OFF TO THE RACES: It’s a one-point race in Georgia, per NBC/WSJ/Marist poll
Don’t miss our latest NBC/WSJ/Marist polls in Arizona, Georgia and Texas.
From NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell: “Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have largely ditched the traditional optimistic tone typical of the end of a presidential campaign and instead are making their closing pitches by arguing that the other is either too dangerous or untrustworthy. Fueled by their historically high unfavorable ratings, the candidates are fighting to remind voters of the opponents' faults and shortcomings, hoping to energize their own supporters and sway any remaining undecided voters.”
Early voting by Latinos may be boosting Clinton in states like Arizona, Nevada and Florida.
But, writes the Wall Street Journal, Clinton is struggling to boost black turnout in Ohio.
Democratic insiders tell POLITICO that Clinton’s ground game will sink Trump on Election Day.
And POLITICO also asks: “What if everyone’s wrong?”
The New York Times/CBS News poll sums up voters’ disgust with the election and dislike of both candidates.
The state of play, from the AP: “While Hillary Clinton accuses Donald Trump of appealing to hatred, the Republican nominee predicts that never-ending investigations will prevent his Democratic opponent from governing effectively. With polls showing Trump closing in on Clinton in key battleground states, her campaign is rushing to shore up support in Michigan and other long-standing Democratic strongholds. Her shrunken lead gives Trump's campaign a glimmer of hope, one he's trying to broaden into a breakthrough before time runs out.”
Our team at NBCNews.com reports: “The U.S. government believes hackers from Russia or elsewhere may try to undermine next week's presidential election and is mounting an unprecedented effort to counter their cyber meddling, American officials told NBC News. The effort is being coordinated by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, but reaches across the government to include the CIA, the National Security Agency and other elements of the Defense Department, current and former officials say. Russia has been warned that any effort to manipulate the actual voting or vote counting would be viewed as a serious breach, intelligence officials say.”
And it may not end there. From the Washington Post: “U.S. intelligence agencies do not see Russia as capable of using cyberespionage to alter the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential election, but they have warned that Moscow may continue meddling after the voting has ended to sow doubts about the legitimacy of the result, U.S. officials said. The assessment reflects widespread concern among U.S. spy agencies that a months-long campaign by Russia to rattle the mechanisms of American democracy will probably continue after polls close on one of the most polarizing races in recent history, extending and amplifying the political turbulence.”
Kailani Koenig reports on Tim Kaine’s historic Spanish-language speech in Phoenix.
The AP notes how Trump’s ads have been nearly devoid of his voice and personal story.
The tensions at the FBI aren’t going to go away after the election, the Washington Post notes.
And the Supreme Court stalemate isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, the New York Times notes.
Eric Trump said that David Duke “deserves a bullet.”
The coming Bridgegate verdict is looming over Chris Christie’s political future.
From the New York Times: “[A]n examination of his tax appeals on several properties, and other documents obtained by The New York Times through Freedom of Information requests, shows that what Mr. Trump has reported on those forms is nowhere near a complete picture of his financial state.”