The race for the White House remained essentially a dead heat on Friday — with 11 days to go until Election Day.
Kamala Harris was headed to Texas to highlight abortion access and Donald Trump was set to appear on Joe Rogan’s highly-popular podcast.
Latest Developments
Oct 25, 10:39 PM
Beyoncé shows support for Harris: ‘I’m here as a mother’
Beyoncé showed her support for Vice President Kamala Harris at the campaign’s rally focused on abortion rights in Houston on Friday.
She was joined by fellow Destiny’s Child alum Kelly Rowland on stage in introducing Harris to the crowd.
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
Click here to read more about the rally.
Oct 25, 10:08 PM
Trump 3 hours late for Michigan rally
After a three-hour podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Trump is expected to start his rally in Traverse City, Michigan, at 10 p.m. ET — three hours after he was scheduled to take the stage.
As several hundred supporters dispersed from the airport hangar, Trump appeared on the Jumbotron notifying the crowd of his tardiness.
“Traverse City, I’m not going to be there for a little while. Filming Joe Rogan,” Trump said.
He continued, “It’s a Friday night, so we can sit around and do an extra special job when we get there. … It’s all about winning, and we had to spend some extra time with some people, and lots of people, actually, but we are going to do a special performance, and we’ll be there, and I think you’ll see the plane land, and the whole thing.”
Trump concluded his message by thanking his supporters for sticking around.
Many attendees did call it quits on the former president and headed home early.
-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa and Soo Rin Kim
Oct 25, 10:09 PM
Walz: Country ‘owes a huge debt’ to Joe Biden
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ended his swing through eastern Pennsylvania on Friday with an energetic rally in President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton.
The governor topped off his remarks by saying that Biden has “secured his place in history” by upholding a presidential tradition of putting the country above himself.
Speaking of the city of Scranton, Walz said, “This is a place with a long tradition of people who know something about hard work and people know what it means to serve this nation. … I want you to know that the country owes a huge debt to you and a huge debt to Joe Biden,” Walz said.
Chants of “Thank You, Joe” erupted from the crowd.
With Vice President Kamala Harris in Texas on Friday night for a rally centered on abortion rights, Walz also talked directly about reproductive policies in the state.
“Would this surprise you that in the most recent data, maternal mortality rates in Texas have shot through the roof?” he said. “So let’s just be very clear. Women are dying because of these decisions they made, and it’s absolutely immoral.”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Oct 25, 9:32 PM
Willie Nelson performs at Harris’ Houston rally
Country legend Willie Nelson took the stage at Harris’ rally in Houston.
He played “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” and “On the Road Again.”
Beyoncé is also expected to appear at the rally tonight in her hometown.
Oct 25, 8:58 PM
Vance says US adversaries don’t fear Harris
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, speaking during a town hall with North Carolina voters on Friday, said U.S. adversaries don’t fear Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Why do you have Russia invading Ukraine during Kamala Harris’ watch and why do you have Iran and Hamas attacking Israel during Kamala Harris’ watch?” Vance said at the town hall in Monroe, North Carolina, moderated by Republican National Committee Co-Chair Laura Trump. “And why do you have China saber rattling during Kamala Harris’ watch? It’s because who could possibly fear Kamala Harris? No one, right?”
Vance added, “This is a woman who is terrified of softball media interviews and we think that she’s going to sit in a room with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.”
Vance said that when former President Donald Trump was in office, U.S. adversaries feared the former president.
“That fear kept a lot of aggression in check, and it kept a lot of wars that otherwise would have started from starting in the first place,” Vance said.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie
Oct 25, 7:54 PM
RFK Jr appeals to SCOTUS to remove name from Michigan ballot
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court Friday seeking an order that forces Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to remove his name from the ballot.
The Michigan Supreme Court said RFK Jr. could not remove himself.
A response from the state is due Monday at 4 p.m.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Oct 25, 7:30 PM
Judge rules 1,900 teens cannot be added to voter rolls
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Daniel Coble ruled against the ACLU Friday in its request for a temporary restraining order to give some 1,900 teenagers the chance to register to vote after the state’s registration deadline.
The ACLU of South Carolina sued the DMV and State Election Commission after the DMV failed to offer 17-year-olds obtaining a driver’s license and who would turn 18 before Election Day the chance to register to vote at the DMV, a provision entitled by the Voting Rights Act.
Judge Coble wrote “relief sought by Plaintiff is too drastic” and, this near to Election Day, “would create disorder in the voting system,” according to the ruling.
Coble denied the ACLU’s motion but did not dismiss the case. A spokesman for the ACLU of South Carolina told ABC it has not made a decision on whether to appeal his ruling.
“We are still seeking permanent relief from the SCDMV’s unlawful exclusion of 17-year-olds from the National Voting Rights Act ‘Motor Voter’ provision,” ACLU-SC spokesperson Paul Bowers said in a statement to ABC.
-ABC News’ Christopher Boccia
Oct 25, 6:27 PM
Appeals court reverses decision on state’s mail ballot deadline
A panel of three Trump-appointed judges on U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck down Friday a lower court’s ruling that allows the state of Mississippi to continue counting mail-in absentee ballots if they’re received within five days of Election Day.
However, the court rejected Republicans’ initial request for a permanent injunction, sending the issue back to the district court for further consideration, making it unclear whether their order would apply ahead of Election Day.
The case– which could have wide-ranging impacts on the acceptance of late-arriving ballots throughout the country– is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Circuit Court Judge Andrew Oldham wrote on behalf of the conservative panel that the acceptance of ballots ends on the “election day,” because “Congress statutorily designated a singular ‘day for the election.'”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Olivia Rubin
Oct 25, 4:56 PM
More than 35 million Americans have voted as of Friday afternoon
As of 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday, more than 35 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Of the votes cast, 16,080,81 were in-person early votes and 18,959,123 were mail-in ballots.
This means that more than 20 million people have voted since Monday.
Oct 25, 4:32 PM
Harris to hit Trump for not releasing medical records at Texas rally on abortion rights
Harris will go after Trump in her speech in Houston, Texas, on Friday night that will focus on reproductive rights.
“The Attorney General of Texas is suing the United States Government so that Texas prosecutors can get their hands on the private medical records of women who leave the state to get care,” Harris will say, according to released excerpts of her speech.
“So, see what is happening: Donald Trump won’t let anyone see his medical records. But these guys want to get their hands on yours? Simply put: They are out of their minds,” she will say.
MORE: Harris taps Beyoncé for Houston rally on reproductive rights
The vice president will reiterate her campaign pledge to push Congress to pass a bill restoring Roe v. Wade if elected.
“We are fighting for an America where, no matter who you are, or where you live, you can make that decision based on what is right for you and your family,” Harris will say.
ABC News’ Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Fritz Farrow and Will McDuffie
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