The 2024 elections are just 2 days away. Here’s how things are going.

• Election Day is just two days away.
• Harris and Trump are campaigning in swing states as they make their final appeal to voters.
• The results could reveal a historic gender gap, with the economy and abortion being the main issues.

Tuesday, Election Day, sees the end of what once was controversial race for the office of US president between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

More than 68 million Americans have already cast their ballots, a staggering number that shows intense interest and high stakes in a contest that has had more twists and turns than any presidential contest in recent memory.

Throughout the campaign, Trump capitalized on concerns about the economy, which has consistently been a top issue for voters. When President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee, this was his greatest vulnerability, despite low unemployment and steady job growth after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Inflation is the main reason voters are concerned about the economy. Although wages have increased in recent years, higher prices impacted the finances of millions of people.

After Biden stepped down as the nominee in July and Harris became the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer, she immediately focused on the issue, vowing to attack price gouging and exposing a broad economic plan her own.

It didn’t take long for Harris to start closing the gap between Democrats and the GOP in the presidential race.

Now, in his last daysthe race remains close, with both candidates virtually tied in swing states as they make their final appeal to voters.

Battlefield states remain close to each other

Harris’ clearest path to 270 electoral votes – and overall victory – is to crush all Democratic strongholds and blue-leaning states while winning Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.

Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin constitute the critical core “blue wall” countries which supported Democratic presidential candidates from 1992 to 2012 but has recently proven less reliable for Democrats.

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The three states – which Harris and Trump crisscrossed in search of votes – include urban, suburban and rural areas that will be key for any candidate in the race.

(Pennsylvania offers 19 electoral votes, Michigan 15 and Wisconsin 10. Second-place Nebraska offers one vote, which could be decisive for Harris).

In 2016, Trump broke the blue wall by winning all three states, making inroads with working-class voters who previously supported former President Barack Obama, including a critical bloc of independents and union workers.

But in 2020, Biden changed the states of the blue wall back into the Democratic column, but only narrowly. That year, Biden also won Nebraska’s Omaha-anchored 2nd District, and recent polls suggests that Harris may actually have an advantage there as well.

Harris has directed most of her energy toward states where she will need to do well to counter Trump’s stronger position in the Sun Belt.

states the Sun Belt

Trump seemed favored win Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina when he faced Biden. However, Harris’ candidacy energized young and minority voters who were unenthusiastic about Biden, allowing her to expand the Democratic map.

As a result, Sun Belt countries remain competitive. Republicans he seems to have gained the upper hand in the early votes in Nevada. However, Election Day turnout and the direction of remaining absentee ballots remain unknown.

Sun Belt voters focused on the economy and immigration, two issues that benefit Trump. But Harris managed to do it cut into Trump’s edge on economic issues while actively engaging in voting on issues such as abortion, democracy and supporting the middle class.

We have seen a historical difference between the sexes

Shortly before leaving the race, Biden organized a small advantage with women, while Trump did much better with male voters.

But given that Harris is the Democratic nominee — and the potential for the U.S. to elect the first-ever woman president — the country is likely to see a historically large gender gap once all the votes are counted.

The solid female Harris is derived in part from abortion rights.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, sending the abortion issue back to the states. Today, millions of women live in states with near-total abortion bans, while millions of other women live in states where abortion rights have been strengthened.

In the final days of the race, Harris emphasized the issue strongly, which also helped Democrats in the 2022 midterms.

Meanwhile, Trump has appeared on podcasts that appeal to conservative-leaning male listeners and appears to have gained significant support from young black and Latino men, according to polls.

The stark gender gap is illustrated by a recent, top-rated national survey.

Late October New York Times/Siena College study likely voters had Trump ahead of Harris by 14 points among men (55% to 41%), while Harris was ahead of Trump by 12 points (54% to 42%) among women. Overall, the poll showed a tie, with each candidate receiving 48% of respondents’ support.