Key issues

The Republicans have honed in on immigration as Kamala Harris’s Achilles heel. The surge in numbers at the Mexico border under the Biden administration has angered Trump’s base.

Given responsibility for tackling the problem by Mr Biden, Ms Harris’s record is under heavy scrutiny, with the Trump campaign seeking to portray her as lax on border control.
In the presidential debate, Trump seized on what he called a “crisis” at the US-Mexico border, and claimed his opponent would turn the US into “Venezuela on steroids” with illegal immigrants if she wins in November.

Ms Harris countered by reminding voters she was only the one on stage who had “prosecuted transnational organisations”.

Trump has recently promised a raft of measures, including the mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants and ending “birthright citizenship”, which bestows US nationality on anyone born in the US.

However, polling since the start of the year has shown that the economy has remained the most important issue for American voters.

With low unemployment and a robust growth record, the Biden administration is hailing its record in office.

But while the numbers look good, voters are unconvinced after years of inflation pushing up the prices of everything from filling a car to buying groceries.

Ms Harris during the debate once again insisted she is “not Joe Biden”, which is part of ongoing attempts to distance herself from her former running mate, promising a “new generation of leadership for the country”.

Abortion is also a key issue for Ms Harris as she targets women voters. Trump, who has boasted of appointing judges who overturned Roe v Wade, is at the same time trying to distance himself from calls for even more draconian restrictions, including opposing a national ban.

Trump’s running mate JD Vance’s public position has been tougher than Trump’s. In 2021, he supported the tightest abortion laws and argued against exceptions for rape and incest, saying “two wrongs don’t make a right”.

Trump dialled back on Mr Vance’s opinions, claiming he was “speaking for me” .
Ms Harris has said she is an “unequivocal champion for reproductive freedom” and repeatedly pledged to restore the rights enshrined in the original Roe v Wade judgment.

The Democrats have also said that democracy is “on the ballot”, attacking Trump for his attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

Voters have also pinpointed the astronomical cost of healthcare as a key issue. Ms Harris has voted to build on the Affordable Care Act – popularly known as Obamacare – as well as tackling drug prices.

Trump, who once vowed to repeal Obamacare, has refined his position saying his administration would improve it and bring health costs down.