NEW YORK (AP) — 2024 presidential contest enters final weekend with Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump locked in a very thin contest.

In this final phase of the campaign, every day counts. While few voters can change their minds this late in a typical election, there is a sense that the events of these final days could change the vote.

Harris and Trump are traveling the country to rally voters in key states. They try – with varying degrees of success – to focus on a clear and concise closing message. At the same time, both parties are investing large amounts of resources to increase turnout during the latest early voting period. And in these critical days, the flow of misinformation intensifies.

Here’s what we’ll be watching in the final weekend before Election Day, which is on Tuesday:

You only have to look at the candidates’ schedules this weekend to know where this election will likely play out.

Be aware that schedules can and will likely change without notice. But on Saturday, Trump began making appearances in North Carolina, then made a surprising stop in Virginia and planned to return to the Tar Heel state in the evening.

No Democratic presidential candidate has carried North Carolina since. Barack Obama Even though every election since 2008 has been decided by less than 3 points. Trump’s decision to spend Saturday there shows Harris has a real opportunity in the state. However, Trump is also trying to reassure by visiting the state of Virginia, which has been on the side of the Democratic Party since 2008.

There is perhaps no swing state more important than Pennsylvania, where Trump is expected to campaign on Sunday. But he will make another appearance in North Carolina, in addition to Georgia, another Southern state that has leaned Republican for nearly three decades. Joe Biden four years ago it carried that figure by less than half a point.

Harris campaigned in Atlanta on Saturday ahead of a rally in North Carolina’s capital; This indicates that his team senses a real opportunity in the South. He plans to make multiple stops in Michigan on Sunday, moving into a Democratic-leaning state in the “blue wall” where his allies believe he is vulnerable.

Trump’s campaign leadership wants voters to focus on one key question as they prepare to vote, opening each of his rallies with the same question: Are you better off today than you were four years ago?

Harris’ team wants voters to consider another: Do they trust Trump or Harris to put the country’s interests ahead of their own?

The candidate who can more effectively keep voters focused on the closing arguments in the coming days may ultimately win the presidency. But both candidates are off to a rocky start.

Trump opens the weekend still facing the fallout from his recent behavior New York rally A comedian here described Puerto Rico as “a floating pile of garbage.” Things got even tougher for Trump, who late Thursday raised the possibility of his Republican rival Liz Cheney running. death by gunshot.

This was exactly the kind of provocative comment he wanted his allies to avoid at this critical moment.

Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign is still trying to shift the conversation away from President Biden’s. Comments made at the beginning of the week He described Trump supporters as “trash.” Associated Press Late Thursday, the White House announced that press officials had changed the official text of that call, prompting objections from federal employees who document such statements for posterity.

The light of presidential politics always burns brightly. But perhaps this final weekend will burn brightest, leaving campaigns with almost no margin for error. If both sides believe a real election will fail, any misstep in the final hours could be decisive.

Trump’s graphic attack on Cheney was particularly problematic, given his allies’ growing concerns about female voters.

Polls show a significant gender gap in the contest, with Harris scoring much better than Trump among women overall. Some of this may be the result of the GOP’s fight to restrict abortion rights, which has been disastrous for Trump’s party. But Trump’s divisive leadership has also alienated women.

Heading into the weekend, Trump’s allies, including conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, are warning that far more women than men are voting early. While it’s impossible to know who they voted for, Kirk clearly believes this is bad news for Trump.

It doesn’t help the Trump cause. The day before his fierce rhetoric about Cheney, the former president caused a stir by saying he would protect women “whether they like it or not.”