By Leonard E. Colvin
Chief Reporter Emeritus
New Journal and Guide
The last days of the 2024 national election have arrived. Millions of voters will be determining who will be the next President, which party will control the U.S. Congress, and many municipal races November 5.
Over 30 million-plus Americans have already voted early in person or via U.S. mail, and the count will continue until the mandatory deadline.
In Virginia, voters will be handed a two-sided ballot because of the number of races being contested locally.
The campaign catching the most attention is for the Presidency.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrat, is facing former president Republican Donald J. Trump who was defeated in 2020 by her and current President Joe Biden.
Biden, facing low poll numbers against Trump as the race for 2024 began, dropped out as his party’s nominee and passed the task of denying Trump another term to Harris.
Initial response to her replacing Biden, boosted the enthusiasm among the various factions of the Democratic party’s base, especially African Americans, women, young people and college educated.
Even subgroups of white women, white men, and professional groups, traditional Republicans and Independents turned off by Trump’s rhetoric, have thrown support behind her.
Conservative stalwarts such as Liz Chaney, who lost her seat after voting to impeach Trump and later sat on a special panel investigating Trump’s involvement in the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, is campaigning alongside Harris in critical swing states.
After Harris’ assuming a five-point lead on Trump, the race, according to recent polling, remains tied statistically.
In the final stretch before November 5, Harris and Trump are spending a lot of time and money in seven ‘battleground” states which will determine the contest.
Arizona and Nevada in the west; Michigan and Wisconsin in the North; Georgia and North Carolina in the South and Pennsylvania in the North East.
Harris maintains at least a 7-point lead in Virginia and is expected to get its 13 Electoral Votes.
Harris hopes, like Biden in 2020 rests on winning the popular or Electoral vote count or both.
At this point, analysts say Harris has an easier path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the race with her narrow leads in several of those battleground states, including Pennsylvania.
In all but two of the past eight elections, Republicans have lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College and the White House.
Trump is hoping for the same this year.
In 2020, Biden outpaced Trump by some 7 million popular votes and took the Electoral College.
Can Harris hold on to all or a majority of those votes to become the first Black woman elected to the White House?
