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  • Central Michigan voters are deciding 2 open congressional seats in the fight for the US House

    Central Michigan voters are deciding 2 open congressional seats in the fight for the US House

    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.

    For Republicans, former news anchor and Trump administration immigration official Paul Junge is making his third bid for Congress after losing to the younger Kildee in 2022 by about 10 points.

    Junge appealed to voters over economic and immigration concerns. He also attacked Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet over national security and sought to tie her to a Chinese-based battery manufacturing company looking to build in Michigan that has been a target for Republicans.

    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.

    7th Congressional District

    In the 7th district in central Michigan, former state lawmakers Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. and Republican Tom Barrett have sought the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin.

    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:

    News outlets globally count on the AP for accurate U.S. election results. Since 1848, the AP has been calling races up and down the ballot. Support us. Donate to the AP.

    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.

  • As Trump, Harris woo Arab Americans, Michigan mayor readies to up pressure | US Election 2024 News

    As Trump, Harris woo Arab Americans, Michigan mayor readies to up pressure | US Election 2024 News

    Dearborn, Michigan – Abdullah Hammoud was pacing across his office, having an animated phone conversation about former President Bill Clinton’s claim that Hamas “forces” Israel to kill Palestinian civilians.

    By the time the mayor of the Detroit suburb of Dearborn sat down for an interview, he had shaken off the anger – at least on the surface.

    Hammoud, 34, appeared clear-eyed about the future of the city known as the capital of Arab America and the way forward for its bereaved community amid Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

    “There’s a blanket of grief that has just covered this community, and people are just trying to manage, obviously, amidst the entirety of the presidential election with the backdrop of a genocide, the war in Lebanon, the bombing in Yemen and so on,” Hammoud told Al Jazeera.

    Hammoud, one of the most prominent Arab American elected officials in the United States who served in the State Legislature as a Democrat, has not endorsed any of the candidates, urging residents to “vote their conscience” instead.

    In a close race, the tens of thousands of Arab voters in Dearborn – a city of 110,000 people – and across Michigan may prove crucial for the outcome of the election in the state and possibly the country.

    That’s not lost on the candidates: on Friday, Trump is expected to visit Dearborn, and Harris has met Hammoud previously during the campaign, but not in Dearborn.

    Hammoud stressed the need to come out and vote for the community to make its voice heard.

    “In this moment in time, what is more important than anything else is standing firm in our values and our principles and standing firm on the side of one another in the city,” he said.

    But for Hammoud, the struggle to end Israel’s killing machine in Gaza and Lebanon – the ancestral home of thousands of Dearborn residents, including the mayor himself – does not end when the polls close on November 5 and a new president is elected.

    “Whoever assumes that office, we’re prepared to hold their feet to the fire and hold them to account,” he said. “Everybody’s promising a ceasefire, but nobody’s saying how they’re going to deliver it.”

    ‘Pressure will be turned up’

    Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has said she would push for ending the war and her Republican rival Donald Trump has promised “peace” in the Middle East.

    But both the vice president and former president are staunch in their support for Israel.

    Hammoud noted that the two candidates have not articulated how they would deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has pledged repeatedly to continue the carnage until “total victory”.

    “But the pressure will be turned up from our end. And we’ll be leaning on the broader antiwar coalition that has been built – our union labour leaders, who have all stepped forward and called for not only a ceasefire, but also an arms embargo against Israel,” the mayor said.

    “Heck, even at this point, I’ll be leaning on young Republicans who favour an arms embargo.”

    For Hammoud, change is possible regardless of the outcome of the election. “The policy is there. Americans, by the millions, support this,” he said.

    “And what you’re not going to see is 50 million, 100 million Americans move on their values and principles. I think it’s feasible for us to believe that millions of Americans can move a single person in the White House on this issue.”

    Dressed in a blue blazer over a white shirt, Hammoud hit out at both major candidates over their stance on the Middle East as well as their approach to the Arab community in Michigan.

    In his office hung a map of Lebanon over a Yemeni dagger, a firefighter’s helmet, an American football with the Detroit Lions logo, the city’s seal – featuring an old car owing to the city’s manufacturing history as the hometown of industrial pioneer Henry Ford – as well as other items representing Dearborn’s history and diverse communities.

    ‘Policy outcomes aren’t dissimilar’

    Hammoud enumerated some of Trump’s anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian policies, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, cutting off humanitarian aid to Palestinians and recognising Israel’s claimed sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

    He also invoked Trump’s ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries as well as recent comments by the former president’s surrogate Rudy Giuliani, who proclaimed that Palestinians are “taught to kill us” at two years old.

    “But I think the difficulty is you want to counter Trump with something that seems to be more welcoming,” Hammoud said.

    “And so when you see the remarks of former President Bill Clinton, talking about how Israel is forced to kill civilians, and how the Israeli government’s claim to the land predates the existence of Islam, it gets extremely frustrating.”

    Clinton was addressing Arab American voters at an official Harris campaign event in Michigan when he made those comments this week.

    Earlier this month, Harris also campaigned in Michigan with ex-Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney – the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the architects of the invasion of Iraq and the so-called “war on terror”.

    “When you have surrogates like Liz Cheney campaigning across the state of Michigan, talking about how even Dick Cheney – the war criminal – is supporting Vice President Harris, is that supposed to be a welcoming message to this community?” Hammoud asked.

    He also noted that the Biden-Harris administration did not reverse Trump’s pro-Israel policies.

    “Yes, rhetoric may be different,” he said, referring to the approach of Harris and Trump. “Sometimes policy outcomes aren’t dissimilar, and I think that’s been the frustration for many.”

    ‘Hope exists’

    With the race for Michigan heating up, attention is turning to Dearborn, the country’s first Arab-majority city.

    Campaign billboards can be seen across the city. Residents are getting piles of advertisements in their mailboxes daily, focusing on Arab issues and Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

    But residents do not appear to match the enthusiasm of the campaign. The city’s Arab American community, especially its large Lebanese American population, is dealing with the anguish of watching the war that is destroying their homeland from afar.

    The conflict is deeply personal to them. Their families are being displaced, home villages decimated and loved ones killed by mostly US-supplied bombs. The community lost a respected leader, Kamel Jawad, who was killed in an Israeli bombing in south Lebanon on October 1.

    “We’re attending funerals far more frequently than celebratory events,” Hammoud said.

    Across the city, Lebanese and Palestinian flags and yard signs for school board candidates far outnumber those for Trump and Harris.

    Despite voters’ frustration and the growing sense of disenchantment with the political system, Hammoud warned against disengaging from the political process, calling it a “great fear”.

    The mayor highlighted the importance of elections, especially at the local level. He cited the election of officials like himself and other representatives, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who have amplified the community’s demands around the conflict.

    He said while people are struggling with the presidential question, “hope exists” on the ground.

    “There are rallies happening all across this world, and the centre of America has moved on Israel-Palestine, and the centre of the world has moved,” he said.

    “I think we are one generation away from having a generation of elected leaders who will be more reflective of the policy stances and the values and the principles of the broader electorate.”

  • Election 2024: Harris rallies across Michigan, promises ‘a new way forward’

    Election 2024: Harris rallies across Michigan, promises ‘a new way forward’

    EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Two days out from Election Day, Kamala Harris dashed through four stops across battleground Michigan on Sunday without uttering Donald Trump’s name, while urging voters not to fooled by the GOP nominee’s disparagement of the electoral system that he falsely claims is rigged against him.

    The vice president said she trusts the upcoming vote tally and urged voters, “in particular people who have not yet voted to not fall for this tactic, which I think includes suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote won’t matter.”

    Image

    Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

    Image

    Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Jenison Field House on the campus of Michigan State University, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

    At a Michigan State University rally, Harris got a rousing response when she asked who had already voted and then gave students another job – to encourage their friends to cast ballots in a state that allows Election Day voter registration.

    And instead of her usual speech riffs about Trump being unstable, unhinged and out for unchecked power, Harris sought to contrast her optimistic tone with the darker message of the Republican opponent she did not name.

    It was all in service of trying to boost her standing in one of the Democratic “blue wall” states in the Midwest considered her smoothest potential path to an Electoral College majority.

    “We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division,” she said in a oblique reference to Trump. “We are done with that. We are exhausted with that. America is ready for a fresh start, ready for a new way forward where we see our fellow American not as an enemy, but as a neighbor.”

    Harris also avoided direct mention of Trump during her 11-minute morning talk at Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ. But her comments nonetheless served as a clear juxtaposition with the Republican nominee.

    “There are those who seek to deepen division, sow hate, spread fear and cause chaos,” she said. She spoke at the same time Trump was in Pennsylvania declaring the U.S. a “failed nation” and saying that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after the 2020 election, which he denies losing to Democrat Joe Biden.

    As Trump referred to Harris’ party as “demonic,” Harris quoted the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah and told her friendly audience she saw ready to “chart a new way forward.”

    Addressing what was a largely student crowd in East Lansing, Harris promised to seek consensus.

    “I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy,” she said. “In fact, I’ll give them a seat at the table because that’s what strong leaders do.””

    That was enough for Alexis Plonka, a Michigan State junior who will be voting in her first presidential election. Plonka, who said she has family members who support Trump, applauded the vice president for not referencing the former president directly.

    “I think one of the things that turns people off from Trump a lot is the fact that he is so against people that don’t agree with him and that he’s not willing to work with them,” she said.

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    The approach reflects the wide net Harris has cast since taking the Democratic Party mantle in July after 81-year-old President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. Casting Trump as erratic and unfit for office, she has attracted supporters ranging from progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York to Republican former Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

    Still, Harris is looking to capitalize on core Democratic constituencies — including young voters like those she addressed at Michigan State — in part by emphasizing her support for abortion rights and Trump’s role in ending a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. One of the loudest cheers she received in East Lansing on Sunday evening came when she declared that government should not tell women what to do with their bodies.

    Speaking to reporters Sunday afternoon, Harris pushed back at Trump’s characterizations of U.S. elections, charges that the former president elevated again as he campaigned in Pennsylvania. Harris said his latest comments were “meant to distract from the fact that we have and support free and fair elections in our country.” Those “good systems” were in place in 2020, Harris said, and “he lost.”

    Image

    Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two as she departs Oakland County International Airport in Waterford Township, Mich., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, en route to Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

    Harris used her last Michigan swing to acknowledge progressives and members of the state’s significant population of Arab Americans who are angry at the Biden administration for its continuation of the U.S. alliance with Israel as the Netanyahu government presses its war against Hamas in Gaza.

    “I have been very clear that the level of death of innocent Palestinians is unconscionable,” Harris told reporters.

    In East Lansing, she addressed the issue soon after beginning her remarks: “As president I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination.”

    Some students in East Lansing voiced their opposition Sunday with audible calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. At least one attendee was escorted out after those cease-fire calls.

    After attending church in Detroit, Harris greeted customers and picked up lunch at Kuzzo’s Chicken and Waffles, where she had collard greens at the Detroit restaurant owned by former Detroit Lions player Ron Bartell, a Detroit native. Later, Harris stopped by Elam Barber Shop, a Black-owned business in Pontiac, where she took part in a moderated conversation with local leaders and Black men.

    As she returned to Detroit at the end of the day, Harris hopped on a Zoom call from the airport tarmac with “Win With Black Women,” the group that jumped into action for her on the night she first joined the race. Harris thanked the women for their organizing work and urged them to make one final push to “mobilize our Facebook groups, our family group chats and everyone we know” to turn out the vote.

    Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, is critical to Harris’ fortunes. Barack Obama swept the region in 2008 and 2012. But Trump flipped Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in 2016, prompting considerable criticism from Democrats who said nominee Hillary Clinton took the states for granted. Biden returned the three to the Democrats’ column in 2020.

    Losing any of the three would put pressure on Harris to notch victories among the four Sun Belt battleground states: North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

    ___

    Barrow reported from Washington.

    نوفمبر 5, 2024
  • Live Results: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington Primaries

    Live Results: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington Primaries

    Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington are up next with their primaries on Tuesday. Another dozen states will hold contests through September 10. See the calendar >>

    Note that in Washington, all candidates appear on a single ballot. The top two finishers advance to the general election. The election is also conducted entirely by mail.

    Use the links below for full results. Displayed are the poll closings converted to Eastern Time.

    * 7:00 PM local time. The vast majority of Kansas and Michigan are in the time zone closing at 8:00 PM Eastern.

    On this page, we’ll highlight some of the key races to watch, organized by office.

    U.S. Senate

    Michigan, Missouri, and Washington each have a Senate seat up this year. At this point, only Michigan looks to be competitive in the general election.

    Michigan

    Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow is retiring after four terms in office. Her party primary pits Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-07) against actor Hill Harper. Slotkin is a strong favorite to win the nomination.

    For the Republicans, a larger field early in the campaign has shrunk as several prominent names withdrew. One of those, Sandy Pensler, withdrew too late to be removed from the ballot. Of the other three active candidates, Former Rep. Mike Rogers (MI-08) is favored over former Rep. Justin Amash (MI-03) and physician Sherry O’Donnell.

    This article summarizes both primaries in a bit more detail.

    Missouri

    Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is unopposed for renomination. Most forecasters see him as likely to win a second term in November.

    Lucas Kunce, who leads a nonprofit, is favored to win the Democratic nomination. Kunce ran for the state’s other Senate seat in 2022. He finished second to Trudy Busch Valentine in a large primary field that year. 

    Washington

    Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell is favored to win a 5th term. She is joined by ten others on the all-party ballot, including five Republicans, three independents, and one Democrat. 

    Cantwell and Republican Raul Garcia are expected to advance to the general election. Garcia previously ran for governor in 2020, finishing fifth out of 36 (!!) candidates on the primary ballot that year. 

    U.S. House

    There are two incumbents at risk of losing their seats in Tuesday’s primaries.

    Missouri District 1 (Democratic)

    The pro-Israel groups that helped oust Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D, NY-16) are looking to do the same here with Rep. Cori Bush. Both are members of “The Squad” of far-left Democrats. Like Bowman, Bush has been a vocal critic of Israel’s prosecution of the war with Hamas.

    St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell has benefited from over $8 million in attack ads against Bush. The support has made this one of the most expensive House primaries in history. 

    Polling has been limited. A late July survey showed Bell with a 48% to 42% lead over Bush. The same pollster had it 43% to 42% for Bell a month earlier. Taken at face value, this indicates a competitive race perhaps moving toward Bell. However, some caution is warranted as the sponsor of the survey is supportive of Bell.

    Washington District 4

    Of the ten GOP House members that voted to impeach Donald Trump, only Reps. Dan Newhouse and David Valadao (CA-22) remain in Congress. 

    Newhouse has seven challengers on the primary ballot. The most notable are fellow Republicans Tiffany Smiley and Jerrod Sessler. Trump endorsed Sessler, a former NASCAR driver, early in the campaign.

    Smiley, a nurse, ran for Senate in 2022, losing to Democrat Patty Murray in the general election. She received a late endorsement from Trump.

    Given a split Democratic field in a strong GOP district, there’s a decent chance that two Republicans will advance to the general election. Whether the incumbent is one of them remains to be seen.

    The remainder of these House primaries are in alphabetical order by state and then district.

    Kansas District 2 (Republican)

    Rep. Jake LaTurner is not seeking a third term. He won by a 15% margin in 2022 and most forecasters see the general election as safely Republican.

    Endorsed by Donald Trump, former Attorney General Derek Schmidt is favored. Schmidt was the party’s nominee for governor in 2022, losing by 2% to incumbent Democrat, Laura Kelly.

    Michigan District 8 (Both)

    The retirement of six-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee has most forecasters rating this district a general election toss-up.

    Three candidates are seeking the Democratic nomination; state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet appears to be the frontrunner.

    The Republican field also numbers three. Paul Junge, who was the 8th district nominee in both 2020 and 2022, is expected to get a third opportunity to win the seat. Junge is a former TV news anchor and prosecutor.

    The nearby 7th district is the state’s other toss-up general election race. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin is running for Senate. Democrat Curtis Hertel and Republican Tom Barrett have no primary opposition.

    Michigan District 10 (Democratic)

    Open after Census redistricting, Republican Rep. John James won this district in 2022 by about 0.5% over Democrat Carl Marlinga. James is unopposed for renomination.

    Malinga is looking for a rematch, but must first get by three others on the primary ballot. 

    Missouri District 3 (Republican)

    Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer is retiring after eight terms. This is a safe GOP district; the incumbent won his final election by a 30% margin in 2022. There are seven candidates on the ballot, although state Rep. Justin Hicks has withdrawn from the race.

    The nominee is expected to be either Bob Onder or Kurt Schaefer, both former state Senators. Onder has been endorsed by Donald Trump.

    Washington District 3

    One of the closest general election races in 2022 occurred here. Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez flipped the district, besting Republican Joe Kent by less than 1%. 

    Kent had finished second in the top-two primary that year, ousting incumbent Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler.

    This primary is expected to result in a general election rematch in November.

    Washington District 5

    Incumbent Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is not seeking reelection. Eleven candidates are looking to succeed her. Per The Cook Political Report ($), “Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner is the only candidate with an almost guaranteed ticket to November. He’s been up on TV since mid-June with a series of ads touting his conservative record in the state senate, and has a $500,000 fundraising lead over his nearest competitor.”

    Second place could go to a Democrat or another Republican. Either way, the seat is expected to remain in GOP hands after the November election.

    Washington District 6

    Incumbent Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer is not seeking reelection. There are five candidates on the ballot. Three appear to be competitive: state Sen Emily Randall (D), Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz (D) and state Sen. Drew MacEwan (R). 

    The top two finishers could be both Democrats or one of the Democrats and MacEwan. Either way, the seat is expected to be won by Democrats in November.

    Governor

    Missouri

    Republican Mike Parson is ineligible to run due to term-limit laws. The winner of the GOP primary will be favored to succeed him in November.

    There are nine candidates on that ballot. Polling indicates a very tight race between Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe. Also seeing significant support is state Sen. Bill Eigel.

    All three of these candidates have been endorsed by Donald Trump.

    For the Democrats, most of the establishment support is behind House Minority Leader Crystal Quade. However, businessman Mike Hamra has raised more money, largely due to his ability to self-fund.

    The only recent public poll ($) showed Hamra leading 23% to 21%. That is well within the margin of error, and may not ultimately be all that predictive given nearly half of those polled were still undecided.

    Washington

    Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee is not seeking a 4th term. A massive field of nearly 30 candidates is looking to succeed him. However, all signs point to Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) and former Rep. Dave Reichert (R, WA-08) advancing to the general election.

    Although Washington hasn’t elected a Republican governor since 1980, the general election between these two is shaping up to be at least somewhat competitive. 

    Upcoming Elections and Events

    Down-ballot primaries will continue through early September. The remaining ones are listed below, along with other contests we’ll be tracking during that period.

    • August 10

      • Hawaii Primary

      • Honolulu Mayor (Primary)

    • August 13

      • Connecticut Primary

      • Minnesota Primary

      • Vermont Primary

      • Wisconsin Primary

      • Wisconsin U.S. House District 8 Special Primary

      • Minnesota State Senate District 45 Special Primary

    • August 19-22

      • Democratic National Convention

    • August 20

      • Alaska Top-Four Primary

      • Florida Primary

      • Wyoming Primary

    • August 27

    • September 3

    • September 10

      • Delaware Primary

      • New Hampshire Primary

      • Rhode Island Primary

  • Trump slams media in Pennsylvania as Harris stumps in Michigan | US Election 2024 News

    Trump slams media in Pennsylvania as Harris stumps in Michigan | US Election 2024 News

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has given a profane and conspiracy-laden speech two days before the presidential election, as his Democratic rival Kamala Harris spoke at a historically Black church in the battleground state of Michigan.

    Opinion polls show the pair locked in a tight race, with Vice President Harris, 60, bolstered by strong support among women voters while former President Trump, 78, gains ground with Hispanic voters, especially men.

    In remarks on Sunday that bore no resemblance to his standard speech in the campaign’s closing stretch, Trump spoke about reporters being shot and suggested he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden.

    The former president also resurrected old grievances about being prosecuted after trying to overturn his defeat four years ago.

    Trump intensified his verbal attacks against a “grossly incompetent” national leadership and the American media, steering his Pennsylvania rally at one point onto the topic of violence against members of the press.

    In a meandering 90-minute rally speech two days before Tuesday’s US presidential election, Trump noted gaps in the glass panes around him.

    The former president has survived two attempted assassinations this year, including being grazed in the ear by a gunman’s bullet during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

    Surveying the gaps, Trump said: “To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news and I don’t mind that so much.”

    Unrestrained rhetoric

    His rhetoric has become increasingly unrestrained in the campaign‘s final weeks.

    Arizona’s top prosecutor on Friday opened an investigation after Trump suggested prominent Republican critic and former congresswoman Liz Cheney should face gunfire in combat.

    He said Cheney would not be willing to support foreign wars if she had “nine barrels shooting at her”.

    Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung issued a statement after the media remarks on Sunday, saying Trump was looking out for the media’s safety.

    “The president’s statement about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the media being harmed or anything else. It was about threats against him that were spurred on by dangerous rhetoric from Democrats,” the statement said.

    Trump spent a considerable amount of his speech attacking the news media at the rally, at one point gesturing to TV cameras and saying, “ABC, it’s ABC, fake news, CBS, ABC, NBC. These are, these are, in my opinion, in my opinion, these are seriously corrupt people.”

    Harris in Michigan

    Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, meanwhile, told a Michigan church congregation on Sunday that God offers America a “divine plan strong enough to heal division”.

    The two candidates offered starkly different tones with the campaign almost at an end, as Harris said voters can reject “chaos, fear and hate”.

    She concentrated on Michigan, beginning the day with a few hundred parishioners at Detroit’s Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ. It marked the fourth consecutive Sunday that Harris, who is Baptist, has spoken to a Black congregation, reflecting how critical Black voters are across multiple battleground states.

    “I see faith in action in remarkable ways,” she said in remarks that quoted the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. “I see a nation determined to turn the page on hate and division and chart a new way forward. As I travel, I see Americans from so-called red states and so-called blue states who are ready to bend the arc of history toward justice.”

    She never mentioned Trump, though she’s certain to return to her more conventional partisan speech in stops later Sunday. But Harris did tell her friendly audience that “there are those who seek to deepen division, sow hate, spread fear and cause chaos.”

    The election and “this moment in our nation,” she continued, “has to be about so much more than partisan politics. It must be about the good work we can do together.”

    After her Detroit appearance, Harris was due to head to East Lansing, Michigan, a college town in an industrial state that is viewed as a must-win for the Democrat.

    Trump was due to speak in Kinston, North Carolina, before ending his day with an evening rally in Macon, Georgia.

    Of the seven US states seen as competitive, Georgia and North Carolina are the second-biggest prizes up for grabs on Tuesday, with each holding 16 of the 270 votes a candidate needs to win in the state-by-state Electoral College to secure the presidency. Pennsylvania is first with 19 electors.

  • The Take: Who will get the Arab American vote in Michigan? | US Election 2024 News

    The Take: Who will get the Arab American vote in Michigan? | US Election 2024 News

    Podcast, The Take

    In the crucial swing state of Michigan, the Arab and Muslim community is divided over who to vote for.

    Arab and Muslim Americans in the state of Michigan are grappling with a critical choice this election. Nearly 400,000 Arab Americans in the state were instrumental in delivering Michigan to elect Joe Biden in 2020. This time, however, many feel betrayed by his administration’s support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon. With candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris running neck and neck in Michigan, what stance will these voters take?

    In this episode:

    Episode credits:

    This episode was produced by Tamara Khandaker and Sarí el-Khalili, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, Cole van Miltenburg, and our host, Malika Bilal. 

    The Take production team is Marcos Bartolomé, Sonia Bhagat, Sarí el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Chloe K. Li, Ashish Malhotra, Khaled Soltan, and Amy Walters. Our editorial interns are Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, and Cole van Miltenburg. Our host is Malika Bilal. 

    Our engagement producers are Munera Al Dosari, Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement.

    Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

    Connect with us:

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