Election Day is next Tuesday, and the presidential candidates are making their final push for votes with a focus on seven battleground states. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have their schedules full of campaign stops this week.
Voting has already started around the country and on Monday, President Joe Biden cast his ballot in Delaware, per CNN.
The seven key battleground states that have become the focus of both campaigns are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to CNN.
It is in these states that Trump and Harris will spend most of their time this week.
Trump and Harris’ schedules for the week
Monday
On Monday, Harris will be in Michigan, for a rally in Ann Arbor with running mate Gov. Tim Walz, per USA Today.
The rally will also feature a performance from songwriter Maggie Rogers.
Before the rally, Harris will visit Saginaw and Macomb in Michigan, while Walz visits Minitowoc and Waukesha in Wisconsin according to CNN.
Trump has at least one rally scheduled every day this week, the first of which will be in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, per his campaign website.
His running mate Sen. JD Vance will be speaking on Monday at campaign events in Wausau and Racine, Wisconsin.
Tuesday
On Tuesday the vice president will return to Washington, D.C., to deliver a speech, which has been dubbed her “closing argument.” It will be broadcast nationally from the Ellipse, per Newsweek.
Walz will spend Tuesday visiting Savannah and Columbus, Georgia, per CNN.
According to Trump’s campaign website, the former president will hold a rally on Tuesday in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Vance will be making two stops in Michigan, visiting Saginaw and Holland.
Wednesday
Harris will be visiting three different states on Wednesday, making stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, per CNN.
On Wednesday night, Harris will be at a “When We Vote We Win” concert and rally in Madison, Wisconsin. She will be joined by performers Gracie Abrams, Remi Wolf, Mumford and Sons and two members of The National, per Billboard.
According to CNN, Walz will be making campaign stops on Wednesday in Charlotte, Greensboro and Asheville, North Carolina.
Trump will be holding two rallies on Wednesday, the first in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, per his campaign website.
Later in the day, Trump will be joined by Brett Favre for a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Thursday
On Thursday, Harris will head west for an event in Arizona followed by two in Nevada, per CNN.
She will be joined by Mexican bands Maná and Los Tigres del Norte in Las Vegas and Phoenix, to help focus on boosting Latino turnout, according to Newsweek.
According to Newsweek, Walz will be making stops in Harrisburg, Erie and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as Detroit, Michigan, on Thursday.
Trump’s rally on Thursday will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, per his campaign website.
Friday
On Friday, Trump will be at a rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to his campaign website.
The Harris-Walz campaign is yet to announce campaign stops or events for the candidates on Friday or Saturday.
Saturday
Trump’s last rally of the week is in Salem, Virginia, on Saturday, per his campaign website.
Background on the 7 key battleground states
Arizona
There are two voting groups which will decide who wins Arizona, according to CNN.
Latino voters make up nearly one-third of the state’s population and right-leaning independent voters in Maricopa County who in the past voted Republican.
Georgia
“The state took center stage in 2020, flipping blue for the first time in nearly 30 years. Georgia is now back in play after it looked to be lost to Democrats with President Joe Biden leading the ticket,” according to CNN.
The key counties in Georgia are those around the metro Atlanta area such as Cobb, Dekalb, Gwinnett and Fulton.
Michigan
In 2020, Biden won Michigan by almost 3 percentage points, but Trump won the state in 2016, according to CNN.
According to CNN, Harris might have a harder time winning the state because of union voters and the state’s Muslim and Arab American communities who have expressed dissatisfaction with the Democrats’ response to the war in Gaza.
Trump has been appealing to Black and Latino men during his campaign.
North Carolina
“This state stands squarely in the middle of the path to the White House for both Harris and Trump. North Carolina is one of the most evenly divided in the country,” per CNN.
Obama won the state in 2008 and Republicans have won it by a narrow margin ever since.
Pennsylvania
According to CNN, the most crucial battleground state of the 2024 election is Pennsylvania, with Harris and Trump both focused on winning the state’s 19 electoral votes.
Trump won the state in 2016 but Biden flipped it in 2020.
Wisconsin
Out of the last six presidential elections, Wisconsin has been decided by less than 1 percentage point in four of them, according to CNN.
Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 and Biden flipped the state in 2020, winning by 0.6 percentage points.