With a race down to the wire, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are moving heaven and earth to make the cut in the final three days, hopping across 10 battleground States still in play while leaving out the other 40 States that are virtually unshakeable Democratic or Republican
bastions.
If crowd deficit at rallies has been a problem for Clinton as compared to Trump’s huge draws, she has tapped the star power of Beyonce, Jay Z, Jennifer lopez, Katy Perry and Stevie Wonder in these final days to enthuse millennials and African-American voters who are thought to be somewhat lukewarm this election season.
Trump, exulting over his ability to attract crowds without the aid of star power, was quick to take potshots at his rival as he addressed a big rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania even as Beyonce and Jay Z serenaded for Clinton in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday night. “I didn’t have to bring J. lo or Jay Z – the only way she gets anybody…I’m here all by myself. Just me – no guitar, no piano, no nothing,” he remarked to loud cheers from his loyal supporters.
If Trump ends up not winning Pennsylvania with this type of crowds, it means this election is “rigged”, a Republican broadcast announcer held forth while livestreaming the address over YouTube. But, apart from pop celebrities, President Barack Obama has also been working crowds in a big way as he barnstorms across the battlegrounds.
Clinton had reasons to feel relieved on Saturday with new national polls suggesting that she may have rebounded after about a week. The ABC-Washington Post tracking poll which said the race was tied three days ago put Clinton ahead by four percentage points. A RealClearPolitics average of nine polls, however, put her lead at just 2.3 points.
In the crucial Electoral College projections, too, estimates varied. If CNN put Clinton’s projected tally right now at 268, requiring just two more electoral votes to win the race out of 66 still in play, the RCP average gave her 216 and Trump 164 with as many as 158 still in the toss-up category.
Pundits and pollsters, however, broadly agree that it is a very narrow path of must-win battleground States for Trump, whereas Clinton has more options to get to the coveted 270 in the Electoral College and win the presidency.
With a war chest roughly double the size of Trump’s, Clinton is outgunning her rival in terms of commercial blitz and ground operations in the closing stages. According to official figures, the Clinton campaign, party committees and super political action committees raised as much as $1.3 billion as against the Trump formation’s $795 million.
US intelligence agencies, meanwhile, are reported to have alerted joint task forces on counter-terrorism to the possibility of Al Qaeda attacks on Monday on the eve of the Tuesday election. Citing sources, CBS News reported that New York, Texas and Virginia may be possible targets.