Kamala Harris seeks to gain election edge over Donald Trump with media blitz – US politics live

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Speaking at his rally in Juneau, Wisconsin last night, former president Donald Trump said he was looking for a “mandate” victory in Novermber’s election. The current polling is tight, suggesting that the outcome is unlikely to deliver that for either candidate.

CNN’s senior data reporter Harry Enten most recent round-up on the state of polling in the key swing states that will decide the election suggests that Kamala Harris has the edge in the Great Lake battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, while Trump is looking stronger in the southern sunbelt states.

However, Enten notes that all of the leads of one or two points in these states are “well within the margin of error and too close to call.”

As it stands he suggests Harris would end up with “276 electoral votes, slightly more than the 270 she needs to win,” but he said if the polls have underestimated Trump’s support – as they did in 2020 – then he could romp home. Likewise, if the polls are underestimating Democratic party support – as they did in 2022 – then she could even reach as many as 319 electoral votes. In a nutshell, all bets are off.

Kamala Harris seeks to gain election edge over Donald Trump with media blitz

Kamala Harris has begun what has been described as a week-long media blitz with an appearance on Sunday night on the podcast Call Her Daddy.

During the interview with Alex Cooper, Harris addressed topics including abortion, reporductive healthcare, housing and student debt relief.

Harris said Trump’s repeated claim that Democrats support abortion “after birth” is a “lie”, and that it was insulting to claim that women in their ninth month of pregnancy are electing to have an abortion.

She also rebuked Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who had suggested Harris “doesn’t have anything keeping her humble” because she doesn’t have children.

“I don’t think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who are not aspiring to be humble,” Harris said, adding that “We have our family by blood and then we have our family by love. And I have both.”

Harris said economic conditions hinder people having a family, and suggested her aim to build 3m new homes by the end of her first time would assist with that.

Harris said “I think that most Americans want leaders who understand that the measure of their strength is not based on who you beat down. The real measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.”

Cooper has made a point of also asking Trump on to the show if he wants to appear.

Welcome and opening summary …

Welcome to our rolling coverage of the 2024 US presidential election campaign. Today both vice-president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump will attend ceremonies to mark the one year anniversary of the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas. Harris is expected to speak at an event at the White House, while Trump will be appearing at a Florida golf course. President Joe Biden will also mark the occasion with an event at the White House.

Here are the headlines …

• Polling continues to show that November’s election is too close to call

• Kamala Harris appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Sunday, discussing abortion, reproductive healthcare, housing and student debt relief

• Tim Walz said during an appearance on Fox News that Donald Trump’s agenda would destroy the US economy

• Donald Trump held a rally in Juneau, Wisconsin

• JD Vance has suggested a second Trump administration would defund Planned Parenthood

• The Supreme Court begins sitting again this week with the regulation of ghost guns and transgender rights on their agenda

• Florida is gearing up for what could be the biggest evacuations since 2017 as Hurricane Milton strengthens

It is Martin Belam with you here to start with. You can get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.