With just over two months away and three weeks from the first presidential debate, the White House race entered the final stretch Monday with Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump locked in what promises to be a bitter campaign dominated by attacks on each other.
Battleground states will be the focus of the two campaigns as both seek to take their message to undecided voters and diverse communities.
As candidates and their vice presidential running mates flew off to different directions for traditional Labour Day holiday appearances around the country, new opinion polls showed Mrs. Clinton slightly ahead of Trump. The election takes place on Tuesday, November 8.
The Labour Day, an American holiday, is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of the United States. It also marks the end of summer.
“Let’s have a big round of applause for labour,” Democratic vice-presidential nominee Governor Tim Kaine said at Pittsburgh’s annual Labour Day parade, sponsored by labour unions.
“We have to make sure labour is right there with us,” Kaine continued. “We’re going to involve labour in everything we do. … And nobody understands team work like organized labour,” he added according to a report.
Joining the Virginia governor was Vice President Joe Biden.
As per their schedules, later in the day, Clinton and Trump will hold separate events in Ohio — like Pennsylvania a key battle-ground state whose economy relies in large part on manufacturing and where the labour vote is essential toward winning the state.
Meanwhile, Trump is also expected to campaign at a fair in Youngstown, Ohio. In recent history, no Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio and Trump is trying to overcome some divisions within the state, which heavily backed Ohio Governor John Kasich during the primary season.
Clinton, after somewhat quiet last few days , will also travel to the city later in the day for a Labor Day festival with union workers.
The chief former American diplomat, still facing email server controversy, has been questioning Trump’s temperament and preparedness to serve as commander in chief while seeking to connect the reality television star to the extreme “alt-right” movement within the Republican Party.
Over the weekend, Trump visited a predominantly black church in Detroit in a rare appearance with minority voters, aiming to counter Clinton’s argument to moderate and suburban voters that he has allowed a racist fringe to influence his candidacy.
Campaigning will peak with the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
Clinton, who has collected $143 million in August for her campaign, will use the Labour Day festival in Cleveland to pitch her credentials as a candidate ready for the top White House job. Former President Bill Clinton is set to be in Detroit and Cincinnati while Bernie Sanders will be in New Hampshire as part of the Democratic push.
