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Here’s what to watch in the final full week of the presidential campaign

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Uncertainty reigns entering the final full week of the 2024 campaign with Democrat and Republican locked in a fiercely competitive presidential contest. What happens in the coming days will be pivotal in deciding the winner.

Here’s what we’re watching this week:

Can Trump stay on message (relatively speaking)?

Even before the week began, Trump鈥檚 campaign risked being knocked off course by controversy. A rally at New York City鈥檚 Madison Square Garden late Sunday that was meant to serve as a closing message was instead , including a comedian who called Puerto Rico a 鈥渇loating island of garbage.鈥

And with eight days to go until , history suggests Trump is virtually guaranteed to say or do something else controversial in the final stretch. The only question is whether it will break through.

If there鈥檚 one thing we know, it鈥檚 that Trump cannot help himself. He鈥檚 been using authoritarian-style rhetoric in recent days to suggest that his Democratic opponents, whom he calls 鈥 ,鈥 are more dangerous to the nation than the threat posed by Russia and China.

Democrats will be combing through every Trump interview and public appearance for something similar to exploit. There are also multiple ongoing , who has already been convicted of 34 felony charges, that could reveal new information.

Yet Democrats are the first to admit that voter opinions of Trump is so hardened that it would take something truly stunning to change the course of the election.

There is precedent for a final-week stunner, however. Remember, it was Oct. 28, 2016, when former FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress indicating that federal investigators learned of new emails pertinent to the investigation into Hillary Clinton鈥檚 use of a private email server.

Will Harris鈥 closing message harness Democrats鈥 anxiety?

It would be an understatement to describe Democrats as anxious as Election Day looms. But there was a deliberate effort by Harris鈥 senior team over the weekend to project optimism to help temper the fear.

Harris senior adviser Jen O鈥橫alley Dillon predicted victory on MSNBC on Sunday: 鈥淲e are confident we鈥檙e going to win this thing,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing extraordinary enthusiasm. This is going to be a close race, and our campaign is exactly where we want to be.鈥

Harris will try to alleviate Democratic anxiety further on Tuesday when she delivers at the Ellipse, the same spot near the White House where Trump spoke on Jan. 6, 2021 shortly before his supporters attacked the Capitol.

Harris is expected to focus her remarks on the danger Trump poses to U.S. democracy. She has called her Republican rival 鈥渁 fascist鈥 in recent days. And she鈥檚 been joined by an unlikely ally, Trump鈥檚 former chief of staff John Kelly, who has also described Trump as a fascist recently.

But she鈥檚 expected to hit broader themes as well, encouraging voters to look behind her at the White House and imagine who will be sitting at the Resolute Desk at a moment of great consequence. She鈥檚 aiming to drive home the stakes of the Nov. 5 election for undecided voters 鈥 especially moderate Republicans who may be uncomfortable with Trump鈥檚 divisive leadership and extreme rhetoric. And while Harris鈥 team is betting that there is a significant number of moderates who can still be persuaded, she鈥檚 not focused enough on economic issues in the campaign鈥檚 closing days.

Democratic anxiety, we have learned, may be a fact of life.

Where will they go?

The candidates鈥 evolving travel schedules will tell us much about the battlegrounds that will matter most on Election Day.

Here鈥檚 what we know for sure: Harris and Trump are aggressively competing in just seven swing states that will ultimately decide the election. They are the three so-called 鈥淏lue Wall鈥 states 鈥 Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin 鈥 in addition to Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

For a political perspective, however, not every one of the seven is created equal.

Harris spent Sunday in Pennsylvania, which may be the election鈥檚 biggest prize. Harris is next scheduled to go to Michigan. And after Tuesday鈥檚 closing argument in Washington, she plans to visit North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Wednesday alone. She heads to Nevada and Arizona on Thursday.

What do we know about Trump鈥檚 schedule? He鈥檚 booked to host at least one rally every day next week: Monday in Georgia, Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Wednesday in Wisconsin, Thursday in Nevada, Friday in Wisconsin again and Saturday in Virginia.

But as a reminder, these schedules are likely to change based on the campaigns鈥 intelligence on the ground.

Will the early voting surge continue?

More than in the election nationwide. Democrats generally have an advantage in early voting, but so far, at least, Republicans are participating at a much higher rate than they have in the past.

The question: Will it last?

Trump, of course, has for years encouraged his supporters to cast only in-person ballots on Election Day. The practice put the GOP at a significant disadvantage. He largely reversed course in recent months as he and his party acknowledged the obvious benefit of being able to bank their votes as early as possible.

Because of the Republican participation, the early turnout was last week in swing states such as Georgia and North Carolina.

But with the GOP more focused on 鈥渆lection integrity鈥 rather than a traditional get-out-the-vote operation, it鈥檚 unclear whether the uptick in Republican early voting will continue. Democrats hope it won鈥檛.

How hard will Trump work to undermine election results?

History may one day decide that the most significant thing Trump said in the closing days of the 2024 election is the thing that many voters barely notice anymore: his persistent warnings that this election is rigged against him.

Indeed, as Election Day approaches, Trump is increasingly warning his supporters that he will lose on Nov. 5 only if his political opponents cheat. Such statements have no basis in fact. There was no evidence of significant voter fraud in the 2020 election, which Trump lost, and there is no evidence that Trump鈥檚 adversaries can or will rig this election against him either.

Still, Trump鈥檚 unfounded warnings make an already tense and violent election season even more fraught. And there are 鈥 especially Russia, China and Iran 鈥 will meddle in the election.

At the same time, the tens of millions of dollars into an operation to mobilize thousands of polling place monitors, poll workers and attorneys to serve as 鈥渆lection integrity鈥 watchdogs. Democrats are worried that the effort could lead to harassment of election workers and undermine trust in the vote.

Both parties are aggressively no matter who wins.

Will wars in the Middle East shift the focus?

U.S. presidential elections are rarely shaped by foreign affairs, but the wars in the Middle East have been escalating at the very moment that millions of voters are preparing to cast ballots.

It鈥檚 still unclear how Iran will respond to Israel鈥檚 across Iran on Friday but Israel did not target oil or nuclear sites, a sign that a much more serious escalation may have been avoided. In another indication that this conflict may not spiral out of control, the Islamic Republic insisted the strikes caused only 鈥渓imited damage鈥 and the messaging from Iranian state-run media downplayed the attacks.

If the region spirals further toward all-out regional war or holds steady at an already devastating and destabilizing level of violence could also determine the extent to which the Middle East conflict shapes the U.S. election.

The issue has been especially difficult for Harris to navigate as she simultaneously vows to support Israel and offers empathy for those tens of thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel鈥檚 response to Hamas鈥 Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. The Democratic vice president continues to face intense pressure from her party鈥檚 progressive base, which has been extremely critical of Israel.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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