Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Politics
Feliks Garcia

Donald Trump in a desperate scramble across four states to win votes

It is almost Election Day, and as Americans prepare to head to the polls en masse, the candidates are making their final push to voters. 

But Republican nominee Donald Trump is concluding his campaign with a furious scramble across four states in one day: Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.

The real estate mogul-turned reality television star-turned presidential contender launched the multi-state plea over the weekend in hopes of convincing swing voters of Hillary Clinton’s alleged disqualifying corruption. This in spite of FBI director James Comey’s announcement that he would not pursue further criminal investigations of Ms Clinton. 

Keep up with the latest election updates on The Independent's liveblog

“Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt person ever to seek the office of the presidency of the United States,” Mr Trump told a crowd of supporters in Virginia early Monday morning, after appearing nearly three hours late for the 9.30pm event. 

“She’s being protected by a totally rigged system,” he added, amid the shouts to jail his opponent. “Hillary Clinton knows it. She knows it. The FBI knows it.

“It’s up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box.”

The 28 October letter from Mr Comey reinvigorated the Trump campaign, as many Republican leaders had withdrawn their support for him following the leak of a 2005 tape that featured the candidate boasting about forcefully kissing women and grabbing them by the genitals without their consent. 

But as early voting commenced, the campaign received a concussive blow as early voting numbers in Nevada appeared to indicate a major surge in Latino voters. Latino Decisions found that some 76 per cent of likely Latino voters will choose in favour of the former Secretary of State, while only 14 per cent will choose Mr Trump. 

Latino voters are expected to make an historic turnout, due in part to Mr Trump’s hardline anti-immigrant platform, heralded when he launched his presidency and said incoming Mexicans were criminals and rapists.

And he will likely see the results of this in critical states like Nevada and Florida. 

“The story of this election may be the mobilisation of the Hispanic vote,” Republican Sen Lindsey Graham told the New York Times. “So Trump deserves the award for the Hispanic turnout. He did more to get them out than any Democrat has ever done."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.