronouncement if the race is any closer by the time he goes to bed, lest it makes him look foolish.
In the final days of the campaign, Trump and his campaign have projected confidence. It has raised expectations among his supporters that he will win, laying the groundwork for baselessly claiming the election was stolen if he loses and Harris takes the White House. Any premature declaration of victory would also probably play into that phenomenon.
The wild-card factor in what Trump might do on election night remains Trump himself. His aides concede that if Trump decides he wants to declare, he will do as he pleases, and his travel-weary team might have little appetite and influence to dissuade him.
Trump’s team collectively shrugging at the prospect of the former president prematurely proclaiming himself the winner, as he did in the aftermath of the 2020 election, is itself notable as it underscores yet another norm of presidential politics shattered by Trump.
Trump declaring prematurely would not carry the element of surprise it had four years ago. The Harris campaign have said they are preparing for him to pull such a stunt again.
Trump has spoken less this time around about what he plans to do on election night, the people said, in contrast to his premeditation in the 2020 election when he told friends and allies of his intention to declare victory regardless of the outcome.
Trump dodged questions about his intentions as he cast his own ballot on Tuesday.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of declaring victory,” Trump said. “It looks like we have a very substantial lead. It looks like we have many more Republicans voting than Democrats. So if you have a lead and a bigger vote it means you’re doing well but they have to call a winner. And they should call a winner.”
But whether it is a product of the advisers around him tamping down on that kind of plotting that set into motion attempts to overturn the election results or the logistics of the news media being at a different venue from his private watch party, Trump has been quieter about his intentions.
Trump will watch the results come in at a private watch party at his Mar-a-Lago club for members, donors and other friends and family, while the official campaign watch party takes place a short drive away at a convention center in West Palm Beach, Florida, the people said.
The private watch party starts earlier and Trump is likely to project to members that he is winning, the people said. That event at Mar-a-Lago has also been described as a knife fight, with allies knocking off donors’ names from the list to get credentials for themselves.
Whether Trump will double down on any victory claim at the convention center party remains unclear. Trump’s aides have suggested if he does decide to announce himself as the winner, he will motorcade over from Mar-a-Lago, and if not, he might not make an appearance at all.
Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage
أدلى المرشح الجمهوري لانتخابات الرئاسة الأميركية دونالد ترمب بصوته بمركز اقتراع في بالم بيتش بولاية فلوريدا، على الرغم من إدانته في نيويورك، بارتكاب 34 تهمة تتعلق بتزوير سجلات تجارية في وقت سابق من هذا العام.
وتمكن ترمب من الإدلاء بصوته بسبب قانون ولاية نيويورك، الذي يسمح للأفراد الذين أدينوا بجرائم جنائية بالتصويت طالما لم يتم سجنهم وقت الانتخابات، حسبما نقلته شبكة CNN.
وأدين ترمب في مايو الماضي، في محكمة بمانهاتن بتهمة تزوير سجلات تجارية مرتبطة بمدفوعات لممثلة الأفلام الإباحية ستورمي دانييلز قبل انتخابات 2016، وهو الحكم الذي جعله أول رئيس أميركي سابق يُدان بجناية.
وتحظر ولاية فلوريدا عموماً على المجرمين التصويت حتى يقضوا جميع فترات عقوبتهم، أو في بعض الحالات، يتم استعادة حقوقهم في التصويت من خلال مجلس العفو بالولاية.
لكن هذه القواعد لن تنطبق على ترمب. فبموجب قانون فلوريدا، إذا أدين الناخب خارج الولاية، فإن فلوريدا تتبع قوانين تلك الولاية بشأن كيفية تُمكن المجرم من استعادة حقوقه في التصويت.
وفي حالة ترمب، فإنه سيستفيد من قانون نيويورك لعام 2021 الذي يسمح للأشخاص الذين أدينوا بجرائم جنائية بالتصويت طالما أنهم لا يقضون فترة سجن في وقت الانتخابات.
وعلى الرغم من إدانة ترمب في مايو الماضي، إلا أنه لم يُحكم عليه. بعد معركة قانونية طويلة، أصدر القاضي الذي ينظر قضيته حكماً في سبتمبر، بتأجيل النطق بالحكم إلى ما بعد الانتخابات، مشيراً إلى “الإطار الزمني الفريد” للقضية.
ترمب يدلي بصوته: نتصدر الانتخابات
وأشارت شبكة CNN إلى أن مشرعين جمهوريين في ولاية فلوريدا أفشلوا مبادرة للتصويت في عام 2018 لاستعادة حقوق التصويت لأولئك الذين أكملوا مدة عقوبتهم. وأقروا قانوناً يتطلب دفع جميع الغرامات والرسوم المرتبطة بالإدانة، وهي عملية يمكن أن تكون “مرهقة”، حيث لا يوجد نظام مركزي لتتبع مثل هذه الرسوم المستحقة.
ومن المتوقع صدور الحكم على ترمب في 26 نوفمبر المقبل، وقد يواجه فيها الرئيس السابق عقوبة قد تصل إلى أربع سنوات.
وكان ترمب قد قال في البداية إنه يخطط للتصويت مبكراً لكنه قرر في النهاية أنه سيصوت شخصياً في يوم الانتخابات في بالم بيتش بولاية فلوريدا.
وبعد التصويت، قال ترمب: “نتصدر الانتخابات.. سمعنا أن نتائجنا جيدة جداً في كل الولايات”، لكنه أضاف: “يبدو أن الديمقراطيين شاركوا أيضاً بقوة، ولذلك سننتظر”.
واعتبر ترمب أن حملته الانتخابية كانت “الأفضل على الإطلاق”، مضيفاً: “أنفقنا الكثير من الأموال على هذه الانتخابات، ولا أتوقع خسارتي”.
وشكا ترمب من إمكانية “عدم صدور نتائج الانتخابات بسرعة”، مضيفاً: “سمعنا عن إمكانية تأخر صدور النتائج في بعض الولايات.. صدور النتائج في بعض الولايات قد يمتد لأيام”.
وقال إنه “واثق جداً” من الفوز بالانتخابات، وأن النتيجة “لن تكون متقاربة حتى”، ولكنه أعرب عن إحباطه من أن إعلان النتيجة “قد يستغرق وقتاً”.
قال الرئيس الأمريكي السابق، دونالد ترامب، الثلاثاء، إنه لا يعتقد أنه يجب عليه إخبار أنصاره بعدم العنف إذا خسر الانتخابات الرئاسية، وأنهم يجب أن يقبلوا نتائج الانتخابات إذا خسر.
في ولاية ميشيغان الحاسمة التي تقطنها جالية مسلمة كبيرة، يتمتع حزب الخضر بنفوذ كبير في الانتخابات الحالية بسبب غضب عدد كبير من المسلمين من تعامل إدارة بايدن- هاريس مع حرب غزة
شارك المستشار محمود فوزي، وزير الشئون النيابية والقانونية والتواصل السياسي، الجلسة العامة لمجلس النواب، اليوم الموافق 5 نوفمبر، برئاسة المستشار الدكتور حنفي جبالي، رئيس مجلس النواب، وبحضور أحمد كجوك، وزير المالية، شريف الكيلاني، نائب وزير المالية.
وعرض أحمد كجوك، وزير المالية، بيان بشأن سياسات الوزارة في مواجهة التحديات الاقتصادية الراهنة، وخطط الوزارة بشأن تحسين إدارة المالية العامة للدولة، خفض الدين العام، رفع كفاءة التحصيل الضريبي، وزيادة الإيرادات التي توجه للارتقاء بمستوى الخدمات المقدمة للمواطنين، التزام الحكومة بزيادة الانفاق الموجه لتنمية الإنسان، وإصلاحات دعم القطاعات الحيوية، ودور الوزارة في تعزيز الاستدامة المالية.
كما تمت الموافقة النهائية على تقرير اللجنة المشتركة من لجنة الخطة والموازنة ومكتب لجنة الشئون الدستورية والتشريعية عن مشروع قانون مُقدم من الحكومة بتجديد العمل بالقانون رقم 79 لسنة 2016 في شأن إنهاء المنازعات الضريبية.
وتأتي هذه الخطوة في إطار السعي للحد من المنازعات الضريبية وتسريع وتيرة تسويتها، بهدف تخفيف الأعباء المالية على الممولين وتعزيز استقرار أوضاعهم ومراكزهم الضريبية والمالية، لا سيما في ظل الظروف الاقتصادية العالمية الراهنة. وتهدف السياسة الضريبية المقترحة إلى تحقيق التوازن بين حقوق الخزانة العامة وحقوق الممولين، مما يسهم في تعزيز الثقة بين الإدارة الضريبية والممولين، ودعم وتحفيز الإنتاج وزيادة الاستثمارات
وأكد المستشار محمود فوزي، أن تمديد العمل بقانون تسوية المنازعات الضريبية يمثل فرصة مهمة للممولين ينبغي استغلالها لغلق الملفات الضريبية القديمة، موضحًا أن فترة الستة أشهر التي ينص عليها القانون هي لتقديم الطلبات فقط وليست للفصل فيها. وهي فترة كافية جدا.
وقال “فوزي”، أن القانون يمد فترة العمل به حتى 30 يونيو 2025 بدلًا من 31 يناير 2025، وذلك نظرًا للحاجة إلى منح اللجان الفنية وقتًا كافيًا، لا يقل عن ثلاثة أشهر، للنظر في طلبات إنهاء المنازعات الضريبية والبت فيها.
وأكد أهمية استفادة الممولين من القانون وتجهيز ملفاتهم الضريبية قبل هذا الموعد.
كما تم استكمال مناقشة تقرير اللجنة المشتركة من لجنة الشئون الدستورية والتشريعية، ومكتب لجنة حقوق الإنسان، عن مشروع قانون الإجراءات الجنائية، والذي أعدته اللجنة الفرعية المنبثقة عن لجنة الشئون الدستورية والتشريعية، وانتهت الجلسة على أن تستكمل النقاشات في مشروع القانون من (حيث المبدأ) إلى الجلسة القادمة.
In a race against time, United States presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have traversed the nation’s swing states in a bid to woo undecided voters and bag crucial Electoral College votes that could decide the winner of the 2024 US election.
Even if both White House hopefuls secure their traditional blue (Democratic) and red (Republican) states, the Electoral College votes from those are unlikely to be enough for either candidate to reach the magic number of 270 needed to cross the threshold to victory.
This year, the seven closely watched swing states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and North Carolina.
Here’s a brief look at some of the key issues shaping the swing states and both candidates’ stance on them:
(Al Jazeera)
Arizona: Immigration
Since 1952, Arizona has voted Republican in all but one election (1996) before Joe Biden flipped it in 2020 for the Democrats.
This time, polls show Trump leading marginally.
Arizona is a border state, and many polls have shown immigration and border control as key issues for many of its residents. In a May poll by CBS News, for instance, 52 percent of the respondents said recently arrived immigrants from Mexico had worsened living conditions for them.
Here is how both candidates plan to tackle immigration and border security:
Harris on immigration
Vice President Harris believes the US immigration system is “broken” and in need of “comprehensive reform”. While she has pledged support for a border security bill that would increase detection technology to intercept drugs and has promised to add 1,500 border security agents, Harris has also promised an “earned pathway to citizenship” and an increase in the number of employment-based and family visas.
Trump on immigration
Overall, Trump blames immigrants for rising housing, education and healthcare costs.
Trump’s plans include deporting millions of undocumented migrants by force, sealing the border to stop the “migrant invasion” by using the military on the US-Mexico border, and constructing detention facilities.
The former president wants to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico until their immigration cases have been resolved. Trump also wants to end birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented parents.
The Republican candidate wants to impose ideological screening of immigrants but has proposed automatic green cards for foreign graduates of US universities.
Georgia: Cost of living
Traditionally a Republican stronghold, this southern state went Democratic in 2020 – but only just. The votes in Georgia were counted three times, including once by hand, but that did not stop Trump from controversially attempting to overturn the results.
This time, perceptions about the state of the economy could determine how Georgia votes. A September poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, in partnership with the UK newspaper, The Telegraph, found that 41 percent of Georgia’s voters viewed the economy as the single biggest issue for them.
How do both candidates propose to ease the burden of inflation – which is not yet down to pre-COVID-19 levels?
Harris on cost of living
Harris has promised to cut taxes for “more than 100 million working and middle-class Americans” by restoring Child Tax Credits and Earned Income Tax Credits. She has also pledged to increase Long-Term Capital Gains Tax from 20 percent to 28 percent, and the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent to pay for this.
In order to help lower the cost of living, the vice president has proposed a federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries.
Trump on cost of living
Trump has pledged to “end inflation” and significantly increase the Child Tax Credit while cutting government spending and bringing down the corporate tax rate to 15 percent.
Michigan: Israel’s war on Gaza
The state of Michigan was a key stop in Vice President Harris’s last stretch of campaigning and here is why: Harris wanted to make a last-ditch effort to win over the continent’s largest Arab-American community that has been angered by the Biden-Harris administration’s unequivocal support for Israel in its war on Gaza.
While pre-poll numbers show Harris with a slender lead in the state, Trump will hope that his “Muslim supporters” will help him win in Michigan.
More than 100,000 uncommitted voters in the state have declared that they will not endorse Harris or Trump and some may opt for the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, who has pledged to press for a ceasefire and halt weapons sales to Israel.
Harris on Gaza
While Harris has promised to work towards ending the war in Gaza, “allow Palestinians to realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination”, she has also backed Israel’s “right to defend itself” and has rejected an arms embargo on the US ally in the Middle East.
Trump on Gaza
Trump has not revealed specific details about what he would do on the issue of Gaza. However, during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July, Trump urged the Israeli leader to “get his victory” over Hamas. He said the killings in Gaza had to stop but that Netanyahu “knows what he’s doing”.
That rhetoric is in line with Trump’s actions during his first run as president. His government recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompting anger among Palestinians. He negotiated “normalisation” deals between Israel and several Arab nations under the Abraham Accords and he pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, which Israel also opposed.
However, he has also argued that he will push for peace – and get it.
Pennsylvania: Fracking
President Joe Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania offers 19 Electoral College votes, the most among battleground states – and could prove to be the state that determines who wins the election.
In recent days, Harris has gained ground there, according to Democratic strategist Anish Mohanty. “Things have changed in this election over the last few days and the vice president has pulled off her campaign effectively,” Mohanty told Al Jazeera shortly after polls opened on the East Coast. Mohanty alluded to racist remarks against Puerto Rico by a comedian at a Trump rally recently as a turning point for the campaign: Pennsylvania is home to more than 480,000 Puerto Ricans.
But in addition to concerns over political divisiveness, immigration, the state of the economy and abortion, Pennsylvanians are concerned about an issue specific to their state: Fracking.
Fracking is a form of oil and gas production that environmentalists say is bad for the environment but which is the source of a huge number of jobs around the state. The practice causes earth tremors and has a high environmental cost since the procedure consumes large amounts of water, in addition to releasing methane, a greenhouse gas.
An October poll found that the state’s residents are divided on fracking: 58 percent backed it, while 42 percent opposed it.
Harris on fracking
Harris famously opposed fracking when she ran for president four years ago but in late July, her campaign officials confirmed that she will not seek to ban fracking if elected.
Harris wrapped up her campaign with a final, glitzy event in Philadelphia, where iconic talk show host Oprah Winfrey introduced her.
The vice president called on “everyone” in Pennsylvania to vote.
“You are going to make the difference in this election,” she told her supporters.
Trump on fracking
Meanwhile, Trump supports fracking and has said he will once again withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will also remove environmental regulations, such as restrictions on fossil fuel production, deemed “burdensome”. He had withdrawn from the Paris pact during his first term – President Joe Biden had recommitted the US to the agreement when he came to power.
Wisconsin: Healthcare
Up until 2016, Wisconsin had been a reliably blue state for decades, but Trump was able to spring a surprise, beating Hillary Clinton by wooing mostly white, working-class voters who were unhappy about wages, poverty and rising healthcare costs.
Four years later, Biden was able to bring the state back into the Democratic Party’s fold.
This time, multiple opinion polls have suggested that healthcare is the most pressing issue for voters, in a state that has been badly affected by the country’s opioid crisis.
Harris on healthcare
Harris has said she will lower the cost of pharmaceutical drugs, strengthen the Affordable Care Act, and lower healthcare premiums. If elected, she will also work with states to cancel medical debt for more people, she has promised.
Trump on healthcare
On the other hand, Trump says he is “looking at alternatives” to the Affordable Care Act, which he calls too expensive.
Nevada: Unemployment
While Nevada has the fewest Electoral College votes – six – among the swing states, they could still be crucial in such a close race.
Nevada suffers from the highest unemployment rate among all US states – only Washington, DC has a higher joblessness rate – as well as high costs of living.
Harris on unemployment
Harris has promised to review which federal jobs require a college degree if elected president.
“We need to get in front of this idea that only high-skilled jobs require college degrees,” Harris said at a rally in October, promising she would tackle this on “day one” of her presidency.
Trump on unemployment
At his October rally in Nevada, Trump promised to tackle inflation, but in a more recent rally this month, did not address the issue of unemployment.
Al Jazeera’s John Holman, who attended Trump’s November rally in Nevada, noted that while Trump concentrated on migration, the primary concern for voters in Nevada is the economy.
“This is the state with the highest unemployment in the US. It’s been hit hard with inflation. Gas prices, in particular, are high, and it’s a state that has never completely recovered from the pandemic,” Holman said.
North Carolina: Abortion
North Carolina is the only one of this year’s swing states to have been won by Trump in 2020 and although Harris does not necessarily need to win North Carolina, any scenario in which she does will make her path to 270 a lot easier.
Trump can also get to 270 without North Carolina but doing so will be very difficult.
Abortion is a key issue in the state, according to polls. The state reduced the legal limit for abortions from 20 weeks of pregnancy to just 12 weeks in 2023 after the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade court ruling granting the right to abortion.
The ruling left the issue largely unresolved and turned the current election into a referendum on fundamental rights for women.
Democrats are hoping that the issue of abortion will motivate white women, who have historically favoured Republicans and 60 percent of whom voted for Trump in 2020, to now vote for Harris instead.
Harris on abortion
The vice president, hoping to become the first female president in the country’s history, has said she will prevent a national abortion ban from becoming law and will sign any bill passed by Congress that restores the legality of abortion nationwide.
Trump on abortion
Meanwhile, Trump has said abortion laws are for individual states to decide and said he will not sign a national abortion ban. However, he has not signalled that he would oppose states – like North Carolina – adopting restrictive measures against reproductive rights.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — It has been a rough few days for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. First, his 19th-ranked Tigers lost to Louisville on Saturday night, then he was told he couldn’t vote Tuesday at his polling place.
Swinney, whose given name is William, explained that the voting system had locked him out, saying a “William Swinney” had already voted last week. Swinney said it was his oldest son, Will, and not him.
“They done voted me out of the state,” Swinney said. “We’re 6-2 and 5-1 (in the Atlantic Coast Conference), man. They done shipped me off.”
Dabo Swinney had to complete a paper ballot and was told there will be a hearing on Friday to resolve the issue.
“I was trying to do my best and be a good citizen and go vote,” he said. “Sometimes doing your best ain’t good enough. You have to keep going though, keep figuring it out.”
