has been an amazing experiment and i want to congratulate you on the show because occasionally, we've gone outside of the navigational beacons, but we've had really good conversations and second, i want to say something to my friend, ashley. she's a democrat, and we don't agree on a lot of issues, but my respect and admiration for ashley has grown throughout the year and i'm proud to call her my friend. this community of cnn political contradicters is like a family to me and if i have any advice for people who watch the show, before we learn who wins, cherish your family, your friendships, and don't do or say anything stupid over the election. >> cheers to bipartisan friendships that exist on cheers to bipartisan friendships that really do exist. thank you for watching

newsnight, state of the race. all right, here we go. this is it. the two final rallies from donald trump and kamala harris moments away on this s election eve. kamala harris about to close it out and donald trump meanwhile sticking with his 2016 and 2020 tradition of holding his final event in grand rapids, michigan. good evening, on this monday night as the wild 2024 campaign nears a close. the question now, are we headed to a photo finish or a blowout? the candidates make their final pitch tonight and tomorrow it

is you the voters who will ultimately decide. joining the harris rally in philadelphia. a massive focus on pennsylvania for harris, what is the message she is hoping to drive home during this final event? >> there are 19 reasons why vice president harris is ending her campaign here. 19 electoral votes, she has been traveling across the commonwealth of pennsylvania all day long. she just got here from pittsburgh and will be standing on the steps of the philadelphia art museum. they may be familiar for many viewers from the rocky steps. vice president harris will urge supporters to work one more day, fight one more day and then turn the page. there is a sign above her crowd that says a president for all.

and those words simply sum up her closing message. this has been a long campaign. so short by modern standards but certainly divisive. the vice president has been saying that she will be a president for all. she has not mentioned donald trump's name at all. there is not overconfidence in the harris campaign. one adviser tells me that overconfidence loses elections. the reality is that more than half of the electorate will be voting tomorrow at the polls. that means this is a hard scramble fight between the two campaigns to turn out supporters. she will be addressing, with the message of one more day of work, the campaign is not yet over.

>> and she is not quick to talk about donald trump in the same way she has over the last couple of weeks. she has been focusing on excluding him from her final message >> reporter: she has been. and that is really to get people, in her words, to vote for something and not simply just against something. there has been a bit of consternation, focusing too much on donald trump. is she spending too much time calling him a fascist and other things. but within the next closing hours and few days she will be talking about turning the page. and i can tell you, we were at a rally eight years ago in philadelphia with hillary clinton. she thought she was on the cusp of making history. that did not happen. there is much more, a sense of weary apprehension, and certainly excitement and cautious optimism. but there is no overconfidence. again, the

word -- words of that adviser, overconfidence loses elections. >> thank you so much. joining me now is matt corbin and karen finney, and political analyst laura marone lopez. going to start with the boxing analogy, my son's name is allen -- a dream. so she is in pennsylvania, is it a sign that she is not worried about winning there or that she needs to double down? >> i don't know if we go to the bell. i hear you, let me exude some confidence in what kamala harris, tony west, and david plus have done over the

past couple of months. i don't think we go to the belt. i think you've seen the fundamentals shift anyway that have not done in a long time. i think you see georgia and north carolina coming home. i don't know if you all remember this but there was a time when we came on the cnn and we talked about if black voters would go to donald trump because he gave us gold shoes. that is not a thing. he was in 9%, 3% less than 2020. i just feel, i am in a zen mode. i am not where i was in 2016 but i am kind of zen. i think this woman from oakland in a couple of days will be called madam president. and i think what we will see over the next few hours is that coalition of young voters, generations he has gone him. that is colloquialism, going

ham means they are exuding confidence and doing everything they are supposed to do, above and beyond. so i believe gen z has gone ham and we will see that demographic of women expand. and what people don't pay attention to in georgia, aapi. i am in a good space. >> you are. it now must stay. who else is as then as bakari sellers right now? >> i look at it, i think philadelphia will be where i am a focused, too. i think african-american turnout in philadelphia, michigan, i am watching it closely. i think

that is what i will be watching first thing. they need to get that turnout going. >> why are you giggling and smirking? >> i'm trying to be zen, i really am. my ptsd from 2016 will not let me. in general, here is what i will say. the weekend before in 2016, they kept saying she had it, and i was on the road but i didn't feel it. you can feel something in the air when it is going your way. i was in detroit on sunday before i was on with you and you could feel it. just going around talking to people, business owners and you can feel some of the energy. particularly black voters. people are like, we are going to do this we are focused. and one thing i will say about the iowa poll, independence and

older women, they understand the assignment. it is different than, it is partially about don't underestimate the power of women. we are still paced off about roe v wade being overturned. and donald trump's rhetoric has not changed our minds. >> i don't want to rain on your zen, but the math does not work. they are down 1.7 million early votes and in the urban areas, rural voters have over performed early by 300,000. democrats have to win early, republicans generally win them on election day and margins don't add up right now. and karen, i was there at 16 and i

thought if the election happened on sunday we would have barely one. obviously the pushing by and barely wasn't the right answer but i still think the energy is out there with donald trump. >> there are certain things i am paying attention to. right now in states like north carolina and georgia, it shows that young women are turning out way more than young men and donald trump has been trying to win young men and push them out even though they are unreliable as a voting block. but that is something that harris' campaign likes seeing. talking to reporters today, the campaign chair was saying she

really feels like pathways are pretty open. they feel confident that they can win almost any of the battleground states. harris is in pennsylvania today because it is the biggest prize. donald trump really needs pennsylvania, too. >> i keep wondering when you think about the chest beating that happens in the last days, the trump campaign probably thinks that they have it in the bank. how do you reconcile the two? >> i don't think the harris campaign is quite thumping their chest. i think everyone is very clear that we still have to get people out to vote. we are not kicking back with our feet up saying, let's pick out a paint color. that is what you will hear her talk about tonight. there are multiple events all over the country and that is the message everywhere.

we need you to turn out and vote. >> not only that, let's do two things. one, there is a large phone banking operation tomorrow starting at 10:00 that everybody from leonardo dicaprio to my mama will be a part of. but to your point about the math, we don't want to leave viewers and educated. to talk about georgia for example, you have exhausted all your voters and in all the rural counties in georgia they are at 96, 98%. that is phenomenal. what happens though is that we end up where we were eight years ago. you cannibalize voters, and regardless of what you may want or may say, we see it in michigan and pennsylvania, and all the voters have voted in these elections. >> not true, we have actually

put more new votes, people who didn't vote in 2020, i work for the america first policy institute. >> my only point, and if you want to refute me about georgia, please say that, but in georgia for example, what we've seen, the counties that have, the number of people who have already voted, all of those counties have been republican counties. if i'm wrong, please refute that. but what we've seen with counties in georgia that have a great deal of room for african-american voters, richmond county, chatham county and clayton county. and what we are seeing in georgia in particular is that there are

room for growth on election day tomorrow where as they have cannibalized a lot of their voters in the state of georgia. if that is not the correct answer, please tell me. in georgia, in georgia. >> in our door-to-door efforts in georgia we have put more than three times the margin from 2020 of people who did not vote in 2020 and came out and voted. >> that is not what i said. what i articulated is that the republican counties in georgia have been 95, 96, 98% of what they did, not just in 2020 but of eligible voters. so when you have 96 or 98% and you work looking at what's going on going forward, we are in the

weeds. clayton county, 30% growth, richmond county, those are our voters. so what i'm trying to say is yes, you are right, we actually have to get people to the polls and that is a challenge but i'd much rather be kamala harris in georgia today. >> but if you are in kamala harris you don't want to get in the weeds. do you think voters will be as interested in the pre-election early voting than the message overall? you've seen the platitude. that is my point. when you talk about her final message and what his final message has to be, it is not the granular detail we are talking about. what is the final message that needs to happen to get the newer voters or the ones who have not been cannibalized, to

come out and vote? >> keep marking bacari off the podium. and as he said, there is a room to grow. and you need those voters out there, the ones with room to grow. and as laura talked about. who are the people we need to get out. the same message that we talked about the whole campaign. you will not suddenly change the message now. and look, you have essentially another 12 hours or 18 hours to get people out. and you will not suddenly switch it up. we need to get jens emails out, you're going to the hyperdrive, that's what you are saying. >> kamala's campaign at this point is not just black voters. it is black voters, latino voters, young women, people

over 65. the message is that this is about your life and your future and the future we want to create together. when she talks about not going back. donald trump has given us a reminder over the last couple of weeks in particular of the divisiveness, the violent rhetoric, that sort of pit in your stomach listening, thinking, are there any kids around listening to what he is saying. there was a point and people were kind of feeling a little misty eyed for those days. they were reminded of the negative, which has been the sort of, what is he going to say next or do next? if you were a presidential candidate and you can't beat trusted to deliver your own message, how in god's name can you run this country? >> when you look at the

independent voters, in june it was 18 points where he was leading and in september it was a four point lead over harris. now a three point lead over harris. and it was about those independent voters who may be exhausted by the nostalgia. when you're looking at the final message is at these two candidates, how are they talking to those independent voters? are they going to nikki haley route, it is the granular details of the economy. >> he never asked nikki haley to go out there. and harris, and you talked to jeff about this. harris has slightly shifted her tone in the last few days. she is trying to go

after the nikki haley primary voters, the liz cheney type republicans. so it is winning over those disenchanted republicans at the margins. and hoping she will be able to get over biden's 2020 numbers with that same type of demographic. and so she is trying to make that argument on her bigger scale, her final closing add as americans viewing each other as neighbors and that enemies. and she wants to include republicans in her administration. and donald trump's closing message is one he's been running for a long time, anti-immigration, focused on the economy, making comments about kamala harris herself, repeatedly calling her stupid and low iq. >> actually his message is that

kamala broke it and he will fix it. >> let's listen in to lady gaga. >> ♪ god bless america, land that i love. stand beside her and guide her through the night from a light from above. from the mountains, to the prairies, to the ocean white with foam, god bless america, my home

sweet home. god bless america, my home sweet home. ♪ [ applause ] >> hey, everybody, how you feeling tonight? [ cheers and applause ] for more than half of this country's life, women did not have a voice. yet, we raised children, we held our families together, we supported men as they made their decisions. but tomorrow, women will be a part of making this

decision. today i am holding in my heart all the women who made me who i am. i cast my vote for someone who will be a president for all, for all americans. and now, pennsylvania, it is your turn. the country is depending on you, so tomorrow, let's make sure all your voices are heard. come on, let's go! now it is my privilege to introduce someone who knows how to support a powerful woman, the soon to be first first gentleman of the united states, doug emhoff. >> okay, doug emhoff is coming out to the stage. you just heard lady gaga coming out with

her rendition of god bless america. she also turned to the crowd saying, pennsylvania, it is your turn. reiterating the necessity people are feeling for pennsylvania to turn out, almost reminiscent of snl. she knows quite well that is the path towards that 270. here she is again in philadelphia. when you look at what trump has been doing and where he has been traveling, he also knows the gravity of pennsylvania. >> it is in essence the biggest prize out there. if you lose pennsylvania, it suddenly makes the map a lot harder. i think trump winning those, that would help a lot. but pennsylvania is

really the ball game. >> bakari is literally raising his hand for it. >> i appreciate that pennsylvania is a prize, kinda the prize. and we've made it to be the prize. and what he said is so true, if he wins georgia and north carolina, but if george -- donald trump loses georgia or north carolina tomorrow, and it's ball game. >> you can't lose them both, you can lose one of them. >> that's my point. my only point is that yes, i hear you. but what we are doing with black voters in particular in the sunbelt is that georgia, you realize that donald trump out of 2016 and has not won

georgia at all. you had raphael warnock, joe biden who won georgia. you have someone who has had the only discipline that mark robinson has had and when you have someone like mark robinson who may lose by 15 points in north carolina, that means we need to take a step back and say, wait a minute, there are more paths for kamala harris than just pennsylvania. >> that is where you want to be. you want to look at the counties within each state, and remember, we don't know, we don't know how they voted. some of them may have voted for her. so you certainly want to be --

>> oprah is on the stage. go to her. >> philadelphia, i am here with 10 first-time voters for philadelphia! so, phoenix, i hear that you did research before voting. >> i did. it was really important to me like the policies that kamala harris has proposed for women's rights and education and equality, that led me to casting my vote for her. >> you stood in line because? >> it was an honor as an african-american to exercise my right to vote which my ancestors have fought so hard for. and as a professional soccer player for the philadelphia union, god gave me an opportunity to be a leader

in this platform to encourage my peers and all of us out here to stand up for what is right. go, kamala. >> you haven't voted yet but you're getting up at what time to vote? >> 7:00 a.m. and my family is in puerto rico. voting in this election means so much to me. and i am so excited to vote for kamala harris to ensure my future patients freedom. >> we need more female ob/gyn's. all of you are voting tomorrow morning, thank you for exercising your freedom of expression and your power as citizens of this country. how many first-time voters? raise your hand, first-time voters. beautiful to see you. thank

you, all, for coming here tonight and representing all the people who will be voting tomorrow. those of you who have not voted, thank you so much. in 1961 john f. kennedy issued a challenge. he said ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. i'm here to tell you that what you can do for your country, what you can do for democracy and what you can do for the spirit of john lewis and all the others who dared to walk across that bridge in selma and fight for justice for us all, what you can do for every pregnant young woman who has died because she was not eligible to receive the emergency medical care she desperately needed because of an abortion ban, what you can

do for yourself and what you can do for everyone and everything you cherish is about. if you are watching or hearing me right now and you haven't already, you've got to vote. listen, i know that some of you are feeling burnt out and bruised and maybe inconsequential. nothing could be further from the truth. every single vote, everyone will matter. that is why i've come to philadelphia tonight. and yesterday i was all the way across the country hiking on a sunday afternoon when i met a woman named angela. she told me she was going to sit this one out. i know she was immediately sorry she told me that. i would not let up. i said, sit this one out? we don't get to sit this one out. if we don't show

up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again. and let me be very clear, if you do not make sure that the people in your life can get to the polls, that is a mistake. deciding not to decide is most definitely a vote to let other people control your future. we all know what we are voting against. i want to end by reminding you about a few things we are voting for. we are voting to defend and protect the constitution of the united states. we are voting for values. we are voting for values and integrity and the right to choose what happens to our own bodies. we are voting

to save ourselves from this precipice of danger where we now stand with all this anxiety, you are feeling that because you sense the danger. we are voting for healing over hate. i believe in this promise of america. america has been the greatest country in the world for me. i believe that if you and i and the voters you see on this stage show up for our country tomorrow, if we answer that call president kennedy made more than six decades ago, then we have the power to choose a leader who sees us. she sees us and she will do her mighty best to serve all of us. i believe we can do that and i know she can

do that. yes, she can. yes, she can. yes, she can. and to say it and saying it and drive that message home. put your hands together for will i am. ♪ >> we were just hearing from oprah winfrey. she brought out 10 first-time voters to express

their interest in boating this time around. including one that described the research they had done to ensure they were an informed voter. and also an african-american professional soccer player who spoke about his ancestry as a motivating factor. also invoked, ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country. i want to listen back in for a moment. >> ♪ say, yes, she can. hey, yes, she can. yes she can, yes she can, yes she can, oh, she can. everyone, yes she can. yes she can. ♪

>> philadelphia, will.i.am . well, the next president of these united states. kamala harris. >> ♪ yes she can, let me hear you say, yes she can. ♪ ♪ all ♪

♪ ♪ >> good evening, philadelphia! good evening, everyone. first of all, can we hear it for opera, please? and the first second gentleman of the united states, my husband. it is good to be back with you, so many incredible leaders including bob casey. let's send him back to the united states senate. i want to thank all the

outstanding artists and performers that were here tonight, sharing the gift that they had with us. i think you all, so very much. and to everyone, thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to be here, for us to all be here together, showing who america is. we are all in this together. philadelphia. are you ready to do this? are we ready to vote? are we ready to win? it is good to be back in the city of brotherly love. where the foundation of our democracy was forged. and here on these famous steps, a tribute to those who start as the underdog and climb to victory. america,

it comes down to this. one more day, one more day in the most consequential election of our lifetime and the momentum is on our side. our campaign has tapped into the ambitions and the dreams of the american people . we are optimistic and we are excited about what we can do together. and we know that 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. this could be one of the closest races in history. every single vote matters. let me ask you, who here has a plan to vote? all right, well help spread the road. tomorrow the polls will be open from 7:00 until 8:00 pm and no matter what state you live in, go to i will vote outcome for all the information you need including when and where to vote and where to drop off your mail-in ballot. i also ask you to talk with your friends, your families and neighbors and share your perspective on why you took the

time to be here this evening. and why this election is important to you. you will decide the outcome of this election. so, with only a few hours left we still have work to do. and as you heard me say before, we like hard work. hard work is good work. hard work is joyful work, and make no mistake, we will win. we will win. and we will win, we will win. >> we will win, we will win, we will win, we will win, we will win. and we will win because,

when you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. [ cheers and applause ] and we have an opportunity this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics that has been driven by fear and division. we are done with that. we are exhausted with it. america is ready for a fresh start. ready for a new way forward we are we see our fellow american, not as an enemy but as a neighbor. and we are ready for a president who knows that the true measure of a leader is not based on who you beat down, but based on who you lift up. and pennsylvania, you know me, i'm not afraid of

tough fights. for decades as a top prosecutor, i won fights against big banks when they ripped off homeowners. i won fights against for-profit companies, against cartels that trafficked in guns, drugs and human beings. my entire career has been driven by a singular purpose. to fight on behalf of the people. on behalf of the people. it is my pledge to you that if you give me a chance to fight on your behalf, as president, there is nothing in the world that will stand in my

way. and instead of stewing over an enemies list, i will spend every day on your behalf working on my to do list. full of priorities to improve your lives, together we will build an economy where we bring down the cost of living. we will ban corporate price gouging on groceries. we will make housing and child care more affordable. we will cut taxes for workers. for middle-class families and small businesses. we will lower healthcare costs including the costs of healthcare for seniors. because on the issue of healthcare, i absolutely believe that access to healthcare should be a right and not just a privilege for those who can afford it and to

anyone out there watching this while we are here, who is still trying to get rid of the affordable care act and take us back to the days when insurance companies can deny people with pre-existing conditions, well, you know what i'm about to say, we are not going back. we are not going back. >> we are not going back, not going back, not going back. >> we are not going back because ours is a fight for the future and ours is a fight for freedom. including the most fundamental freedom of a woman

to make decisions about her own body and not have her government tell her what to do. and when congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the united states i will probably sign it into law. proudly. proudly. so, america, i'm asking for your vote. here is my pledge to you. as president ice -- i pledge to seek common ground and common pay solutions, i am not looking to score political points, i'm looking to make progress. i pledge to listen to those who will be impacted by the decisions i make. i pledge to

listen to experts. i pledge to listen to people who disagree with me. because, you see, i don't believe who people -- that people who disagree with me are the enemy. i'll give them a seat at the table. that's what real leaders do. that's what strong leaders do. and i pledge to always put country above party and self and to be a president for all americans. so, philadelphia, we are here together for many reasons. but probably one of the most important, because we love our country. we love our country. and when you love something, you fight for it. and i do believe it is one of

the highest forms of patriotism, of our expression and our love of our country to then fight for its ideals and to fight to realize the promise of america. i have always believed in our nation's promise. because i have lived it. i grew up as a child of the civil rights movement. my parents would take me to the marches when i was in a stroller. and we all know it, we've read about it. at those marches there were people from every walk of life that came together, to fight for freedom and opportunity. you know, growing up i saw how hard my mother worked to give her daughters the same chances our

country gave her. i was blessed growing up to have family by blood and family by love. who instilled in me the values of community, compassion and faith. i've spent my life fighting for people who have been hurt and counted out. but never stop believing that in our country anything is possible. i have lived the promise of america. and today, i see the promise of america in everyone who is here. in all of you. we are the promise of america. we are the promise of america. i see the promise in the fathers, mothers and grandparents across our nation who work so hard every day for our children's future. i see it in the women who refuse to

accept a future without reproductive freedom. and in the men who support them. i see it in people of all ages who have knocked on doors, made calls, sent texts, and who will spend tomorrow driving their fellow americans to the polls. i see it in republicans who have never voted for a democrat before, but who put the constitution of the united states above party. and i see the promise of america in all the young leaders who are voting for the very first time. where are you, i know that you are here. i know that you're

here. and you are determined to live free from gun violence. determined to tackle the climate crisis. who are ready to shape the world you inherit. to you in particular i say, i see your power and i am so proud of you. can we all applaud our first time voters? [ applause ] so, america, we started this campaign 107 days ago. and from the beginning, ours has not been a fight against something, it has been a fight for something. a fight for a future, with freedom, with opportunity, and with the dignity for all americans. our campaign has brought together people from all corners of this nation, and from all walks of

life, united by our love for our country. and our faith in a brighter, stronger and more hopeful future. that we will build together. and tonight, when we finish as we started, with optimism, with energy, with joy. knowing, knowing, that we the people, have the power to shape our future. and that we can confront any challenge we face when we do it together. generations of americans before us led the fight for freedom. and now, the

baton is in our hands. and to everyone who continues to pour so much of yourselves into this campaign as an extension of your love for our country, i thank you for your time, your effort and the heart you are putting into this. and together i know, i know that together we are all so intentional about in this process building community and building coalitions. and because of you, each of you, and collectively, our people powered movement reflects a simple and undeniable truth. that we are all in this together. we are all in this together. so we have one day to

get this done. which means now we need to get to work and get out to vote. let's reach out once again to our family members, friends, classmates, workers, knowing and reminding them that we have so much more in common than what separates us. and let us please remind everyone that your vote is your voice and your voice is your power. tonight i ask you, one last time, are you ready to make your voices heard? do we believe in freedom? do we believe in opportunity? do we believe in the promise of

america? and are we ready to fight for it? and when we fight, we win. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. >> kamala harris saying, we will win. hearing the chance of the crowd. let's go back to our crowd. this was a final message and opportunity to make her case. what did you think? >> it was the perfect message to say that it is about you and your future and what we can do together as a country. finishing on a positive note and on joy and put donald trump in the rearview mirror. >> trump will have a rally that will start any moment. >> it was amazing. i think people who voted for donald

trump will forget about that. >> tomorrow will be an amazing day. my wife and my kids are here. my daughter goes to howard and we are all trying to figure out how people can get involved and make sure they are there. we did this once before at the javits center with hillary clinton and i don't want to miss the opportunity. i am voting for my daughter, my wife, my aunties and my grandmother. maybe later this week we can chip through this glass ceiling and say that we have a woman as the president of the united states. >> i think her focus on voting is an acknowledgment that their very much willing behind and it will be to their detriment. >> what stood out to me was that harris, lady gaga and those young voters they brought up mentioned reproductive

rights and abortion. that is one thing i am watching very closely, how much it is affecting voters. i traveled to every swing state this cycle and now people who voted for trump in the past and now vote for harris, they mentioned abortion over and over. >> a choice that she is making to have that as a backdrop. >> it will be very historic. i live in a neighborhood where police have already shut down a lot. i am voting for you, my friend. i am voting for all of us and it will be a really exciting day. >> i'm curious to see what donald trump will have to say.

final messages are here, we are hours away from when democracy is in the counting. thank you all for watching. the night is not over yet. our live coverage continues with the first vote on election day just moments away being cast and donald trump's final rally in his campaign just moments away. we will bring you all those moments and more, right after this. >> unpredictable. >> it is nerve-racking. >> unprecedented. an election like no other. it all comes down to this. >> we can now make a major projection. >> election night in america. only cnn can bring it to you. election night in america, special coverage begins tomorrow at 4:00 on cnn.