US election 2024: The key issues driving votes in the swing states

In a contention against time, United States statesmanlike candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris person traversed the nation’s swing states successful a bid to woo undecided voters and container important Electoral College votes that could determine the victor of the 2024 US election.

Even if some White House hopefuls unafraid their accepted bluish (Democratic) and reddish (Republican) states, the Electoral College votes from those are improbable to beryllium capable for either campaigner to scope the magic fig of 270 needed to transverse the threshold to victory.

This year, the 7 intimately watched plaything states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada and North Carolina.

Here’s a little look astatine immoderate of the cardinal issues shaping the plaything states and some candidates’ stance connected them:

(Al Jazeera)

Arizona: Immigration

Since 1952, Arizona has voted Republican successful each but 1 predetermination (1996) earlier Joe Biden flipped it successful 2020 for the Democrats.

This time, polls amusement Trump starring marginally.

Arizona is simply a borderline state, and galore polls person shown migration and borderline power arsenic cardinal issues for galore of its residents. In a May canvass by CBS News, for instance, 52 percent of the respondents said precocious arrived immigrants from Mexico had worsened surviving conditions for them.

Here is however some candidates program to tackle migration and borderline security:

Harris connected immigration

Vice President Harris believes the US migration strategy is “broken” and successful request of “comprehensive reform”. While she has pledged enactment for a borderline information measure that would summation detection exertion to intercept drugs and has promised to adhd 1,500 borderline information agents, Harris has besides promised an “earned pathway to citizenship” and an summation successful the fig of employment-based and household visas.

Trump connected immigration

Overall, Trump blames immigrants for rising housing, acquisition and healthcare costs.

Trump’s plans see deporting millions of undocumented migrants by force, sealing the borderline to halt the “migrant invasion” by utilizing the subject connected the US-Mexico border, and constructing detention facilities.

The erstwhile president wants to reinstate the “Remain successful Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to enactment successful Mexico until their migration cases person been resolved. Trump besides wants to extremity birthright citizenship for children calved to undocumented parents.

The Republican campaigner wants to enforce ideological screening of immigrants but has projected automatic greenish cards for overseas graduates of US universities.

Georgia: Cost of living

Traditionally a Republican stronghold, this confederate authorities went Democratic successful 2020 – but lone just. The votes successful Georgia were counted 3 times, including erstwhile by hand, but that did not halt Trump from controversially attempting to overturn the results.

This time, perceptions astir the authorities of the system could find however Georgia votes. A September canvass by Redfield & Wilton Strategies, successful concern with the UK newspaper, The Telegraph, recovered that 41 percent of Georgia’s voters viewed the system arsenic the azygous biggest contented for them.

How bash some candidates suggest to easiness the burden of inflation – which is not yet down to pre-COVID-19 levels?

Harris connected outgo of living

Harris has promised to chopped taxes for “more than 100 cardinal moving and middle-class Americans” by restoring Child Tax Credits and Earned Income Tax Credits. She has besides pledged to summation Long-Term Capital Gains Tax from 20 percent to 28 percent, and the firm taxation complaint from 21 percent to 28 percent to wage for this.

In bid to assistance little the outgo of living, the vice president has projected a national prohibition connected terms gouging connected nutrient and groceries.

Trump connected outgo of living

Trump has pledged to “end inflation” and importantly summation the Child Tax Credit portion cutting authorities spending and bringing down the firm taxation complaint to 15 percent.

Michigan: Israel’s warfare connected Gaza

The authorities of Michigan was a cardinal halt successful Vice President Harris’s past agelong of campaigning and present is why: Harris wanted to marque a last-ditch effort to triumph implicit the continent’s largest Arab-American community that has been angered by the Biden-Harris administration’s unequivocal enactment for Israel successful its warfare connected Gaza.

While pre-poll numbers amusement Harris with a slender pb successful the state, Trump volition anticipation that his “Muslim supporters” volition assistance him triumph successful Michigan.

More than 100,000 uncommitted voters successful the authorities person declared that they volition not endorse Harris oregon Trump and immoderate whitethorn opt for the Green Party candidate, Jill Stein, who has pledged to property for a ceasefire and halt weapons income to Israel.

Harris connected Gaza

While Harris has promised to enactment towards ending the warfare successful Gaza, “allow Palestinians to realise their close to dignity, security, state and self-determination”, she has besides backed Israel’s “right to support itself” and has rejected an arms embargo connected the US state successful the Middle East.

Trump connected Gaza

Trump has not revealed circumstantial details astir what helium would bash connected the contented of Gaza. However, during a gathering with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu successful July, Trump urged the Israeli person to “get his victory” implicit Hamas. He said the killings successful Gaza had to halt but that Netanyahu “knows what he’s doing”.

That rhetoric is successful enactment with Trump’s actions during his archetypal tally arsenic president. His authorities recognised the disputed metropolis of Jerusalem arsenic Israel’s capital, prompting choler among Palestinians. He negotiated “normalisation” deals betwixt Israel and respective Arab nations nether the Abraham Accords and helium pulled retired of the Iran atomic deal, which Israel besides opposed.

However, helium has besides argued that helium volition propulsion for bid – and get it.

Pennsylvania: Fracking

President Joe Biden’s location authorities of Pennsylvania offers 19 Electoral College votes, the astir among battleground states – and could beryllium to beryllium the authorities that determines who wins the election.

In caller days, Harris has gained crushed there, according to Democratic strategist Anish Mohanty. “Things person changed successful this predetermination implicit the past fewer days and the vice president has pulled disconnected her run effectively,” Mohanty told Al Jazeera soon aft polls opened connected the East Coast. Mohanty alluded to racist remarks against Puerto Rico by a comedian astatine a Trump rally precocious arsenic a turning constituent for the campaign: Pennsylvania is location to much than 480,000 Puerto Ricans.

But successful summation to concerns implicit governmental divisiveness, immigration, the authorities of the system and abortion, Pennsylvanians are acrophobic astir an contented circumstantial to their state: Fracking.

Fracking is simply a signifier of lipid and state accumulation that environmentalists accidental is atrocious for the situation but which is the root of a immense fig of jobs astir the state. The signifier causes world tremors and has a precocious biology outgo since the process consumes ample amounts of water, successful summation to releasing methane, a greenhouse gas.

An October canvass recovered that the state’s residents are divided connected fracking: 58 percent backed it, portion 42 percent opposed it.

Harris connected fracking

Harris famously opposed fracking erstwhile she ran for president 4 years agone but successful precocious July, her run officials confirmed that she volition not question to prohibition fracking if elected.

Harris wrapped up her run with a final, glitzy lawsuit successful Philadelphia, wherever iconic speech amusement big Oprah Winfrey introduced her.

The vice president called connected “everyone” successful Pennsylvania to vote.

“You are going to marque the quality successful this election,” she told her supporters.

Trump connected fracking

Meanwhile, Trump supports fracking and has said helium volition erstwhile again retreat from the 2015 Paris Agreement to trim greenhouse state emissions and volition besides region biology regulations, specified arsenic restrictions connected fossil substance production, deemed “burdensome”. He had withdrawn from the Paris pact during his archetypal word – President Joe Biden had recommitted the US to the statement erstwhile helium came to power.

Wisconsin: Healthcare

Up until 2016, Wisconsin had been a reliably bluish authorities for decades, but Trump was capable to outpouring a surprise, beating Hillary Clinton by wooing mostly white, working-class voters who were unhappy astir wages, poorness and rising healthcare costs.

Four years later, Biden was capable to bring the authorities backmost into the Democratic Party’s fold.

This time, aggregate sentiment polls person suggested that healthcare is the astir pressing contented for voters, successful a authorities that has been severely affected by the country’s opioid crisis.

Harris connected healthcare

Harris has said she volition little the outgo of pharmaceutical drugs, fortify the Affordable Care Act, and little healthcare premiums. If elected, she volition besides enactment with states to cancel aesculapian indebtedness for much people, she has promised.

Trump connected healthcare

On the different hand, Trump says helium is “looking astatine alternatives” to the Affordable Care Act, which helium calls excessively expensive.

Nevada: Unemployment

While Nevada has the fewest Electoral College votes – six – among the plaything states, they could inactive beryllium important successful specified a adjacent race.

Nevada suffers from the highest unemployment rate among each US states – lone Washington, DC has a higher joblessness complaint – arsenic good arsenic precocious costs of living.

Harris connected unemployment

Harris has promised to reappraisal which national jobs necessitate a assemblage grade if elected president.

“We request to get successful beforehand of this thought that lone high-skilled jobs necessitate assemblage degrees,” Harris said astatine a rally successful October, promising she would tackle this connected “day one” of her presidency.

Trump connected unemployment

At his October rally successful Nevada, Trump promised to tackle inflation, but successful a much caller rally this month, did not code the contented of unemployment.

Al Jazeera’s John Holman, who attended Trump’s November rally successful Nevada, noted that portion Trump concentrated connected migration, the superior interest for voters successful Nevada is the economy.

“This is the authorities with the highest unemployment successful the US. It’s been deed hard with inflation. Gas prices, successful particular, are high, and it’s a authorities that has ne'er wholly recovered from the pandemic,” Holman said.

North Carolina: Abortion

North Carolina is the lone 1 of this year’s plaything states to person been won by Trump successful 2020 and though Harris does not needfully request to triumph North Carolina, immoderate script successful which she does volition marque her way to 270 a batch easier.

Trump tin besides get to 270 without North Carolina but doing truthful volition beryllium precise difficult.

Abortion is simply a cardinal contented successful the state, according to polls. The authorities reduced the ineligible bounds for abortions from 20 weeks of gestation to conscionable 12 weeks successful 2023 aft the US Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade tribunal ruling granting the close to abortion.

The ruling near the contented mostly unresolved and turned the existent predetermination into a referendum connected cardinal rights for women.

Democrats are hoping that the contented of termination volition motivate achromatic women, who person historically favoured Republicans and 60 percent of whom voted for Trump successful 2020, to present ballot for Harris instead.

Harris connected abortion

The vice president, hoping to go the archetypal pistillate president successful the country’s history, has said she volition forestall a nationalist termination prohibition from becoming instrumentality and volition motion immoderate measure passed by Congress that restores the legality of termination nationwide.

Trump connected abortion

Meanwhile, Trump has said termination laws are for idiosyncratic states to determine and said helium volition not motion a nationalist termination ban. However, helium has not signalled that helium would reason states – similar North Carolina – adopting restrictive measures against reproductive rights.