Donald Trump surged in five of the seven key battleground states where the election will be decided.
Over the course of September polling averages monitored by FiveThirtyEight showed him gaining ground on Kamala Harris in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, while North Carolina saw no change and Harris rose in Nevada.
On Thursday, Harris will be joined by Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican critics, on the campaign trail in Wisconsin. Trump will be in Michigan.
Follow all the latest election developments with DailyMail.com
Donald Trump saw September surge in five crucial states while Kamala Harris rose in one
Donald Trump improved in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin over the course of September, according to FiveThirtyEight polling averages.
Meanwhile, Kamala Harris improved in Nevada.
Together, the seven states are the key battlegrounds in the November 5 election.
Polling averages showed Trump overtaking Harris in Georgia and Arizona.
The Democratic nominee’s lead was cut in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump maintained his lead in North Carolina, while Harris increased her lead in Nevada.
Twist in trial of Trump would-be assassin Ryan Routh in Florida
The trial for Donald Trump gunman Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is taking a dramatic twist.
Prosecutors requested an ‘indefinite delay’ in the trial as they comb through ‘thousands of videos’ and ‘4 million gigabytes’ of text and audio files.
They also said they’ve executed 13 search warrants and have seized ‘hundreds of items of evidence’ including electronic devices.
His trial has been set to begin on November 18, but it could be delayed once the judge makes a determination.
Routh pleaded not guilty to several charges, including attempted assassination of the former president earlier this week.
Bruce Springsteen endorses Kamala Harris for President
Superstar musician Bruce Springsteen offered a full-hearted endorsement of the vice president in the 2024 presidential election.
‘I’m supporting Kamala Harris for President and Tim Walz for Vice President and opposing Donald Trump and J.D. Vance,’ Springsteen said.
Springsteen called Trump ‘the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.’
He also slammed the Republican nominee for his ‘distain for the sanctity of our constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity of the peaceful transfer of power’ and argued it should disqualify him from the office of president.
‘The Boss’ announced his endorsement in a video post on Instagram, calling it the ‘most important of elections’ and one of the most ‘consequential’ in U.S. history.
Springsteen said ‘America is the most powerful nation on earth’ not just because of military or economic power but ‘because of what she stands for, what she means, what she believes in: freedom, social justice equal opportunity, the right to be and love who you want.’
He praised Harris and Walz of having a vision for the country that ‘respects and includes everyone’ and claimed they want to grow the economy in a way that ‘benefits all.’
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge excoriated a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
District Judge Matthew Barrett told former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters that she never took her job seriously.
The judge said: ‘I am convinced you would do it all over again if you could. You’re as defiant as any defendant this court has ever seen. You are no hero. You abused your position and you’re a charlatan.’
Jurors found Peters guilty in August for allowing a man to misuse a security card to access to the Mesa County election system and for being deceptive about that person’s identity.
At trial, prosecutors said Peters, a Republican, was seeking fame and became ‘fixated’ on voting problems after becoming involved with those who had questioned the accuracy of the presidential election results.
Firefighters union decides not to endorse candidate delivering Kamala Harris snub
The International Association of Firefighters is not endorsing a presidential candidate this cycle.
It’s a major snub to Kamala Harris as the IAFF was the first labor union to endorse Joe Biden in 2020.
Tim Walz and J.D. Vance both made their pitches to the union, to no avail.
The union said in a statement that the decision ‘is the best way to preserve and strengthen our unity.’
It comes weeks after the powerful Teamsters union elected not to endorse either candidate, in a stunning blow to Harris.
The move came after Teamsters boss Sean O’Brien spoke to the Republican national convention, and days after Harris met with union leaders.
A letter from the union’s executive board reveals there was a split in the membership, and that there was erosion in support for the Democrat when Joe Biden stepped back in July.
A whopping $485 MILLION is set to be spent on ads in the presidential race
Roughly $485 million is set to be spent on ads in the presidential race between Friday and Election Day just over one month away.
That’s according to the latest tracking by AdImpact.
It includes more than $300 million by Democrats and $184 million by Republicans.
The Senate ad spending is also going ot be husge with $228 million being spent by each Democrats and Republicans to total $456 million.
House race ad reservations for the final month have reached more than $457 million.
Lawmaker issues dire warning after five Chinese nationals spied on Michigan military base
By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com
U.S. colleges must immediately stop their partnerships with China, a lawmaker is warning after a sinister ‘military base spy plot’ involving students was exposed.
The leader of the House China Committee Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., has been warning of China‘s growing operations within the U.S., and particularly Michigan, for months.
On Wednesday, his warnings came to a head when the FBI announced charges against five Chinese University of Michigan graduates who were discovered with cameras on a military base during a live-fire exercise with U.S. and Taiwanese forces.
Even more surprising is that the graduates, who were caught in August 2023 but were just charged, are not in the FBI’s custody.
In fact, the FBI’s Tuesday court filing does not indicate where the men are, or if authorities know where to find them.
Now Moolenaar is issuing the stunning warning that U.S. colleges must ‘shut down’ their joint efforts with Chinese universities immediately.
Biden’s massive bid to forgive $147 billion in student loans gets a sudden lifeline after string of defeats
A federal judge delivered a victory for President Joe Biden by allowing his administration to move forward with its plan to cancel student loan debt for more than 25 million Americans.
U.S. District Judge Randal Hall in Georgia, who was appointed by former Republican former President George W. Bush, allowed a temporary restraining order against the sweeping program to expire just weeks before the November election.
The plan would forgive loan debt for four types of student loan borrowers including those who have more debt than they originally took out, those who have been in repayment for more than twenty years, those from schools with little financial value, and borrowers who qualified for other programs but had yet to apply.
John Bolton reassessing whether to write in Dick Cheney’s name after former VP backs Kamala Harris
John Bolton says he is thinking again about writing in Dick Cheney’s name in the election after the former Republican Vice President announced he will be voting for Kamala Harris.
Bolton told CNN: It’s caused me to reassess whether to vote for Dick. I’m looking to vote for a conservative Republican, and I certainly think Dick is a conservative Republican. If he were to win, you know, not much chance of that, I suppose, I don’t think he’d put Kamala Harris in his Cabinet.
Liz Cheney, the daughter of the former Vice President, has also endorsed Harris.
Both Cheneys have condemned Donald Trump.
Bolton was Trump’s national security adviser but split with him.
He said: I am not going to vote for either Harris or Trump. Neither one are qualified to be president.
Liz Cheney will campaign with Kamala Harris today
Former Rep. Liz Cheney will hit the campaign trail Thursday with Vice President Kamala Harris four years after calling her a ‘radical leftist.’
When Harris was picked to be President Joe Biden ‘s VP, Cheney blasted the choice saying the then-California senator had a ‘more liberal voting record than Bernie Sanders & Elizabeth Warren .’
Cheney warned that Harris’ liberal positions on abortion, immigration and healthcare ‘would be devastating for America,’ in a tweet from August 2020.
First anniversary of Kevin McCarthy’s ouster
By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com
Ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from power in a historic first a year ago today.
The dramatic saga began when Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz cast a motion to vacate the speakership on October 2, 2023.
One day later the House voted and eight Republicans, including Gaetz, sided with all the Democrats to boot McCarthy from the role.
It set up weeks of turmoil as the House GOP struggled to decide upon a successor.
Eventually, they decided upon Mike Johnson, who has been in the role since late October of last year, meaning his tenure has been much longer than that of McCarthy.
Trump heads to critical swing state of Michigan for a rally
Breaking:Oil prices spike 5 percent after Joe Biden comments on Middle East
President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House that he was s ‘discussing’ possible Israeli strikes on Iranian oil.
When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, Biden said ‘We’re discussing that. I think that would be a little…anyway.’
Oil prices jumped five percent over concerns about the Middle East after Biden spoke.
Biden said he was not expecting Israel to launch any retaliation for Tehran’s missile barrage on Tel Aviv before Thursday at least.
A rise in oil prices could be hugely damaging for Biden’s Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican former president Donald Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue.
‘First of all, we don’t ‘allow’ Israel, we advise Israel. And there is nothing going to happen today,’ Biden also told reporters when asked if he would allow Israel to retaliate against Iran.
Biden said on Wednesday that he would not back Israel attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran launched around 200 rockets in a direct missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, prompting Netanyahu to warn that Tehran would pay.
Gov. DeSantis makes it easier to vote in districts ravaged by Hurricane Helene
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a new executive order Thursday to make it easier for Americans displaced by Hurricane Helene to vote in the election.
Specifically, it will allow election supervisors flexibility with early voting, poll workers, drop boxes and vote-by-mail in the 13 counties impacted by the major storm.
This will ensure that residents who were impacted by the storm and displaced still have the ability to vote.
Biden blasted for running out of money for Hurricane Helene after blowing billions on migrants
By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com
The disaster response agency FEMA is out of money to help Americans in distress after Hurricane Helene despite blowing billions on illegal migrants.
Over the last two years, FEMA has been given over one billion taxpayer dollars to specifically support illegal migrants with housing.
But now money is coming up short for American citizens in need after over 150,000 households impacted by Hurricane Helene have reached out to the federal government for assistance.
‘FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season,’ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas shockingly admitted Wednesday.
And that is triggering lawmakers who are baffled after the taxpayer-funded agency pumped billions into nonprofits supporting illegal migrants.
Biden: You’re ‘brain dead’ if you don’t think Hurricane Helene was caused by climate change
President Joe Biden berated climate change science skeptics on Wednesday, during a visit to survey the storm damage from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.
The president toured both South Carolina and North Carolina, traveling aboard his Marine One helicopter to view the historic flooding and devastation, six days after the storm first made landfall in Florida.
Over 160 people are now confirmed dead in six states as historic rainfall from the hurricane flooded entire towns, washed away homes, damaged many of the highways, and devastated the region.
‘Nobody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore. At least I hope they don’t,’ he said. ‘They must be brain dead if they do.’
Biden blamed climate change for fueling the strength of hurricanes like Helene.
‘Scientists report that with warming oceans powering more intense rains, storms like Helene are getting stronger and stronger,’ he said. ‘Today in North Carolina I saw the impacts of that fury.’
The president described the storm as a ‘storm literally of historic proportions’ and promised continued federal aid to help victims of the storms.
Congressional Task Force on Trump assassination announces ATF review
By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com
The Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump has requested additional information from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, according to a new statement.
Chairman Mike Kelly and the top Democrat Jason Crow have requested a trove of documents from the ATF which was present at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on July 13.
‘The ATF provided ‘critical incident’ response functions on July 13 at both the Butler, Pa. rally site, and the home of Matthew Crooks,’ the Task Force letter states.
They requested the ATF turn over documents by September 15.
Five key takeaways from Jack Smith’s filing on Trump election interference claims
Special Counsel Jack Smith submitted a new filing against Donald Trump on Wednesday as part of his allegedly fraudulent activity in the 2020 election.
The case against Trump – who resided in the White House between 2017 and 2021 – accuses him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
Prosecutors allege that he pressured officials to reverse the results and knowingly spread lies about election fraud while using the events of 6 January 2021 – when a riot occurred in the Capitol – in an attempt to stay in power.
Trump has responded by repeating false claims that the 2020 vote was ‘rigged’, while suggesting that the timing of the filing’s release was designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign.
Following the filing, MailOnline takes a look at some of the key claims that emerged from the evidence given by Smith.
Biden says they’re ‘making progress’ on dockworkers’ strike
President Joe Biden sounded optimistic Thursday that negotiators could bring the dockworkers strike to a close.
‘I think we’re making progress,’ the president told reporters as he exited the White House for travel to survey Hurricane Helene damage in Georgia and Florida.
When asked how much progress the 81-year-old replied, ‘We’ll find out soon.’
He played coy when asked what steps he was considering.
‘I’ll tell them before I tell you,’ Biden said.
Trump supporters brawl ahead of rally in Saginaw, Michigan
Melania Trump finally explains the ‘I really don’t care’ jacket
Former First Lady Melania Trump is finally addressing her controversial and highly criticized decision to wear an ‘I really don’t care’ jacket while touring a migrant detention center in 2018.
In her explosive new memoir, she claims she forced her husband Donald to drop his hardline immigration policy of separating children from their parents at the border under the administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy.
But when on a surprise visit to survey a migrant detention center in June 2018, she caused a frenzy when she wore a jacket with the message ‘I really don’t care. Do U?’
It caused an avalanche of criticism as she left the world guessing what she meant by making such a bold statement.
She addresses the controversial attire in her tell-all book coming out next Tuesday.
Pundits react to Melania separating from Donald on abortion
Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson backs Harris and calls for fellow Republicans to ‘salvage’ the party
Former Mark Meadows chief of staff in the Trump White House Cassidy Hutchinson said she is voting for Kamala Harris and called on other Republicans to publicly take on Trump.
‘I am really, really proud, as a conservative, to have the opportunity to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in this election,’ she told MSNBC.
She said on ‘Morning Joe’ she didn’t know ‘why so many Republicans are cloaking themselves in cowardice.’
She praised former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who is campaigning with Harris today who she said were trying to ‘salvage what’s left of the party, but we need more people to step forward.’
Hucthinson was a witness during the hearings conducted by the January 6 select committee.
Her controversial testimony included the claims that Donald Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent and tried to grab the wheel of his presidential limo to drive to the Capitol while the rioters caused mayhem.
Her allegations have since been disputed.
Speaker Mike Johnson to tour Hurricane Helene damage in Florida
By Jon Michael Raasch, U.S. Political Reporter for DailyMail.com
Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to examine the fallout from Hurricane Helene Thursday.
The Republican speaker will be joined by GOP Reps. Cat Cammack and Neal Dunn during a tour in Steinhatchee, Florida.
Earlier this week Johnson told a group of investors at the NYSE that Congress ‘will have to address’ the historic storm.
The hurricane has caused 180 deaths across the southeast, making it the deadliest hurricane in the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina.
American father-of-our killed during Israeli strikes on Lebanon was helping care for his elderly mother
An American father-of-four has been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, US officials have confirmed.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad from Dearborn, Michigan was killed in a strike on Tuesday ‘while trying to save innocent lives’ his daughter Nadine said in an emotional statement, describing how he offered food and shelter to the most vulnerable in his final days.
She added that her father chose to stay near a hospital in Nabatieh to help the elderly, injured and the disabled while taking care of his elderly mother.
Shortly before he died, as Israeli strikes began landing nearby, Kamel told his daughter not to worry as he was ‘doing what he loves the most: helping others live in the land he loved the most’.
‘We are deeply saddened by the death of Kamel Ahmad Jawad and our hearts go out to his family and friends,’ a White House spokesperson said on Wednesday. ‘His death is a tragedy, as are the deaths of many civilians in Lebanon.’
Harris leads Trump by four points in Wisconsin
Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump by four points in the battleground state of Wisconsin, even though voters trust the former president more on the key issues.
Yet Trump is leading on voters’ biggest concerns in the race including the border, the economy and the Israel-Hamas war.
On immigration, the Republican nominee leads 49 to 37 percent.
When it comes to the economy, 50 percent of Wisconsin residents trust Trump to handle the economy better than Harris.
Six percent of the respondents are undecided in a state that has often been decided than a few thousand votes, or less than a point.
The survey revealed almost half of people have stopped talking to someone about politics because of the presidential race.
Biden heads to Georgia and Florida to tour more Hurricane Helene damage
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor
President Joe Biden heads back to the path of Hurricane Helene Thursday, in another show of solidarity just a day after touring storm damage in North Carolina by air.
Biden was at his Delaware beach house when the full impact of the monster Category 4 hurricane was first coming into view. He expressed concern about steering clear of recovery efforts when first asked when he would visit the wreckage in the storm’s path.
On Thursday, he heads to Tallahasee, where he will take a helicopter tour. Biden will get an ‘operational briefing’ in Perry Florida, where he will hear more about the devastation. The White House said he would ‘tour areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and meet with affected communities.’
Biden also spends time in Georgia, one of a handful of southeastern states that got battered by the storm as it made its way north after making landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast. He’ll tour more storm damage in Ray City, Georgia and give remarks.
For the second day in a row, the events will have the president commiserating with Americans who lost their homes and livelihoods in the storm. There is no mistaking the political significance of several of the battered states. Two of them, North Carolina and Georgia, are tossup contests that could determine control of the White House, and both parties are keeping an eye on Florida.
How Kamala Harris is trying to bleed support from Donald Trump by infiltrating rural Pennsylvania counties
But as the campaign season heads into overdrive with 33 days to go before Election Day, Democrats in the deep red areas are growing more confident coming out of the woodwork and voicing their support.
It helps that Democrats running for office are making a play in every corner of the state.
The latest Emerson College poll shows Harris and Donald Trump tied 48 percent to 48 percent with voters in the state.
With Pennsylvania perhaps the most important battleground state in the presidential election and polls showing a razor-thin race, Kamala Harris’ campaign and party officials are not leaving anything to chance.
With their effort, supporters on the ground are growing increasingly hopeful the trend of rural areas in the crucial state growing increasingly red will reverse or at least slow.
Melania Trump releases new video on freedom for women after abortion bombshell
Melania Trump has doubled down on her abortion stance after the bombshell revelatons from her memoir.
The formert first lady stated ‘there can be no room for compromise’ in a statement contradicting her husband’s views.
Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard.
Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth.
What does my body my choice really mean?
Squad Democrats hatch plan to ‘push Kamala Harris farther to the left’ if she beats Donald Trump
Kamala Harris has been praised for leading a more moderate campaign to appeal to all Americans, but progressives say they are waiting to radicalize her if she beats Donald Trump.
Harris was ranked as one of the most progressive senators during her brief tenure in the upper chamber of Congress, second only to self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
She has championed the Green New Deal, fought for sweeping abortion rights and vociferously decried the terrors of deportation and building a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
These policies, however, do not go over well in a presidential election, so Harris has been instead focusing on centrist issues like enhancing small business tax breaks, immigration reform and lowering the cost of goods, including that of energy.
Seeing this as a winning strategy, progressives have decided to bide their time and wait until Harris wins the White House before pushing her further left.
Jack Smith makes bombshell new January 6 claims against Trump
Pro-life activists react to Melania Trump backing abortion rights
Pro-life activists have warned that Melania Trump’s backing of abortion rights could undercut former president Trump’s message on this issue in the lead up to the November election.
The former First Lady, 54, reveals in her upcoming memoir, due out next week, that she supports a woman’s right to choose as a staunch defender of ‘individual liberty’ and ‘personal freedom’ – a position she has held for her ‘entire adult life’.
‘It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from any intervention or pressure from the government,’ she writes in the book.
But pro-life activists were quick to blast Melania for having an opinion that differs from her husband’s.
Kristan Hawkins, president of the Students for Life of America, wrote on Twitter/X: ‘It’s hard to follow the logic of putting out the former First Lady’s book right before the election undercutting President Trump’s message to pro-life voters. What a waste of momentum.’
Kamala Harris to be joined by Liz Cheney on visit to birthplace of Republican Party
Kamala Harris will be joined by Liz Cheney, one of Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican critics, on the campaign trail in Wisconsin on Thursday.
The two will appear together in a historic white schoolhouse in Ripon, where a series of meetings held in 1854 to oppose slavery’s expansion led to the birth of the Republican Party.
The move sees Harris aiming to reach out to moderate voters and rattle the former president.
Cheney was the top Republican on the House committee that investigated Trump’s role in the events of January 6, 2021.
It earned her Trump’s disdain and effectively exiled her from her own party.
Cheney lost her Wyoming seat to a Trump-endorsed candidate two years ago and she endorsed Harris, the Democratic nominee, last month.
Poll shows Gaza could be devastating for Kamala Harris’ election chances
Vice President Kamala Harris is slightly trailing former President Donald Trump with Arab Americans, according to polling released Wednesday from the Arab American Institute.
The survey found that 42 percent of likely voters preferred Trump, while 41 percent backed Harris. Twelve percent plan to back a third-party candidate.
Normally Democrats have a 2-to-1 advantage with this group.
But polling found that ‘it’s Trump who is the beneficiary of the community’s anger and despair over the Biden Administration’s failure to prevent the unfolding genocide in Gaza,’ a release said.
The poll found that by a small percentage – 46 percent to 43 percent – Arab Americans also preferred that Republicans have control of Congress.
Trump and Harris tied in Pennsylvania, new poll shows
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are tied in Pennsylvania, the battleground state that could decide the election, a new poll shows.
The Keystone State is seen as critical in the path to victory for each candidate, and DailyMail.com’s election model has consistently shown the result there will ultimately determine the race.
Fifty-one percent of voters in the survey said Trump would be better for their financial situation, compared to 48 percent for Harris.
Among independent voters, 50 percent sided with Trump while just 38 percent selected Harris.
Half of the respondents said the economy was the top issue, with 60 percent saying they are worse off than they were five years ago.