Latest News: Harris and Trump campaign in key states as early voting begins in Georgia…. See More

What we’re covering
• On the campaign trail: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are in battleground states today as they race to make their final pitches to voters just weeks until Election Day.

• Early voting record in Georgia: A record number of early votes were cast in Georgia on Tuesday as residents headed to the polls in a critical battleground state. Early in-person voting begins in North Carolina on Thursday.

A very close race: The latest CNN Poll of Polls average of national polling still finds no clear leader in the presidential race, with an average of 50% of likely voters supporting Harris and 47% backing Trump.

• What to know before you cast your vote: Read CNN’s voter handbook to see how to vote in your area and read up on the 2024 candidates and their proposals on key issues.

At campaign event in Philadelphia, Biden says Harris will “cut her own path” if she is elected president

President Joe Biden made his return to the campaign trail in battleground Pennsylvania Tuesday night, making the case that voters should elect Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the November election, saying in part that “she’s been loyal so far, but she’s gonna cut her own path.”

“Every president has to cut their own path. That’s what I did. I was loyal to Barack Obama, but I cut my own path as president. That’s what Kamala is going to do. She’ll be — she’s been loyal so far, but she’s gonna cut her own path,” Biden said.

Biden’s comments at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Autumn Dinner are reflective of the delicate balance he is attempting to walk on the campaign trail — advocating for his own vice president while trying to give her space to run separately from some of the administration’s record.

The president used the bulk of his comments to take aim directly at former President Donald Trump. Biden repeatedly called his predecessor a “loser” and said that Trump’s perspective is “old” and “totally dishonest.”

“Trump wasn’t only a loser in 2020, he’s a loser in everything he does,” the president said to the crowd gathered at the Sheetmetal Workers Banquet Hall.

Walz says if Trump was “your grandfather, you would take the keys from him”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz again slammed former President Donald Trump after a bizarre episode in which the Republican nominee abruptly cut off a planned town hall and played music for his supporters, again suggesting Trump is mentally unfit to serve.

For the third time in three events in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Walz laid out the details of the episode from Monday night. But during the event at Acrisure Stadium, home of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, Walz made a reference to the sexual innuendos in the lyrics to “YMCA” by the Village People, a song frequently played at Trump campaign events.

He stopped taking questions and stood frozen on stage for 30 minutes while they played his Spotify list. Do you think he knows the story behind the YMCA song?,” Walz rhetorically asked the crowd, prompting a loud cheers from the hundreds gathered in the stadium’s concourse. “It was strange, but if this was your grandfather, you would take the keys from him.”

Walz was interrupted on three different occasions by pro-Palestinian protesters during his remarks. On two occasions, Walz stopped speaking, which allowed the protesters’ voices to fill the venue, before carrying on with his remarks.

Walz urged supporters to vote early and to closely follow voting instructions while accusing Republicans of attempting to suppress votes.

Harris stops by Detroit watch party following Charlamagne tha God interview

Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by a watch party at Cred Cafe, a local Detroit small business owned by former NBA players Joe and Jamal Crawford, following her live interview with Charlamagne tha God.

She thanked attendees for their support and reminded them that early voting in Michigan begins in four days during her brief remarks.

“Early voting, everybody knows it starts in four days here in Michigan, and Detroit is going to help deliver Michigan. Michigan is going to help us win,” she said.

GOP megadonors open wallets for fight for the Senate, driving record-breaking quarter for top super PAC

A network of leading conservative megadonors funneled tens of millions of dollars into the fight for the Senate during the third quarter of the year, new filings with the Federal Election Commission show, building a record-breaking war chest for the top Republican group engaged in a series of highly competitive races.

Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with outgoing Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, reported raising $115.7 million in the third quarter, the largest quarterly total the group has ever reported, though slightly less than the $119 million that its Democratic counterpart, Senate Majority PAC, said it raised over the same period, also touting its haul as a record. (SMP has not yet filed its third quarter report.)

Between July and September, some of the leading donors to Republican candidates and causes opened their wallets to the Senate GOP super PAC.

Several billionaire financiers were among the biggest contributors – Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin gave the super PAC $20 million in the third quarter, bringing his total for the year to the group up to $27.5 million; Elliott Management founder and CEO Paul Singer gave $10 million, bringing his total for the year to $20 million; and Blackstone Group co-founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman gave $9 million.

In addition, Miriam Adelson — widow of the casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, and who also gave $95 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in the quarter — gave the Senate Leadership Fund $5 million in Q3, bringing her total for the year to the group up to $15 million.

SLF has played a leading role in Republican Senate campaigns since its founding in 2015, and during the 2022 midterms, it spent a total of more than $290 million supporting GOP candidates.