Poll shows which way Americans are leaning as the race enters the homestretch
A new series of polls released Sunday show former President Trump and Vice President Harris are neck and neck in seven battleground states with less than 48 hours to go until Election Day.
The New York Times/Siena College polls of likely voters show Trump and Harris are tied in Pennsylvania and Michigan.
In Arizona, Trump is leading Harris 49-45%, while Harris is ahead of Trump 49-46% in Nevada, 49-47% in Wisconsin, 48-46% in North Carolina and 48-47% in Georgia.
A total of 7,879 likely voters were surveyed across the seven battleground states between Oct. 24 to Nov. 2, with 1,025 in Arizona, 1,004 in Georgia, 998 in Michigan, 1,010 in Nevada, 1,010 in North Carolina, 1,527 in Pennsylvania and 1,305 in Wisconsin, according to The New York Times. The polls have a margin of error of 3.5%.
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Of the 8% of voters who indicated that they only recently decided who they were voting for, 55% said they are backing Harris, compared to 44% for Trump, The New York Times reported.
The newspaper also reported that 11% of voters still remain undecided or persuadable, down from 16% a month ago.
Across all the battleground states, 24% of the likely voters said the economy – which includes jobs and the stock market – is their top issue, followed by abortion with 18% and immigration with 15%.
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Harris is underperforming compared to President Biden in 2020 among younger voters, Black voters and Latino voters, according to The New York Times.
In Pennsylvania, incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, is leading challenger David McCormick 50-45%, which is down from nine points in September, the newspaper says.
In Wisconsin, the polls show incumbent Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s lead over Republican Eric Hovde is narrowing as well, as it’s currently 50-46%, which is down from eight points around a month ago, The New York Times adds.
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The race for Michigan’s open Senate seat is also closely contested, with Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin leading Republican challenger Mike Rogers 48-46%, the polls show.
Donation to Squad Democrat tied to ‘Hamas’ in pivotal battleground state
A self-described “Hamas operative” accused of vandalizing Jewish buildings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and purchasing explosive materials, reportedly had donated to “Squad” Democrats critical of Israel.
A criminal complaint unsealed in the Western District of Pennsylvania charges Mohamad Hamad and Talya Lubit with one count each of defacing and damaging religious real property and one count of conspiracy.
Hamad is a dual citizen of the United States and Lebanon who resides in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.
Hamad was a member of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, assigned to the 171st Maintenance Squadron stationed in Moon Township, Pa., near the Pittsburgh International Airport, until Sept. 13, 2024, “when he was barred from the facility,” court documents say. He also drove a BMW with Ohio plates.
Lubit is a U.S. citizen who resides in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
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On July 29, Chabad of Squirrel Hill, a synagogue and center for Jewish educational programming, reported to the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police that the message “Jews 4 Palestine” with an inverted triangle – a pro-Hamas symbol initially used to mark an Israeli target during fighting in Gaza – had been sprayed in red paint on the exterior of the building. That same day, the Jewish Federation, a non-profit organization, also reported to police that an exterior entrance sign to its property was spray-painted in red to add the words, “Funds Genocide Jews, Hate Zionists” and a red heart.
A joint investigation by the FBI and Pittsburgh police found Hamad had purchased red spray paint from Walmart a day before the vandalism was reported at both Jewish buildings. His vehicle was also spotted on surveillance video near the crime scenes. Lubit is accused of being Hamad’s accomplice in the vandalism.
A recent graduate of Dickinson College in central Pennsylvania, Lubit is a Jewish activist against Israel.
According to the New York Post, Lubit had asked a county council to pass a controversial cease-fire resolution and suggested Israel was to blame for the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas terrorists. Lubit also signed onto a letter defending “Squad” member Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., who blamed Israel for Oct. 7.
Hamad made a $10 contribution to “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., in November 2023, according to the Post. Soon after Oct. 7, 2023, Omar had demanded a cease-fire from Israel.
Hamad also donated $5 to “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., in April. That was after Congress censured Tlaib for justifying the Oct. 7 attacks as “resistance” against what she called an “apartheid government.”
Court documents list messages Hamad sent on the encrypted messaging app Signal with Lubit and others.
In one exchange, Hamad shared what is believed to be a photo of himself with his face covered, holding a combination United States and Israeli flag, possibly bearing the slogan, “We Stand with Israel.”
The person believed to be Hamad has his right index finger pointed upward – a symbol “frequently used to signify the Tawhid, a central tenet of Islam asserting the ‘oneness’ of Allah,” which “also been featured in propaganda adopted by a number of foreign terrorist organizations,” according to court documents.
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Investigators note that he appears to be wearing a sweatshirt later seized from Hamad’s room during the execution of a search warrant. The sweatshirt had the inverted triangle symbol, the words “RESPECT EXISTENCE OR EXPECT RESISTANCE,” and the image of a masked individual carrying a firearm on the back.
Hamad also allegedly described himself as a “Hamas operative.”
In a July 12 exchange, Hamad said he “yoinked that sh–,” referring to the U.S.-Israeli flag, adding, “Imagine the terror they saw if they had cams. Hamas operative ripping off their flags in white suburbia,” according to court documents.
The documents say Hamad made online purchases of explosive materials in June.
He and an unnamed associate later exchanged messages making plans to practice lighting “a big shell” on or about July 6, 2024, “as a practice run for a future explosion,” court documents say. The associate later allegedly sent videos of “what appears to be the detonation of an explosive device and corresponding fireball,” according to investigators, and Hamad responded, writing, “Hell yeah.”
Court documents also detail messages Lubit allegedly shared on a group chat that included Hamad.
One message said, “I can literally feel myself starting to see Jews as my enemies.”
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Documents also say Lubit shared an image of the Nazi swastika in the middle of an Israeli flag, writing “Facts.”
How the showdown between Trump and Harris mirrors Reagan’s historic election
EXCLUSIVE: Dr. Paul Kengor, who authored the pair of books that served as inspiration for the movie “Reagan,” sees similarities between the impending showdown between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris and the 1980 presidential election.
Kengor, a political science professor at Pennsylvania’s Grove City College, released his book “God and Ronald Reagan” in 2004, exploring the former president’s faith walk. It was a hit and soon caught the eye of filmmaker Mark Joseph, who told Kengor he’d been “waiting” for a book like it because no one had told that side of Reagan’s story yet. He asked Kengor if anyone had the film rights to the book, and the rest is history.
When the two got to talking, they decided to focus the movie on another of Kengor’s books instead, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism,” which was released in 2006 and focused on Reagan’s effort to prevent communist expansion in the world. “Reagan,” starring Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight, hit theaters in August and has grossed about $30 million while earning poor reviews from most critics.
The word “inflation” has been uttered more often by the 2024 candidates than “communism.” Kengor admits times are “quite different,” but the author still sees key similarities between the 2024 and 1980 presidential elections, when Reagan defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter in a landslide.
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The slogans, for one thing.
While “Make America Great Again” is now solidly associated with Trump and his MAGA-hat wearing supporters, Kengor reminded readers that the phrase actually began with President Reagan.
“Quite interestingly, in 1980, when Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter, he used a message that is very much Donald Trump’s right now, which is, ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?'” Kengor told Fox News Digital. “And, you know, that has been a Trump theme and also the Trump phrase, ‘Make America Great Again.’ That was Reagan’s. That was Reagan’s 1980 campaign message.”
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Kengor said he gave himself a refresher on the 1980 election by rereading “The Crusader.”
“I think part two in the book or part three is called Make America Great Again. And I saw that, and I thought, I bet some people are going to read that now and think this is some sort of Trumpish thing. But, you know, it was Reagan. It was Reagan first.”
Kengor sorted through his desk of old mementos to try and find some old “Make America Great Again” campaign buttons.
“But I have a button that I keep on my desk that says it has a picture of Reagan 1980 and it says ‘Make America Great Again.’ Trump didn’t steal that from Reagan. Trump invoked it in 2016 as a Reaganesque phrase, and then it caught on. And eventually it ended up on the red hat and it became Trump’s phrase. So that’s a commonality.”
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Reagan was known for his strong conservative principles. And while the Gipper was the leader of a now bygone era, Kengor said his tenets are still very much a part of the current Republican platform, maintaining that Trump checks the boxes.
“I wrote a book called ’11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative,’ which is jointly published with Young America’s Foundation and the Reagan Ranch Center,” he said. “And it lists kind of the 11 key Reagan areas: faith, freedom, family, sanctity, dignity of human life, limited government, lower taxes, peace through strength, anti-communism.”
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“Trump can pretty much check the box on all 11 of those Reagan principles or ideas,” Kengor continued. “So even though the times are very different, conservatism believes that conservatism is based on time-tested ideas and principles. So kind of regardless of where you are in a particular time or campaign, those principles ought to be shared by conservatives if they’re genuinely conservatives. So the ideas of Reagan’s time should transfer forward to conservatives today in 2024 and beyond.”
GOP candidate has mic-drop moment when Dem rival accuses her of favoring the rich
A Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire blasted her Democratic opponent Thursday evening, reminding her she is a multimillionaire after the Democrat accused her of favoring the rich.
“She believes that we should give a break to the wealthiest and the biggest corporations and hope for the best, hope that the results will trickle down to hardworking people,” Democratic congressional candidate Maggie Goodlander, who is married to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, said of Republican Lily Tang Williams during a debate.
“I take a very different approach. I believe that the middle class deserves a tax cut, and I believe that we will do a lot for this country by ensuring that we don’t continue this disastrous tax policy.”
Raising her hand to respond, Republican Lily Tang Williams hit back at Goodlander, saying, “You are wealthy. You’re worth $20 million to $30 million. How do you know about regular people’s suffering? Do you go shopping? Go to Walmart? Buy food? I talk to those people. And you pretend to be a renter in Nashua a few months ago, move back to run for this open seat with millions of dollars from Washington, D.C., insiders. … I don’t have money to run a TV ad, and you pretend you are poor, complain rent is so high.
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“You do not understand regular people’s concerns.”
Goodlander has an apartment in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the 2nd District and said during the debate that she would own property in the district if elected, the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism reported.
Both candidates are millionaires, but Goodlander appears to be worth far more than Tang Williams.
Tang Williams is worth between $3.8 million and $8.6 million, while Goodlander is worth between $9.9 million and $39 million, with most of her wealth in a trust fund, according to WMUR-TV, citing financial disclosures.
When Tang Williams came to the U.S. from China, she only had $100 in her pocket, according to the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism.
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The two women are running for the open seat in New Hampshire’s 2nd District vacated by Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster.
The latest poll shows Goodlander with an eight-point lead ahead of Tuesday.
Tang Williams is a Chinese immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 1994. She has also previously run as a Libertarian in Colorado.
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Goodlander is a native of New Hampshire and part of a well-connected political family in the state.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has called Tang Williams a “phenomenal success story,” according to the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism.
Which candidate is better for major industry as hotspot sees ‘pre-election bump’
Typically, in the weeks and days prior to a presidential election, real estate sales across America slump while awaiting a victor.
But buyers, sellers and developers in the New York metropolitan area have experienced the opposite this year, seeing what they call a “pre-election bump.”
“The previous election, we’re talking about 2019, let’s say the kind of second and third quarter of 2019, we didn’t see a bump in sales at all. As much as I can recall, actually, the market was relatively slow,” Naftali Group Chairman and CEO Miki Naftali told Fox News Digital. “The big difference is twofold.”
“The strong sales momentum and buyer interest in the [One High Line] project in the lead up to the election wasn’t something we necessarily expected, given sales usually slow down leading up to national elections,” The Witkoff Group co-CEO Alex Witkoff also told Fox Digital.
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“But [it] suggests a growing sentiment among buyers who realize now is the time to secure prime real estate assets amidst potential regulatory or economic changes post-election,” Witkoff added.
Together, the New York City-based real estate juggernauts have seen a combined sales total north of $503 million this year alone just on projects across Manhattan. Most notably for Naftali, The Henry is located on the Upper West Side and 255 East 77th Street on the Upper East Side. The Witkoff Group’s One High Line in West Chelsea saw twice the sales activity in October than it raked in over the summer.
“During COVID and the couple of years after COVID, a lot of developers weren’t able to or didn’t feel comfortable to buy and design and develop properties. And more important than that, the commercial banks were not really lending,” Naftali explained.
“Now we have a product to sell, and because there is not much inventory, there is a demand… People want to buy and they want to buy a good product. And I also think that this specific election, I think there’s so many issues around the world that the election is very important, but it’s not the only subject that people are talking and paying attention to,” he continued.
Enter, mortgage rates – which Naftali expects to cool significantly over the next two years. Many people feel it’s “better to buy now” when competition might be lowest. However, as of Thursday, the 30-year fixed rate rose for a fifth consecutive week up to 6.72% from last week’s reading of 6.54%.
“In the last few weeks at One High Line, buyers who previously saw the project and were considering it have now been moving quickly to purchase ahead of the election,” Witkoff noted.
“Buyers in the New York market or in the top markets in the U.S. are very educated. They know what they want,” Naftali added. “Good product is selling well, and there is not much inventory of a good product.”
As of last week, betting markets skewed heavily in former President Donald Trump’s favor, predicting Trump has an approximate 58% chance of winning against Vice President Kamala Harris.
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And while more than $2 billion has poured into election betting, the real estate developers were more bearish about whether their industry is expecting a Trump win as well.
“The market’s current upswing seems driven by factors more than electoral outcomes alone, such as increased demand, promising rates and the continued appeal of New York City,” Witkoff said. “The real estate landscape in New York prioritizes long-term stability.”
“I actually don’t think that the demand in inner cities is related to either betting on Trump winning or Harris winning,” Naftali argued.
“I think what will make a difference is once we’re over the election, there will be a lot of unknowns or a lot of noise in the media or blaming each other,” he continued. “Hopefully, the majority of it will kind of fade away and will go into a little bit of a normal cycle. And I think that either candidate will focus hopefully on getting the economy better and making sure that everyone in America will do better.”
Buyers and sellers in the Manhattan market will likely stick to the fundamentals, according to the developers: school zones, job opportunities, entertainment and other quality of life factors.
The building exterior for the Naftali Group’s ‘The Henry.’
“Both candidates offer distinct approaches to real estate, but regulatory impacts in the luxury sector, particularly at one-of-a-kind developments like One High Line, will remain minimal,” Witkoff said. “New York City’s luxury real estate sector is less affected by short-term policy changes.”
“New York developers and brokers and buyers are focusing really [on] supply and demand and what the city, as a city, has to offer. And they are more concerned about the safety and the infrastructure in the city and not necessarily about the federal government,” Naftali agreed.
Without making any political endorsement, though, Naftali criticized Harris’ first-time homebuyer credit and pointed out that Trump’s background has a better understanding of real estate.
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“I don’t think it makes a difference in top markets like New York and in Miami. Not that $25,000 is not a lot of money, but in scale of when you buy an apartment… in scale of the $1 million, $1.5 million [price points], $25,000 is not going to make a difference,” he said.
“The fact that Trump used to be a developer in New York, and he definitely understands very well the real estate market and the challenges of being a developer,” Naftali added, “because a lot of people are thinking, ‘Oh, developers are just making money and everything is great, and it’s easy money to make.’ Developers are taking tremendous amount of risks, and not everything every time goes well, and the market is changing.”
“If you really want to create, to really develop and fill the gap of so many apartments that need to be built to fulfill the demand that is growing around the U.S., [government] has to be involved. The private developers, plus obviously [Trump’s] family members, are still very active in real estate. I think between those two candidates, he understands. That’s just his background.”
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