A week before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to “turn a new chapter of fear and divisiveness” at a campaign rally in the battleground state of Michigan.

Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump lashed out at his critics at a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, whom he called “disgusting.”

On Monday, incendiary devices were set off at two polling stations, one in Portland and the other in nearby Vancouver, Washington, destroying hundreds of ballots in what one official called “a direct assault on democracy.”

What are the latest developments in the polls?

Harris and Trump are neck and neck, and analysts predict the election will result in razor-thin margins in several key states.

Harris has a narrow lead in national polls as of Tuesday, with a 1.4-point lead, according to FiveThirtyEight’s daily election poll tracker. This marks a slight decrease from the previous week, when he was ahead by 1.7 percentage points.

Seven key states will likely decide the results of this election. Both campaigns directed their focus and efforts there.

These seven states include Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada.

Harris maintains a narrow lead in Michigan, according to FiveThirtyEight’s daily poll tracker. Trump, meanwhile, has a slight advantage over Harris in Pennsylvania and Nevada, but a more significant lead in North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia.

In Wisconsin, not even a tenth of a percentage point separates the two, according to FiveThirtyEight.

In all seven states, the candidates are within two points of each other, well within the polls’ margins of error, and each state has a no-decision just days before the final vote.

What was Kamala Harris doing on Sunday?

Harris is focused on Michigan, where her main event is an evening campaign rally and concert in Ann Arbor with running mate Tim Walz and singer Maggie Rogers.

In 2022, Michigan saw the highest turnout of young voters in the country, with long lines at polling places on college campuses during the midterm elections. This year, Democrats are trying to rekindle that energy by holding events like a rally in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan.

However, about 30 pro-Palestinian protesters confronted Harris at the event. The candidate acknowledged the chants, telling protesters, “Hey guys, I hear you.” The group said, “Israel is bombing, Kamala is paying, how many children did you kill today?” He was shouting slogans.

After thanking the group, Harris said, “As for Gaza, we all want this war to end and the hostages to be removed as soon as possible, and I will do everything I can to achieve this.”

Before that, he held afternoon campaign events in Saginaw and Macomb County. Harris appealed to working-class voters by highlighting the administration’s efforts to create more factory jobs in the state and its support for labor unions.

Harris also took a swipe at Trump before flying to Michigan, referencing comments made at Trump’s New York rally the day before, in which a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

“(It) really underscores the point that I have been making throughout this campaign,” which is that Trump “is focused on his grievances and himself and dividing our country, and that is not something that will strengthen the United States in any way.” “American family, American worker,” Harris said.

“There’s a big difference between him and me,” he added.

Harris’ campaign is trying to capitalize on some of the racist language that emerged at Trump’s rally, according to Al Jazeera correspondent Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington, DC.

“This is a way for the Harris campaign to persuade undecided Latino voters to vote for her, especially in the swing state of Pennsylvania,” Jordan said.

Pennsylvania is home to more than 450,000 Puerto Ricans, who make up 8 percent of the state’s population. There is only a 0.2 percentage point lead between Trump and Harris there, with Pennsylvania offering 19 Electoral College votes; this is the most among the swing states.

What was Donald Trump doing on Monday?

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was in Georgia. He made remarks at the opening of the 2024 National Faith Summit in Powder Springs in the afternoon before holding a rally in Atlanta in the evening.

Trump has denied suggestions that he or his supporters could be compared to Nazis and fascists during his events.

“I am not a Nazi. I am the opposite of a Nazi,” Trump told the crowd gathered at Georgia Tech. “Now, the way they talk is so disgusting and horrible.”

“My dad, I had a great dad, a tough guy. “Never use the word Nazi,” he always said. Never use that word.”

He later criticized Harris for “using the f-word.” In response to comments by Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, that the former president fit the definition of a fascist, Harris said she agreed with that assessment. Trump said about Harris: “She’s a fascist, okay? He is a fascist.”

During her event in Atlanta, she also called former First Lady Michelle Obama “disgusting” after she condemned his rhetoric over the weekend.

Georgia is a major key change state. Trump won the 2016 presidential race and lost in 2020.

However, Trump remained silent about the racist statements made against Puerto Rico during the Georgia events and the New York rally.

“But this is to be expected from the former president,” Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said, reporting from outside the former president’s rally in Atlanta.

“Donald Trump operates on the principle of never apologizing and never backing down,” he added.

What’s next for the Harris and Trump campaigns?

Harris will speak in Washington DC

Harris is expected to address a crowd of 20,000 people in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday night, billed as the campaign’s “closing argument” for the former prosecutor.

Harris will speak at the Ellipse just outside the White House.

This is the same point Trump made to his supporters at his infamous “Stop the Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, just before a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Meanwhile, Harris’ running mate Tim Walz will campaign on Tuesday in Georgia, a key state where Trump is actively rallying his base.

Trump rallies in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Trump will hold a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is a critical battleground state, and both Trump and Harris have made multiple visits there in recent weeks.

Given the scale of the Puerto Rican vote in the state and the racist comments at Trump’s rally against the U.S. territory, Trump’s campaign visits could become even more important to his bid to win the state where he is currently marginally ahead. to poll viewers.

While Puerto Ricans living on the island do not vote in presidential elections, Americans of Puerto Rican descent or ancestry constitute a significant demographic group in some swing states.

“Is Puerto Rico garbage? We’re Americans, Donald Trump,” TV host Sunny Hostin said Monday on the popular show The View. “We vote.” Hostin’s family is from Puerto Rico.

.@Sunny Hostin: “This Puerto Rican has something to say about the island I love, where my family is from. Is Puerto Rico garbage? We are Americans, Donald Trump.”

“My fellow Puerto Ricans, garbage collection day is November 5, 2024. Remember this.” pic.twitter.com/fFC4aMeZUg

— View (@TheView) 28 October 2024

Analysts believe whoever wins Pennsylvania could also win the White House.

“I’m really looking at Pennsylvania.” Thomas Gift, associate professor of political science at UCL School of Public Policy, told Al Jazeera.

“Some recent predictions have shown that if Donald Trump wins in Pennsylvania, his chances of winning the White House would rise to 96 percent; If Kamala Harris wins Pennsylvania, her chances of winning the White House will increase to 91 percent, Gift said.