By james art 
Saturday, November 2, 2024 | 3:01 in the afternoon
ATLANTA — Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump set their sights on the Sun Belt Saturday as they embarked on their mission last weekend to win over every undecided voter in the battleground states. The presidential candidates presented competing agendas for the economy — and beyond — that each insisted were what Americans wanted.
“We’ve overcome every attack, every abuse and even two assassination attempts,” Trump said at a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. “And now it all comes down to this.”
Harris is urging her supporters to vote early so she can be elected and provide the “new generation of leadership” she claims she represents.
“I stand ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America,” she said during remarks at a rally in the parking lot of the Atlanta Civic Center. She had to stop several times to let medics attend to people who had passed out after spending hours in the heat.
“It’s hot here, Atlanta,” the vice president said.
It was unclear whether Harris herself voted early. Campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said Saturday that Harris’ plan was to vote by mail, but he could not say whether she had returned her ballot to her home state of California. Trump was expected to vote in person on Tuesday in Florida.
“Has anyone here voted yet?” she asked the Atlanta crowd, which cheered wildly in response. “Oh wow. Oh my God, thank you, thank you.”
Saturday marked the beginning of the latest, frantic push by Harris, Trump, their aides and top surrogates to encourage people to vote early or in person on Tuesday, Election Day.
To that end, the Harris campaign hoped for a “high-impact” moment with a two-minute spot to air Sunday during NFL games on CBS and FOX, including the Green Bay Packers against the Detroit Lions, two in-state teams. It shows Harris interacting with people during the campaign and speaking directly to viewers.
“Now I’m asking for your vote, because as president, I’m going to get up every day and fight for the American people,” she says at the end.
Campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon predicted confidence Saturday during a conference call with reporters as both sides embarked on a final sprint to get out the vote. “If you can hear the joy in my voice, it’s because we’re on GOTV weekend,” she said.
Trump, meanwhile, has spoken wistfully, as he has at some of his recent rallies, about how after nearly a decade of campaigning, his final race is coming to an end.
“I hope we will meet again many times,” said the former president, who was also stopping in Salem, Virginia — not a battleground state — before returning to North Carolina for a late-night rally in Greensboro. it was the thrill of a lifetime for me and for you.
As Harris and Trump headed to their next stops, their planes met on the tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Harris was wrapping up a day of campaigning.
President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race this summer when it became clear he couldn’t win, did his part for Democrats by making what could be his last campaign stop in 2024. Biden, who turns 82 later this month, struck a nostalgic tone while trying to help get out the vote for Harris and his running mate, Tim Waltz, during an event at a woodworking shop in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“I’m not just asking you to do it for me, I’m going to go,” Biden said of his plea to union workers to back the ticket. “I’m asking you to do it for yourselves and your families, the people you grew up with, the people you came from.
Waltz and actress Eva Longoria joined a get-out-the-vote event in Las Vegas ahead of the Minnesota governor’s events in Flagstaff and Tucson, Arizona. GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance appeared in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona, with Donald Trump Jr. First Lady Jill Biden campaigned in Georgia and Hillary Clinton appeared for Harris in Tampa, Florida.
Waltz also visited several homes in the suburbs of Las Vegas. He and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus spoke with a couple who were excited to see both politicians — and hopeful. Waltz asked them what issues they care about and heard about women’s rights, Social Security, Medicare and Republican rhetoric
“We’re going to win,” Waltz said. “These last days matter and it will be marginal.”
Elsewhere, other voters expressed notes of cautious optimism about the election outcome.
Marzella and Darrell Pittman said they canceled plans for the weekend after learning Harris would be in Atlanta and drove four hours from Alabama to attend.
Marzella thinks Harris will win, but Darrell is nervous because many of the young black men in his life support Trump and are hesitant to vote for a woman president.
“It’s narrow, and on the other side, many of our people believe in this country, just like we believe in Kamala,” he said.
Until the election, “we’re thinking about nothing but voting and talking to everybody,” Marzella Pittman said.
Trump supporters were just as passionate about their candidate.
“Mr Trump came with a garbage truck. I came in a garbage bag,” said Elmer Baber, who lives in Gastonia, North Carolina and attended the Trump rally. It was a reference to Trump riding in a garbage truck after Biden said Trump supporters were “garbage.” Biden later said he was talking about rhetoric from a speaker at Trump’s recent event at Madison Square Garden.
Colvin reported from Gastonia, North Carolina and Superville, Washington. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington, Matt Brown in Scranton, Pa., Charlotte Cramon in Atlanta and Isabella Vollmert in Warren, Mich. contributed to this report.