2024 election updates: Harris joins 'SNL,' Trump says he's 'father of fertilization'
With two days to go until Election Day, the candidates making in their final appeaks to voters over the weekend.
After popping up on "Saturday Night Live," Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign in battleground Michigan on Sunday. Former President Donald Trump is hitting three swing states on Sunday: Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.
Latest Developments
Nov 3, 10:53 AM
North Carolina breaks early voting record by 600,000 votes
With more than 4.2 million North Carolinians voting early in-person this year, the Tar Heel State easily beat its previous record for early voting, set in 2020 when 3.6 million people cast their ballots early.
The state's early voting period concluded on Saturday afternoon.
Turnout in the 25 counties covered by the Hurricane Helene federal disaster declaration outpaced the state's average turnout by 2 percent, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
In total, 4,465,548 people -- nearly 57 percent of the state's registered voters -- have voted between absentee and early in-person methods.
-ABC News’ Peter Charalambous
Nov 3, 10:35 AM
Dem super PAC-funded canvassing effort hit more than 36 million doors
Future Forward, one of the top Democratic super PACs in the country, is known for using its beefy wallet to help candidates blanket the airwaves. But this year, it also dumped tens of millions of dollars into a canvassing effort, expanding the work it's typically known for.
Since the summer, Future Forward has invested $40 million in America Votes for voter registration and comprehensive voter contact programs. The funding has helped America Votes knock on over 36 million doors so far in seven swing states.
The group, which revealed the funding first to ABC News, said it is the largest field program ever funded by a super PAC.
"Winning a race this close requires a full-court press and person-to-person conversations are one of the most effective ways to break through the noise. In the field is where the America Votes coalition excels, and Future Forward has stepped up in levels not seen from past presidential organizations with significant funding to fuel our largest ever voter engagement and mobilization campaign," America Votes President Greg Speed said.
The effort compounds Democrats' canvassing advantage fueled by what the party casts as a superior ground game by Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign compared to former President Donald Trump's, which has been largely farmed out supportive super PACs, including one led by billionaire Elon Musk.
Nov 3, 10:39 AM
Harris and Rudolph are ‘Not the Same Person’
In a behind the scenes video posted on social media, Harris and actress Maya Rudolph poked fun at their resemblance during the vice president's “Saturday Night Live” appearance.
Standing side by side, the two sang the lyrics to an old parody music video titled "We Are Not the Same Person" from “Vine” stars Danny Gonzalez and Drew Gooden.
Boarding Air Force Two to travel to Detroit after midnight on Sunday, Harris said “it was fun” of her appearance and gave the press pool a thumbs-up.”
-ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
Nov 3, 9:46 AM
Trump playing defense in Iowa
In the last days of his campaign, Trump is going on defense in Iowa after a Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed Harris holding a 3% lead.
“No President has done more for FARMERS, and the Great State of Iowa, than Donald J. Trump. In fact, it’s not even close!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Similar to his campaign pollster, Trump is switching attention to another poll calling the Register’s poll an outlier.
“All polls, except for one heavily skewed toward the Democrats by a Trump hater who called it totally wrong the last time, have me up, BY A LOT,” he wrote.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Nov 3, 3:18 AM
Harris campaign says Trump 'appears to be unraveling' after North Carolina rally
Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign said late Saturday night that former President Donald Trump "appears to be unraveling" following one of his North Carolina rallies.
Trump said at his event in Greensboro that he would be "in trouble" if he loses the election "after all this talk."
"Please go and vote," Trump said to attendees. "I mean, I came here, whatever the hell time it is, who the hell knows -- I'm giving you the full board … I would have been home sleeping right now."
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Nov 3, 2:59 AM
Michelle Obama hits out at 'conman' during Pennsylvania rally
Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at a rally in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Saturday night evoking the "yes we can" ethos and slogan of former President Barack Obama.
Her theme was that of a divided America, and her call to voters one of staying the course and defeating the "conman" who she said wishes to "tear" the country apart -- though Obama did not mention former President Donald Trump by name.
"It always felt as though, even with our differences, something true, something fundamental, was stitching us together, the values that have guided and nourished us for generations," Obama said, as quoted by ABC News' Philadelphia station WPVI.
"Pennsylvania -- this is who we are, this is us," she added. "This is our creed as Americans, that if we keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on the horizon, we will leave this country a little better than we found it."
"The tactics to tear it apart are not new," Obama continued. "Sadly, they have become more insidious, more cunning, led by a more skilled conman who is more brazen and bombastic. But this, too, is part of the great experiment that we call democracy. Can people who strongly disagree still find common ground?"
MORE: Liz Cheney hits back at Trump's violent rhetoric: 'This is how dictators destroy free nations'
She continued: "We have had our fair share of dark moments, some lasting for decades, stretches of time that have been hard and scary, but for anyone who's ever endeavored to build or do something hard or scary, erecting a skyscraper, scaling a mountain, even a child building a sand castle, you learn very quickly that it's a lot easier to destroy than to build up."
Obama hit out at Trump's campaign without naming him, criticizing "the folks telling us that things may not be as they appear, that we should be suspicious of our neighbors, that military service and sacrifice is for suckers, that there's an enemy from within."
"Every time I hear someone say that the hope and pride that I feel for the country I love is misplaced, that down is up and right is wrong -- my god, it's bewildering. It is dangerous. It is shameful."
-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Nov 3, 12:14 AM
Harris joins Maya Rudolph on 'SNL' cold open
Coming from a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, Air Force 2 made a surprise landing at LaGuardia Airport Saturday evening.
Vice President Kamala Harris made a quick appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” joining her doppelganger Maya Rudolph during the show’s cold open.
The matching duo traded lines rhyming words with Kamala, "The American people want to stop the chaos, and end the drama-la, with a cool new step mom-ala."
Continuing on, "watch a rom-com-ala, like 'Legally Blonde'-ala, and start decorating for Christmas, fa-la-la-lala."
The vice president stepped out from behind the mirror to join Rudolph in saying, “Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!”
Harris has previously endorsed Rudolph’s “SNL” impression of her while on “The View” last month, saying, "Maya Rudolph, she's so good, she had the whole thing, the suit, the jewelry, the mannerisms."
Nov 3, 12:13 AM
Trump calls himself 'father of fertilization'
Speaking during his second North Carolina rally of the day, former President Donald Trump called himself the “father of fertilization,” as he described conversations with an Alabama senator about in vitro fertilization treatments.
“I consider myself to be the father of fertilization,” said Trump to laughs from the audience, explaining his support for IVF, which was thrust into limbo in Alabama after a court decision in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Katie Britt, the senator from Alabama, called up. ‘Sir, you have to help us. You have to help us. I said, ‘Explain.’ She said, ‘About what happened with the IVF. The judge said, close all the clinics all over Alabama.’ And she said, ‘Everyone is furious.’ I said, ‘Explain it to me.' And when she explained, it took me about two minutes to figure it out, and I came out with a very strong statement, totally in favor.”
Trump attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for saying he would attempt to limit IVF treatments, distancing himself from the far-right think tank proposal Project 2025.
"I've never read it. I don't want to read it, because that way I can be honest with you, I don't want to read it. Some people got together. I assume they're extremely conservative, that's OK. Then they came up with a plan. But I told them, I don't know about the plan. They had a couple of people that work for me in the administration, I guess, or something. But they came up with some kind of a plan, and it's on the conservative side, I assume. And they keep talking about Project 2025, but I said, I don't know about it … Everything she says is a lie."
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Nov 2, 10:39 PM
Trump campaigns in longshot Virginia
Three days out from Election Day, former President Donald Trump made a stop in Virginia as the campaign attempts to expand its electoral map.
Trump told the crowd that he was capable of making the longshot bid to win Virginia before quickly saying it wouldn’t be that important.
“I'll tell you what. We win Virginia, we win the whole thing without question," he said. "Now it's very possible that without winning Virginia we're going to win the whole thing, too, but …wouldn't it be cool?”
The last Republican to win Virginia was George W. Bush in 2004.
In a state where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin successfully ran on education in his winning 2021 gubernatorial bid, Trump struck a similar tone, saying he would "stop the indoctrination of your children."
He added, "And we will not let them try to change your kid's gender … We won't be changing your children's gender with their transgender craziness."
Trump also brought to stage members of the Roanoke College women’s swimming team to highlight his anti-trans messaging.
The team was embroiled in a controversy last year after members of the team called for the NCAA to change policies to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's sports.
Continuing to court suburban women, Trump also highlighted a promise to expand the child tax credit and to create a tax credit for family caregivers.
Trump went on to argue that if immigration numbers were released before the election, Harris wouldn’t get a single Black person to vote for her, making the racial argument that immigrants were stealing the jobs of the African American community.
“The African American population of this country is being decimated by the hundreds of thousands of people that just keep pouring through the open borders of stupid Kamala."
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Nov 2, 9:16 PM
Harris to appear on 'SNL' tonight: Source
Vice President Kamala Harris will make a guest appearance on tonight's episode of "Saturday Night Live," a source familiar with the planning told ABC News.
It is unclear when she will be appearing during the variety program, which will be hosted by comedian John Mulaney.
-ABC News' Selina Wang