By James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. presidential race unlike any before it is coming down to the wire.
With less than three weeks to go, the 2024 contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is neck and neck in the seven battleground states that will decide the Nov. 5 election, according to opinion polls.
Trump, a Republican, and Harris, a Democrat, are expected to visit those states repeatedly in the final stretch of the race while their campaigns and affiliated groups bombard TV and websites with ads. Early voting has begun in several states, including the swing states of Georgia and North Carolina.
The run-up to November has been a roller-coaster. Trump, 78, has faced two assassination attempts and became the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime.
Harris, 59, ascended to the top of the ticket when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July after a faltering debate performance against Trump sparked concerns about his mental acuity.
Harris’ candidacy re-energized the Democratic Party, sparking a surge in fundraising and enthusiasm from groups such as young voters, women and voters of color. If elected, Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and a South Asian mother, would be the first woman and second person of color to serve as U.S. president.
Harris was widely seen to have bested Trump in their combative Sept. 10 debate, putting him on the defensive with a stream of attacks about his fitness for office and myriad legal woes.
Trump, who served as president from 2017-2021, continues to have an advantage on the economy, a top voter concern. He also has maintained support among voters who prioritize a secure U.S. border with Mexico.
Trump survived an attempt on his life during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman’s bullet grazed his ear. He was targeted a second time by an alleged assassin in September while playing golf on his private Florida course. The gunman was apprehended before any shots were fired.
In May, Trump was found guilty in New York on 34 felony counts relating to a scheme to cover up an alleged affair with a porn star. He is due to be sentenced after the election.
Both candidates tapped vice presidential running mates with military service and Midwestern roots. Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a former member of Congress, and Trump choose U.S. Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Trump has refused to say he would abide by this year’s election results, and he continues to falsely claim that Biden’s victory over him in the 2020 election was fraudulent. His allies are laying the groundwork for a significant poll-watching effort and potential post-election legal challenges.
WHAT IS HARRIS’ MAIN ELECTORAL ARGUMENT?
Harris has tried to draw sharp contrasts with Trump, positioning herself as a next-generation leader with an eye toward the future while casting him as an agent of “chaos.”
On policy, she has largely stuck with Biden on issues such as the economy, the Gaza conflict, immigration and abortion rights.
The vice president has put forward proposals that would cut taxes for a large swath of voters and pledged new investments in child care and healthcare. Polls show she has gained some ground on Trump on the economy.
However, inflation continues to be a sticking point after peaking in 2022. While the inflation rate has since eased, voters remain concerned about high prices for food and housing.
WHAT IS TRUMP’S MAIN ELECTORAL ARGUMENT?
Trump and his campaign contend Americans were better off economically while he was in the White House.
Trump has made tariffs and tax cuts the key elements of his economic pitch to voters. He has said he would cut federal spending, which Republicans blame for triggering consumer price spikes, and trim back federal regulations.
Trump also has said he would revive stricter immigration policies from his time in office to stem the record flow of migrants into the U.S. from Mexico, and would conduct mass deportations.
On foreign policy, Trump embraces what he calls an “America First” agenda that seeks to avoid international entanglements.
WHERE DO HARRIS AND TRUMP STAND ON ABORTION?
Democrats have made abortion rights central to their 2024 campaign, two years after the Supreme Court – powered by a conservative majority that Trump installed – overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and ruled that abortion was not constitutionally protected.
Opinion polls show most Americans do not favor strict limits on reproductive rights, and Democrats are hoping threats to those rights will encourage millions of women and independents to vote their way this year.
Harris has argued for federal legislation that would restore the constitutional right to abortion.
Trump has said the matter should be left to individual states and that he does not support a national ban on the procedure. He supports exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother and has said he would not block access to abortion medication. He has also expressed support for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which some anti-abortion proponents want to ban.
BORDER SECURITY
Since 2021, the Biden administration has grappled with record numbers of migrants caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Biden sent Harris to serve as a liaison between the United States and Central American nations that served as origin points for migration to the border. Trump and Republicans have attempted to cast her as a “border czar,” but she was never tasked with overseeing border-security efforts.
In June, Biden implemented a new series of security measures that permit the government to quickly deport or turn back migrants who enter the country illegally without allowing them to claim asylum.
The measures bore resemblance to Trump-era policies, prompting criticism from liberals. But they have resulted in dramatically fewer border crossings.
THE ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT
Biden and Harris have been heavily criticized by many Democrats for their steadfast support of Israel in its yearlong conflict with Hamas.
The Biden administration has called for the Israeli government to temper its assault on Gaza, where more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials in the enclave. However, at the same time the Biden administration continues to supply Israel with military munitions.
Harris backs efforts to reach a ceasefire deal that would end the hostilities in exchange for a return of hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures. But those efforts have been complicated by the expansion of the conflict into Lebanon.
Trump and Republicans also back Israel and have accused pro-Palestinian protesters of being antisemitic. But Trump has urged Israel to “finish up” the war or risk losing global support.
WHERE DO BIDEN AND TRUMP STAND ON CHINA?
The Biden administration has said it wants to “de-risk” and not “de-couple” its relationship with China and work to keep the competition between the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 economic powers from escalating into conflict.
Even so, the White House in September imposed more tariffs on Chinese goods such as steel and aluminum products and electric vehicle batteries.
While some Republicans view China as a national security threat, Trump largely has characterized the Asian giant as an economic rival and has vowed to restrict Chinese imports.
WHERE DO THEY STAND ON UKRAINE?
Biden and Harris have been advocates of providing weapons and other assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia, while Trump has repeatedly expressed doubts about whether such aid is in the U.S. national interest.
At the September debate with Harris, Trump declined to say whether Ukraine should win the war and has since suggested it should have capitulated to Russia to prevent the invasion.
WHAT ARE THE KEY STATES IN THE 2024 ELECTION?
Because many states vote dependably for Democrats or Republicans in presidential elections, the outcome usually rests on a handful of states where the election is truly competitive.
Polls show Trump and Harris are tightly matched in the seven swing states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the biggest battleground prize.
For 2024 U.S. election stories, results and data, click here.
(Reporting by James Oliphant; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson and Heather Timmons; Editing by Ross Colvin, Colleen Jenkins and Jonathan Oatis)
