What are the main issues?
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
“One overriding issue is the cost of living. Prices spiked after the Covid-19 pandemic, and Trump has capitalized on a nostalgia people have for a time when the cost of groceries was lower. His plan to impose across-the-board tariffs on foreign goods might spike prices further, according to economists, but he has an advantage over Harris on the economy, according to polling.
Trump voters are also motivated by immigration. He would deport millions of migrants who crossed the border illegally, and he would all but shut down the US border.
For Harris voters, the issue of abortion is key. After the Supreme Court, with a third of justices appointed by Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris has framed reproductive rights as matter of personal freedom and has pledged to protect those rights.
There are ballot initiatives in key states to enshrine abortion rights. The issue is helping drive a gender gap in the vote, according to polling.
There is also the key issue of democracy. Trump was accused by the Justice Department of election interference after he tried to overturn the 2020 election results. That’s a nonstarter for many Democrats. Republicans, meanwhile, have largely grown to accept Trump’s role in the effort to keep Biden from the White House after he won in 2020. And many of them, after years of Trump questioning the system, now doubt the 2020 results themselves.
Trump was convicted on felony charges in New York related to hush money payments before the 2016 election. His sentencing is set for late November, meaning it will be after Election Day. However, his felony convictions, or even the possibility of jail time, don’t make Trump ineligible to serve as president.”
