• Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump capped his campaign with a nighttime rally in Grand Rapids, as he did in 2016 and 2020.
• Trump predicted victory, claimed a lead without evidence and insulted critics in his final speech as a presidential candidate.
• Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz rallied his supporters in Detroit along with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Jon Bon Jovi and more.

GRAND RAPIDS — Holding perhaps his final rally as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump kicked off Election Day with a nighttime rally in Michigan that capped a frenzied campaign.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” the former president told supporters at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, where he began his speech after midnight. “It’s very sad, in a way, you know, because we’ve done all of this, and this is the last one.”

Shortly after beginning his speech, Trump claimed without evidence that he was ahead of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in early voting in Michigan, even though results cannot be announced until close of business voting, Tuesday at 8 p.m.

“But act like we’re losing a little bit, because we want to show unity tomorrow and everything else,” Trump said. “This will be the greatest victory, politically speaking, in the history of our country.”

As he had at previous rallies, Trump claimed he would do “great things” for Michigan’s auto industry and attacked critics. He called Harris a “radical left lunatic,” criticized former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, while praising the oratory skills of Winston Churchill.

“You get the vote out, there’s nothing they can do about it and we win,” Trump told the thousands of fans gathered for the rally.

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Whether by superstition or strategic cunning, Trump chose to close his campaign in Grand Rapids for a third time, just as he did in 2016 and 2020.

Winning Michigan on the path to a national victory would mean reclaiming a state that Trump himself turned into a presidential battleground eight years ago with his stunning 11,000-vote victory over Hillary Clinton.

Democrats, for their part, hope to maintain an unbroken six-year streak of statewide election victories after Trump’s 2016 election by winning the state for Kamala Harris, and in turn play a role potentially critical in the election of the country’s first female president.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz rallied his supporters Monday evening in Detroit, where he was joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and musical guests Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Stipe and The War and Treaty.

In a brief speech, Walz claimed that Democrats had “momentum” in the race, thanks in large part to the support of women, who he said would “send a loud and clear message to Donald Trump, whether he wants it or not.” or not.”

Walz closed his final campaign event with a plea: “Michigan, bring this thing home for America. Let’s do it.”

A close race

If the polls are accurate, the race in Michigan could once again be extremely close. No more than one or two percentage points separate the candidates in almost all recent, reliable polls.

But because of the margin of error in these polls, either candidate could easily win by a wider margin than Joe Biden’s 2.8% victory, with 154,000 votes in 2020.

The level of attention both campaigns have given to Michigan illustrates the importance of the swing state. Trump, Harris and their running mates have made a total of 40 campaign stops since the start of October, or more than one per day on average.

During their visits and through an onslaught of political advertising, each sought to turn Michigan’s electoral coalitions into a historic victory.

Harris wants to once again bring disaffected Republicans into the Democratic camp as a repudiation against Trump, who is seeking to make further inroads with key minority groups likely to be receptive to his message – young black men and Arab Americans especially.

Ultimately, it could still come down to turnout, and that’s what has driven both campaigns over the past few days, as each candidate has returned to past sources of electoral support to oust every vote before the election day.

For Trump, that meant visits to Macomb County and West Michigan, areas where there is the base of support that gave him victory in 2020. For Harris, it was college towns. She flanked her podium in maize, blue, green and white during campaign stops in Ann Arbor and East Lansing in the span of a week, competing with strong turnout among young voters.

At least one expert expects Michigan to surpass the state’s record 73.2% voter turnout in 2020. Michael McDonald, the University of Florida professor who invented the measure, used modeling to predict that 73.9% of Michigan’s voting age population will vote this year. .

More than 1.2 million Michigan residents voted during the state’s new in-person early voting period, which ended Sunday.

Nearly 2 million more Michiganders had voted by mail as of Monday morning, meaning the early vote total could still surpass the 3.3 million early votes cast in 2020, when mail voting increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the weather forecast could affect in-person voting on Tuesday. Much of the Lower Peninsula is expected to see rain for at least part of the day, and plenty of research has shown that bad weather can reduce turnout.

Election officials, tired of the plot, also hope to counter — but are bracing for — possible disruptions on Election Day.

“We will be there with state, local and in some cases federal law enforcement to protect the process, protect the people involved in the process,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said during a press conference Monday.

Harris’ plea

Harris, who was wrapping up her campaign in Pennsylvania Monday evening, rallied Sunday evening at Michigan State University, her latest attempt to increase youth voter turnout.

Benson told reporters Monday that 17% of early in-person voters were ages 18 to 30, a positive sign for Democrats.

During her final campaign stop in Michigan, Harris turned to a message of unity, telling her audience that “I see the promise of America in everyone who is here” and urging them to help fulfill this promise.

Harris’ speech was missing any direct reference to her Republican rival. This would be his first rally since becoming the Democratic nominee in which Harris did not mention Trump by name, according to NBC News – an apparent attempt to end his campaign on a positive note.

“We are here together, this incredible mix of people from all walks of life, from all stages of life, under one roof, and we are here together for many reasons, including because we love our country,” Harris said. “And when you love something, you fight for it.”