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- US Elections 2024 Highlights: 'Ran a great campaign, I feel very confident,' says Trump after casting vote in Florida
US Elections 2024 Highlights: 'Ran a great campaign, I feel very confident,' says Trump after casting vote in Florida
The township of Dixville Notch in the state of New Hampshire voted at midnight (local time), in line with a decades-long tradition. At present, Harris and Trump are tied with three votes each.
Amid heightened security, the vast majority of polling stations across the country open on Tuesday morning and will remain open until the evening.
Local officials are taking elaborate measures to fortify election-related sites, including plans for snipers on a rooftop to protect a key vote-counting headquarters, panic buttons for election workers, and surveillance drones buzzing overhead.
Tens of millions of voters across the country have already cast their ballots early, either by voting in person at polling stations or by mail. According to data from the University of Florida's Election Lab, as of Monday night, more than 82 million voters had already cast their ballots.
This election is widely regarded as one of the most divisive in American history. Harris and Trump have repeatedly warned against potentially catastrophic consequences inflicted on the country if the other is elected. Voters hold vastly different views on key issues such as the economy, immigration, and abortion rights.
According to an annual survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 77 per cent of US adults said the future of the nation was a significant source of stress in their lives. Additionally, 74 per cent said they were worried that the election results could lead to violence
On the last day of campaigning, Trump and Harris traveled extensively across crucial battleground states to deliver their final speeches. Trump, aiming to regain the presidency, led rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, while Harris spoke to supporters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Stay with TOI for all the Highlights
Sensex finally closed the day at 79,476.63 points, up 694.39 points or 0.88 per cent, 24,213.30 points, up 217.95 points or 0.91 per cent. Benchmark Sensex is however some distance behind its all-time high of 85,978 points.
Nifty Bank, Financial Services, Metal, PSU Bank, and Private Bank were the top movers, NSE data showed.
In a highly volatile trade yesterday, Indian stock indices hovered substantially lower, largely due to sustained selling by foreign portfolio investors. At one point during the session, Sensex was about 1,500 points lower, but it was able to pare some of the losses later. Foreign fund outflows have been a concern over the past month.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold stocks worth Rs 94,017 crore in India through October, suppressing the stock market's overall performance. In the process, they became net sellers in India, after having remained buyers for four months. Important to mention is that the total stocks they sold in India in October were the highest-ever in a month, National Securities Depository Limited data showed.
With sacred chants, ringing of bells and offerings of flowers and bananas, a Hindu priest in Kamala Harris' ancestral village in southern India conducted prayers for her victory on Tuesday, hours after she and her opponent Donald Trump closed out their campaigns.
The temple ceremony in Thulasendrapuram, in the state of Tamil Nadu, was organised by local villagers and attended by more than a dozen of them and a few tourists.
Read moreThe outcome will play an important role in determining how easily the winner of Tuesday's Us presidential election will govern until the next congressional elections in 2026.
Nonpartisan analysts say Republicans stand a good chance of taking back the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority. But Republicans could also lose their grip on the House, where Democrats only need to pick up four seats to take back control of the 435-seat chamber.
As in the presidential election, the outcome will likely be determined by a small slice of voters. The battle for the Senate hinges on seven contests, while fewer than 40 House races are seen as truly competitive.
Republicans are aiming to retain a seat they flipped in the 2022 midterms, marking the first time in nearly 25 years that it turned red.
The Cook Political Report labels the race a toss-up, indicating a competitive battle with no clear favorite. This race has attracted significant financial support from outside groups, pouring millions of dollars into campaign efforts.
Chavez-DeRemer secured her seat in 2022 in the first election following significant redistricting after the 2020 census. The district's boundaries now cover a diverse mix of areas, including parts of metro Portland with both affluent and working-class suburbs, rural farming and mountain communities, and the rapidly expanding central Oregon city of Bend, east of the Cascade Range.
The largest share of voters in the district are unaffiliated, though registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 25,000. Both parties are banking on the higher voter participation rates that typically come with presidential election years to galvanize their supporters.
The district spans diverse areas, including rural western Maryland and wealthy, liberal suburbs near Washington, D.C. Both candidates are striving to depict each other as extreme and disconnected from voters' concerns.
McClain Delaney, a mother of four daughters, has centered her campaign on women’s issues, particularly reproductive rights. She has vowed to defend these rights following the 2022 US Supreme Court decision that ended constitutional protections for abortion and left regulation to individual states. McClain Delaney noted the personal stakes for her, recalling an ectopic pregnancy that could have been life-threatening without access to necessary medical care.
In Philadelphia, Lady Gaga led the rally on Monday night, capturing the audience with performances of "God Bless America" and "Edge of Glory." Before singing the patriotic anthem, she delivered an impassioned speech encouraging women to make their voices count at the polls. "For more than half of this nation's history, women lacked a voice," Gaga said, emphasizing, "We raised children, held our families together, and supported men as they made the decisions — but tomorrow, women will be part of making this decision."
US Election Day on November 5 may mark the end of voting, but it’s only the beginning of an extensive process to count and verify every single ballot. Across the US., thousands of local election officials and bipartisan teams ensure the integrity of vote counting. This rigorous process is key to making US elections secure, accurate, and fair. How America votes Voters can exercise their rights through various methods beyond voting at polling stations on the main election day on November 5.
Read moreAt a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, former President Donald Trump took an unexpected turn in his speech, steering his focus from politics to football—a move that quickly led to a critique of the NFL's latest rule changes.
Trump, known for his unconventional rhetoric, painted an analogy between football and the country’s state. However, his comments soon shifted from commentary to criticism of the league’s 2024 kickoff policy. "Speaking of football, maybe we can get the NFL to drop that ridiculous kickoff s***," he commented, capturing fans' frustrations over the recent changes in the game.
During another rally in Pennsylvania, Trump openly questioned the NFL's rationale for implementing the new kickoff rule, expressing his confusion after watching a recent game. He commented, “I watched the game the other day, I said, ‘What the hell happened? They just kicked off and nobody moved.’ Oh well. That’s up to them.” Trump’s statement reflects a growing concern among fans who find the adjustments unsettling.
Read moreBoth Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams have played an outsized role in fighting the drug crisis in the state with the highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the country. But their similarities are few.
When it comes to abortion, the two couldn't be more different.
Since he was elected attorney general in 2012, Morrisey, 56, has led litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors netting around $1 billion to abate the crisis that has led to 6,000 children living in foster care in a state of around 1.8 million.
A self-described “conservative fighter,” Morrisey has also used his role to lead on issues important to the national GOP. Those include defending a law preventing transgender youth from participating in sports and a scholarship program passed by lawmakers that would incentivize parents to pull their kids from traditional public school and enroll them in private education or homeschooling.
Key to his candidacy has been his role in defending a near-total ban on abortions passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2022 and going to court to restrict West Virginians' access to abortion pills.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each got three ballots in the tiny community in the northeastern state of New Hampshire which for decades has kicked off Election Day at the stroke of midnight Monday -- hours before the rest of the country's polling stations open.
The Democratic vice president and Republican ex-president have been battling in a tense and exceptionally close race, with opinion polls largely tied.
The pan-European benchmark had slipped 0.2% as of 0814 GMT, with the oil and gas index's 0.7% decline the most among the major sectors.
Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump remain neck and neck in opinion polls, with voters due to cast their ballots later in the day, although the winner will likely not be known for days after voting ends.
US Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump on Monday wrapped their election campaigns as the country goes to elections on Tuesday, amid a tight contest between the two candidates.
Meanwhile, nine Indian Americans are also in fray contesting for the US House of Representatives, with five seeking re-election and three making their first attempt at Congressional office.
Read moreThe small New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch began the 2024 US Election Day with a unique midnight vote, ending in a tie between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump. Each candidate received three votes, reflecting the extremely close nationwide polling in this year’s White House race.
Read moreThe tiny settlement in New Hampshire's northeast, traditionally begins Election Day at midnight on Monday before other polling stations open.
The fight between the Democratic vice president and the former Republican president has remained remarkably close.
New Hampshire's electoral regulations permit communities with populations under 100 to commence voting at midnight and conclude once all registered voters have cast their ballots.
"Folks, this is getting pretty simple now: Kamala and I trust women. Now tomorrow, women all across America, of every age, both parties, are going to send a loud, clear message to Donald Trump, whether he likes it or not," Walz said.
This statement references Trump's recent remarks in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he declared he would protect women "whether the women like it or not. I am going to protect them." Trump admitted during his speech that his advisers had cautioned him against portraying himself as a protector, deeming it "inappropriate."
"With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America, indeed, the world, to new heights of glory," said Trump.
"We have seen steady progress in our relationship with the US over the last five presidencies, including a previous Trump presidency," Jaishankar said in response to a question on how India-US ties may evolve after the elections.
"So, when we look at the American election, we are confident that, regardless of the outcome, our relationship with the US will continue to grow," he added.
Elon Musk during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, expressed his scepticism about Hollywood's political endorsements, specifically targeting Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jennifer Lopez. Musk, who has become increasingly vocal about his support for Donald Trump, questioned the authenticity and motivations behind celebrity endorsements.
During the podcast, Rogan pointed out that Diddy’s inner circle has long been supportive of Democratic candidates, including Kamala Harris. Musk responded by questioning the credibility of Jennifer Lopez's endorsement of Harris, noting that Lopez, Diddy's ex-girlfriend, had never spoken out against him despite his controversial behaviour.
Read moreHarris scheduled five campaign stops in Pennsylvania, including two cities where Trump also visited, Reading and Pittsburgh.
She ended the day in Philadelphia with a star-studded event at the "Rocky steps" of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the site of a famous scene from the movie "Rocky."
Despite enjoying the support of A-list celebrities including Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey, both of whom rallied the Philadelphia crowd before Harris took the stage, Harris called herself the underdog who like Rocky was ready to "climb to victory."
"The momentum is on our side," Harris told a crowd that chanted back, "We will win."
In the final 'Last Week Tonight' episode before the US goes to the polls tomorrow, John Oliver made an emotional pitch for vice president Kamala Harris. He said Kamala Harris' policies are not perfect but he would vote for her. "Wouldn't it be great to live in a world where Trump is not longer an active threat?" he said fighting back tears. He said he's an immigrant and loves the country. Born in the UK, John Oliver became an American citizen in 2019 and this is his second-time voting in the presidential election.
Read morePoll guru Nate Silver's Silver Bulletin has revealed its final prediction a day ahead of the polls and said the White House battle will be a "pure toss-up". Former president Donald Trump has a 51.5 per cent chance of winning while vice president Kamala Harris has a 48.1 per cent chance. His prediction took note of the final battleground polls from Morning Consult and The New York Times.
Read moreVice President Kamala Harris experienced an awkward moment during a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, as she struggled to engage the crowd with a chant that didn't quite land as intended. Speaking at a Pennsylvania rally, as the crowd was chanting "Kamala!" Harris tried to rally supporters by leading a chant of "Let’s get out the vote!” but her call was met with confusion.Without missing a beat, Harris quickly adapted, repeating her original chant a few more times: “Let’s get out the vote! Let’s get out the vote! Let’s get out the vote!” She then wrapped up with, “Let’s win! All right. Let’s get to work,” trying to regain momentum.
Read moreGOP leader Nikki Haley who was not seen in Donald Trump's campaigning said the choice for her between Trump and vice president Kamala Harris is very easy. In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Nikki Halet wrote, "I don't agree with Mr Trump 100% of the time. But I do agree with him most of the time and I disagree with Ms Harris nearly all the time. That makes this an easy call."Shark Tank businessman, billionaire Mark Cuban recently attacked Donald Trump over the absence of Haley in his campaign and said the former president does not like strong and intelligent women. While his comment rattled GOP women and several of them, including Tulsi Gabbard and Elon Musk's mother Maye Musk, condemned Mark Cuban for the comment, Cuban apologized and said his comment was only in the context of Nikki Haley.
Read moreThe early vote numbers are a little scary for vice president Kamala Harris, Jim Messina, who ran the Obama campaign in 2012, told on MSNBC adding that several of his friends called him panicking as the early voting numbers indicate a surge in Republican vote turnout.
“Republicans didn’t do what they did last time,” Messina continued. “Last time, Trump said don’t early vote so they didn’t. Republicans do have an advantage in early vote numbers. When the early votes come in, it’s going to look a little bit different than 2020 and that’s scary.”
Read moreMonica Lewinsky's 9-word post on X went viral and she got viciously trolled as she urged people to vote on November 5, the Election Day. "PLEASE VOTE! (preferably like I did for harris/walz)" Monica wrote posting a photo of herself showing that she already cast her vote. Social media users called her stupid and a victim of Stockholm syndrome and reminded her that the Democrat party called her a whore after her infamous scandal with then-president Bill Clinton broke out.
About 25 years ago, Lewinsky was an intern at the White House and Bill Clinton was accused of having sexual relations with her. 51-year-old Lewinsky is an activist now and has spoken extensively about how she was bullied after that episode and how scathed she was. The trolling came back again on Monday as the activist announced her endorsement of Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Read moreA Pennsylvania court has ruled that a high-profile $1 million-a-day sweepstakes, hosted by Elon Musk's America PAC in key swing states, can continue through the presidential election. The decision by Judge Angelo Foglietta on Monday comes after Musk’s lawyers argued that recipients of the sweepstakes are not chosen at random but rather selected based on alignment with the PAC’s values. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, however, had attempted to halt the programme, describing it as a "scam" that breaches state election laws.
Read moreFahrenheit 9/11 director Michael Moore who wrote a blog post last month saying that former president Donald Trump is "toast" said his confidence in Kamala Harris continues and MAGA people are going to be very surprised by what's going to happen Tuesday. On MSNBC, the 70-year-old Academy Award winner who rightly predicted the 2016 election said, "I don’t want to say it too loudly, because our work isn’t done, right?".
“I feel the same way that I felt a few weeks ago — that Trump is toast. Absolutely, I feel it more now.”“Frankly, I know people watching this [will say] ‘Mike, how can you say that? You know all these crazy people, and all these Trumpsters and MAGA nation.’ And what I say to them is, honestly, I have a lot of personal, deep faith in my fellow Americans.”
Read moreABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl revealed that he had a phone chat with Donald Trump when he asked him whether the former president thought there was any way he could lose the election. The phone call took place on Sunday morning and Karl said Trump admitted that there's a possibility he could lose. "Yeah, I guess, you know," Trump said in response.“I guess you could lose, can lose. I mean, that happens, right?” he said. “But I think I have a pretty substantial lead. But, you could say — yeah, yeah, you could lose. Bad things could happen. You know, things happen, but it’s going to be interesting.”
Read moreA tie in the US presidential election, with neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to win, remains unlikely yet possible. If such a situation erupts which is unlikely to happen here’s how an Electoral College deadlock would unfold and what it means for the election outcome.
Read moreInfluential podcaster Joe Rogan endorsed former US President Donald Trump in his bid to return to the White House a day before US elections.The endorsement follows a lengthy, nearly three-hour interview Rogan conducted with Trump in October.Confirming his support on X (formerly Twitter), Rogan said, “For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump."
Read moreIndian American supporter of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump, Shalabh Kumar, who is the founder of lobby group Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), is running a whopping $1.2 million campaign, over the past four days, targeted at Hindu American and Indian American voters.
“Our educational advertisement is running across 40 TV channels every 15 minutes, in the crucial battleground states; pointing out the policy differences between former President Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris regarding India and Hindu Americans. It talks about their past actions and expected future actions if elected,” Kumar told the Times of India.
Read moreNew York City's linguistic diversity encompasses over 200 languages, as confirmed by the Department of City Planning, establishing its status as America's diverse cultural centre. For the US presidential elections, however, ballot papers will be available in only five languages, including English, with the inclusion of an Indian language. A key decision stemming from a lawsuit settlement led to the inclusion of Bengali on the ballot.The Bengali language is included alongside Chinese, Spanish, and Korean. This decision stems from a lawsuit settlement concerning language access for the city's diverse population.
Read moreOhio Senator JD Vance took direct aim at Vice President Kamala Harris during a rally in Atlanta on Sunday, calling her “trash” and declaring that in just two days, the American public would be “taking out the trash in Washington DC.”"The citizens of this country are not garbage for thinking you're doing a bad job," Vance said. “They are not racist for wanting to secure the southern border, and they are not wrong for wanting to afford groceries and a decent place to live. In two days, we are going to take out the trash in Washington DC, and the trash’s name is Kamala Harris.”
Read more'Thank you, Joe! That's so nice,' said Trump in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after Joe Rogan endorsed him.
Tech mogul Elon Musk made a surprise appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he accused the Democratic Party of hypocrisy and spreading misinformation. During the conversation, Musk also weighed in on the ongoing allegations against former President Donald Trump, dismissing them as "hoaxes" and drawing comparisons to authoritarian tactics.
The podcast appearance comes after both Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, appeared on Rogan's show in the past week. Musk, who has been actively campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania, once again reiterated this claim that "if Trump doesn’t Win, this will be the last real election".
Read moreA new poll from AtlasIntel claimed former president Donald Trump is leading vice president Kamala Harris in each of the seven swing states though the margin is narrow. Trump is favored to win in North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The new poll comes amid Ann Selzer poll sent shockwaves that Kamala Harris is ahead in Iowa which is a reliably conservative turf that Donald Trump won both in 2016 and 2020.
The AtlasIntel survey said Donald Trump is holding the widest margin in Arizona -- with a 52.3 per cent to Harris 45.8 per cent.
Read moreIndian Americans have traditionally supported the Democrats but since 2016, when Donald Trump became President, and after the Covid pandemic, there has been a big change in the mindset among many members of the community and an increasing number are moving towards the Republicans as well, feels Dr Srilekha Reddy Palle, a healthcare executive in the Washington DC area who is also political director of American Hindu Coalition, an organisation that advocates for Hindu Americans, and chair of the Virginia Asian advisory board.
“Some of the reasons for Democrats losing favour among the Indian American community are their support for affirmative action in the education sector and over-use of the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in employment. Many of us immigrated to the US because we were attracted by the culture of meritocracy and preferred it over socialism that was prevalent in India. But affirmative action has hit many Indians professionals,” says Palle, who is a consultant specialising in healthcare and political consulting.
Read more"We do not have to settle for weakness, incompetence, decline and decay," Trump said. "With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America, and indeed the whole world, to new heights of glory."
Both candidates concentrated on Pennsylvania's southeastern region, with Trump speaking in Reading, approximately 30 miles from Allentown, where Harris conducted her event shortly afterwards.
"If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax," Trump said. "It's over."
A Trump victory in Pennsylvania, securing its 19 Electoral College votes, would significantly impact the Democrats' stronghold and complicate Harris's path to achieving the required 270 votes.
Harris, representing the Democratic party, dedicated Monday entirely to Pennsylvania, the most significant state among those likely to determine the Electoral College results, and shared her straightforward perspective.
"We need everyone in Pennsylvania to vote," she said. "You are going to make the difference in this election."
Harris's schedule included visits to Allentown and Scranton - President Joe Biden's hometown - followed by Reading. Her itinerary concluded with a planned stop in Pittsburgh before a final evening rally in Philadelphia, featuring appearances by Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.
The procedure involves astronauts completing their ballots on the space station's computer systems. These secure, encrypted votes travel via satellite to New Mexico ground stations before reaching Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston. From there, NASA forwards the electronic ballots to the relevant Texas county clerk's office for processing, according to the AP news agency.
The four NASA astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station arranged for absentee ballots before Election Day. However, NASA has left it to the individual astronauts to disclose whether they exercised their right to vote from orbit.
During a television interview last month, Space Station Commander Suni Williams stated that all four would participate in voting. "It's a civic duty. It's the right thing to do," she said.
Since 1997, American astronauts have had the ability to vote whilst in space.
With Election Day just hours away, both the Democratic hopeful and her Republican challenger are actively campaigning in the battleground states that will be crucial for determining the winner in what polls suggest is a closely contested race. Recently, LeBron James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time champion, publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for the upcoming election. In a social media post, James emphasized the significance of securing a positive future for his family and children.
