Today is the day. Election Day is finally here. After a brutally long primary season and a contentious leadup to the big event, Americans will go to the polls today to decide if President Donald Trump will see another four years in the West Wing or if he will be ousted in favor of his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.
A lot has happened in the 24 hours leading up to the dawning of the momentous day. Here are a few highlights.
No Rest for Trump: The president spent the last official day of his campaign hitting the road for a blitz of the areas that he needs to turn out for him. Trump started his day in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a state that is in a statistical dead heat in most polls. From there, he made stops for rallies in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Traverse City, Michigan, and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Trump ended the day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, coincidentally the same place that he ended his 2016 campaign. He was joined at this rally by Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen. Trump’s choice of rally locations is evidence that his camp is definitely trying to hold on to the Rust Belt states that brought them an unexpected victory in the 2016 election. Earlier in the day, Pence campaigned in Erie, Pennsylvania.
First lady Melania Trump also hit the trail on Monday, giving her fourth solo speech of the election season in Huntersville, North Carolina. The normally demure first lady held back no punches when she went after Biden and the Democrats while painting her husband as the law and order president. She also took the opportunity to slam the Democrats for trying to politicize the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden Brings Out the Star Power: The Biden camp was not shy about bringing out the star power to help to encourage voters to get out there today and cast their ballot. In the culmination of the day’s events, pop star Lady Gaga took to the stage at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh to deliver an exciting opening act for Biden’s final address of the campaign.
The event in Pittsburgh capped off a long day for Biden as his camp canvased all corners of Pennsylvania to try to wrap up the state’s 20 electoral votes. Many political pundits are pointing to the Keystone State as being the deciding factor in this hotly contested race.
In addition to Biden hitting Pittsburgh, his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, paid a visit to the Lehigh Valley in an attempt to get out the Latino vote. Harris finished the day in Philadelphia where she was joined on stage by musician John Legend. The Biden campaign weaved the Harris and Biden rallies together in a unique digital format.
The spouses were also out in full force on Monday. Dr. Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, also spent the day hitting strategic locations in Pennsylvania. Both Emhoff and Dr. Biden joined their spouses on stage at the end of the day, signaling the end of the official campaign season.
Before heading to Pennsylvania, Biden began his day with a drive-in rally in Cleveland, Ohio. This last-minute addition to his schedule demonstrated that his campaign manager still believes that the state is in play for them. Over the last few weeks, most pollsters were pegging Ohio as a Trump lean. Biden’s appearance is a strong indication that the Democrats believe that they have an outside shot at pulling off the win in the Buckeye State.
Early Vote Breaks Records: By the time early voting had wrapped up on late Monday, almost 100 million ballots had been cast. Worried Democrats are fretting that Tuesday’s in-person voting will favor Republicans. Voters in the Republican Party tend to wait until Election Day to cast their ballot. This could put a dent in the big gains that the Democrats seemingly achieved during the course of early voting. How all of this will play out is one of the biggest questions heading into the election night coverage.
Both Candidates Lawyer Up: America should not only be prepared to not know the winner of the election by the end of the day, but the country should also be ready for the results to drag on for days or possibly weeks. Both campaigns are lawyering up in anticipation of a heated battle that may end up in the courts.
Over the course of the last few weeks, a series of election disputes have already landed in the hands of judges. On Monday, a decision by a federal judge rejected a Republican-led challenge that was trying to invalidate more than 100,000 drive-through ballots cast in Harris County. This county is home to the Houston metropolitan area, a region rich in Democratic voters.
One thing is certain – no candidate will give up the fight easily as the vote tallies begin to stream in when the polls close tonight.
