Kamala Harris LIVE Updates: Will US Get Its First Female President?

Last Updated:November 05, 2024, 16:30 IST

Harris, who entered the presidential race after her predecessor President Joe Biden dropped out, is locked in a tight race with Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris finished her 2024 campaign at the sets of the popular movie 'Rocky'. (Reuters)

With a few hours left for the US Presidential Elections, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have both predicted victory during their frantic campaign blitz across Pennsylvania and other battlegrounds on Monday in last-minute attempts to woo voters.

Both Harris and Trump each got three ballots in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire which for decades has kicked off election day at the stroke of midnight on Monday, underscoring the incredibly tight competition for the White House. To inform you, Dixville Notch has only six registered voters and the results indicate an unsurprising split verdict.

Harris entered the presidential race after President Joe Biden, 81, dropped his re-election bid under pressure from his own party following a poor debate performance against Trump on June 27. Her entry galvanised the Democrats as many high-profile celebrities and businessmen backed her bid, initially pushing Trump on the back foot.

However, her ‘honeymoon’ lead has now evaporated and now opinion polls show the 60-year-old Vice President and Trump, 78, virtually even. The winner may not be known for days after Tuesday’s vote, though Trump has already signaled that he will attempt to fight any defeat, as he did in 2020.

‘Momentum is on our side’: Kamala Harris

Both candidates predicted victory as they converged on Pennsylvania on Monday to urge supporters who have not yet cast their ballots to show up on Election Day. “Tomorrow is Election Day. And the momentum is on our side. Our campaign has tapped into the ambitions, the aspirations and the dreams of the American people," Harris said at a rally in Pennsylvania.

“We are optimistic and we are excited about what we can do together. And we know it is time for a new generation of leadership in America. And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America. However, the race ain’t over yet, and we must finish strong. And this could be, this could be one of the closest races in history. Every single vote matters," she added.

ALSO READ: Kamala Harris Vs Donald Trump: Which Key US States Give Each Candidate The Edge?

Harris asserted “We will win, we will win" in the rally as she was joined by Oprah Winfrey and husband Douglas Emhoff. The event, featuring performances by Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga, and will.i.am, concluded with Harris’s final appeal: “Are you ready to make your voices heard?"

She ended the day in Philadelphia with a star-studded event at the “Rocky steps" of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the site of a famous scene from the movie “Rocky."

How Harris and Trump are faring in the election?

All eyes are on key battlegrounds like Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina to decide the fate of the candidates. The race is very tight in swing states, which are unpredictable and go either way.

Several US polls show Harris leading Trump by narrow margins. A HarrisX/Forbes poll put Harris at 49% to Trump’s 48%, while a PBS News/NPR/Marist survey shows her at 51% to 47%. However, other polls, including those from NBC News and Emerson College, saw both of them tied at 49%.

Interestingly, polls indicate that Harris is currently leading in Iowa, a state where Trump has won twice in 2016 and 2020. This shift is attributed largely to strong support from female voters. On the other hand, Trump is leading over Harris in Georgia and North Carolina.

Harris’ ancestral village in Tamil Nadu to pray for her win

While Harris takes on Trump for the White House on Tuesday, residents in her ancestral village in India’s Tamil Nadu, more than 13,000 km away from Washington, are holding prayers for her victory in a Hindu temple. Notably, Harris’ maternal grandfather PV Gopalan was born in Thulasendrapuram over a century ago.

“There will be a special prayer on Tuesday morning at the temple. Celebrations will follow if she wins," said G Manikandan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple. At the temple, Harris’ name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations, along with that of her grandfather. Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land" success in the election.

“Our deity is a very powerful God. If we pray well to him, he will make her victorious," said M Natarajan, the temple priest that led the prayers in front of the image of Hindu deity Ayyanar, a form of Lord Shiva. An interesting thing to note is that Harris has never visited Thulasendrapuram and she has no living relatives in the village, but the villagers still revere the Vice President.

Harris’s connection to India’s vast diaspora in the US could help cement stronger ties between the two countries, particularly in the areas of cultural diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges. The Indian-American community is one of the fastest-growing and most influential ethnic groups in the US, and Harris’s background could strengthen the bonds between the two countries.

Who is Kamala Harris?

Born on October 20, 1964, Harris is the first US Vice President of Indian and Black heritage. She was born to Shyamala Gopalan, who hailed from Chennai, Tamil Nadu and came to the US to study nutrition and endocrinology. Harris maintained close contact with her Indian family and frequently travelled to Chennai.

Kamala Harris studied at political science and economics at Howard University, a historically Black college. After that, she earned a law degree from the University of California College of the Law in 1989 and worked as a deputy district attorney in Oakland, California. She quickly gained a reputation in tackling cases of gang violence, drug trafficking and sexual abuse.

In 2010, Harris was elected the Attorney General of California, becoming the first woman and Black American to hold the position. Harris also became the first Indian American and the second Black American woman elected to the US Senate in 2017, where she joined the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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