With a Reuters / Ipsos poll showing Biden just 4 percentage points ahead in Pennsylvania, Obama warned Democrats against complacency. “We have to go out like never before,” he said. “We cannot leave any doubt in this election.”
Americans are voting early at a record pace this year, with more than 42 million ballots cast by mail and in person before Election Day Nov. 3 on coronavirus concerns and to make sure their votes are counted. .
Early voting so far represents about 30% of the total votes cast in 2016, according to the University of Florida Elections Project in the United States.
Four years ago, Obama participated in a rally in Philadelphia with then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the day before the election, only to see Trump narrowly take over the state. Biden’s campaign sees winning there as a top priority.
Speaking at an evening rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, Trump briefly mentioned Obama and noted that he had supported Clinton in her failed effort. “Nobody campaigned harder for Crooked Hillary than Obama, right?”
North Carolina is another battleground state where opinion polls show a close race. Harris was also in the state Wednesday to mobilize voters in Asheville and Charlotte. Obama won North Carolina in 2008, but lost it in his 2012 campaign. Trump won it in 2016.
Trump argued that coronavirus-related restrictions were hurting the state’s economy and complained that Democrats and the media were too concerned about the pandemic. “All you hear is covid, covid,” the president said. “That’s all they wear because they want to scare everyone.”
Although Wednesday marked the Obama campaign debut in 2020, his support has been essential for Biden. He has appeared at joint fundraising events with Biden and Harris, and his network of well-connected former aides has been instrumental in helping the campaign surpass Trump in obtaining donations.
Biden’s team said Obama would campaign in Miami on Saturday for the Democratic ticket. The final days of the campaign take place during a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in battlefield states, including North Carolina and Pennsylvania, but also Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan.
Pennsylvania has averaged 1,500 new cases a day over the past week, a level it hasn’t seen since April, according to a Reuters analysis. North Carolina has averaged 2,000 new cases per day for the past week, its highest level yet. The virus has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States.
Polls show that most voters are disappointed in the way Trump has handled the pandemic, which he has repeatedly said would go away on its own. Biden and Trump are scheduled to meet for their second and final debate Thursday night, giving the Republican a chance to change the trajectory of a career that Biden is leading in national opinion polls.
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