Kamala Harris and Donald Trump closed their campaigns and the country is preparing to experience some of the closest disputes in history

The United States faces the closest election in its history this Tuesday and goes to the polls after a campaign never seen before, with a candidate who was replaced almost at the end of the race, two attacks and a level of verbal violence unusual in the first power of the planet. With a very close tie between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris In the polls, Americans will decide between two powerful messages put forward by the candidates: privileging the economy and the pocketbook or living in a predictable country without risks for democracy.

Whoever wins, the next president will make history: Harris would be the first woman to command the White House and Trump, 78, the oldest man and the first to reach the highest public office being convicted of various criminal offenses.

The battle has been ruthless and until the last moment remains open-ended. An average of RealClearPolitics polls gives them an absolute tie at 48.5% in the popular vote and they are just tenths up or down in key states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. All within the margin of error, a level of parity that pollsters say they have no memory of.

That is why Harris and Trump targeted the last hours of the campaign to tour the most disputed territories and above all to try to conquer the jewel in the crown: Pennsylvania, the state that has the most electoral votes among the crucial swing states that will define the election.

The vice president spent the day in Scranton, Allentown, where there is a strong proportion of Latinos, and ended with a great event in Philadelphia with Hillary Clinton and Lady Gaga. Until the last moment, the vice president was trying to win the vote of Puerto Ricans, after they were accused in a Trumpist act. of being “garbage”.

Trump toured Reading and Pittsburgh, but had previously traveled to North Carolina, where he seeks to garner African-American votes. It ends its campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it closed in 2016 and 2020. His friend Elon Musk helps him: A judge said this Monday that the controversial proposal of the owner of Tesla, which seeks to boost Trump’s presidential campaign with a daily drawing of a million dollars among voters in the most disputed states, can continue on Tuesday, the day of the elections.

But while the candidates organized their events, a frantic legion of volunteers searched house to house calling on voters to go to the polls and they also tired the telephone numbers of the most hesitant trying to convince them. The effort on the ground was more visible and organized among the Democrats, who were excited about the final push that could lead their candidate to victory.

Since replacing Joe Biden in the Democratic race, Harris, 60, gained initial momentum in the polls thanks to the strong enthusiasm that his candidacy brought among women, young people and some undecided sectors. His message was to show a new generation of leadership, which would confront Trump’s institutional chaos and close the divisions of a society that has been rifted for years.

She swears that she would be a president for all, that she would safeguard democracy against the Republican threat and also offer political predictability, “normality,” to Americans and the world, while caring for the well-being of the middle class and women, especially everything on the issue of abortion.

Trump managed to revitalize his campaign after the attack he suffered based on an image of a strong leader but, above all, because of his message about the economy, which is the main concern of Americans. Are you better or worse than 4 years ago? he asks his voters, appealing to a Reaganite imprint.

Many affirm in surveys that due to the inflation that occurred in these years after the pandemic, they are much worse than before and believe that Trump is a better leader to solve the economydespite the fact that Biden’s numbers reveal a country in steady growth, a drop in inflation to almost normal levels (2.8% annually) and unemployment of just 4%.

But people don’t feel it in their pockets, even though salaries have also risen.. They believe that prices will simply go down with Trump and he encourages it: this Friday he uploaded posts on his social network that show photos of the price “with Trump” and “with Harris” of potatoes, ham, eggs and milk . Obviously everything is more expensive than 4 years ago. Subtly, Trump does not say that he will lower them to those levels – something impossible – but it does not matter, his message hits hard.

It also had a deep impact on the electorate. his strong diatribe against immigrantswho according to him “poison the blood of the country”, who spend state money, while relying on false claims that the majority are criminals. Immigration is the second concern of Americans.

With this message Trump seemed to be sailing in recent weeks with more wind in its favor than Harris in the polls. However, against all the advice of his advisors, the magnate began to radicalize his speech, instead of using restraint to appeal to the more moderate sectors that distrust his aggressive style.

The event at Madison Square Garden in New York It was a compendium of insults and sayings against immigrantsAfrican Americans, women and Harris herself, who was even described as a prostitute. He then continued in other events where he attacked the press and suggested that the daughter of former President Dick Cheney should be shot.

From then on the Democratic campaign seemed to be revitalized. Puerto Ricans (many in key Pennsylvania) protested and doubted their vote. Some signs in early voting, where many women were seen at the polls, also fueled optimism.

But, beyond the signs, the word will be in the polls. The race is still very tight and anything can happen. It remains to be seen if Americans prioritize the economic message or turn the page on the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement and defeat Trump. This Tuesday will be a very long night and it is likely that the results will not be known even until several days later.