Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Biden were courting early voters on Sunday in Nevada and North Carolina. The final presidential debate looms later this week.
Some 27.7 million Americans have already cast ballots either by mail or in-person ahead of the Nov. 3 election. The record-shattering figure is driven in part by concerns about crowds at polling sites on Election Day amid the pandemic.
President Trump was spending his Sunday in Nevada. It is one state he hopes to wrest away from Democrats after narrowly losing it in 2016.
The president has remained popular among evangelical Christians for his opposition to abortion and for appointing conservative judges. He began his day by attending a service at the International Church of Las Vegas.
Trump, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, did not wear a mask for the indoor service.
One of the church’s pastors said to Trump that God had told her he would win the election. Trump put a handful of $20 bills into an offering bucket and bowed his head during prayer.
Biden flew to North Carolina, a battleground where 20% of the state’s registered voters had already voted.
His campaign said that he would urge residents to make a plan to vote as early as possible. He also detailed his proposals to lessen economic inequality for Black Americans.
Senator Kamala Harris canceled in-person events over the weekend as a precaution after an aide tested positive for COVID-19. She will return to the campaign trail on Monday with a visit to Florida.
Trump will campaign every day leading up to Thursday’s debate in Florida, including stops in Arizona and North Carolina.
Trump lags in opinion polls at a national level and in many battleground states. Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said that the national figures are misleading because must-win states are close.
“We cannot become complacent because the very searing truth is that Donald Trump can still win this race, and every indication we have shows that this thing is going to come down to the wire,” she wrote to donors.
TRUMP PLAYING DIRTY POLITICS?
Electoral votes determine the US presidential elections. US states and territories based largely on their populations are allotted the votes. Not by a tally of the popular vote nationwide.
Trump campaigned on Saturday in Michigan and Wisconsin, two states he narrowly won in the 2016 election.
In Muskegon, he attacked Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for imposing restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“Hopefully you’ll be sending her packing pretty soon,” Trump said, prompting the crowd to yell back “Lock her up.”
Whitmer said on “Meet the Press” that the president’s rhetoric was “incredibly disturbing” and “dangerous” for her.
Opinion polls have shown a high level of concern among voters about the coronavirus pandemic. It has killed more than 219,000 people in the United States and hammered the economy.
The virus is deadliest for older people. Therefore, the pandemic is motivating young voters, according to a poll. Among likely voters aged 34 and under, 25% named COVID-19 as their top concern when picking a president. While 20% cited jobs and the economy.
