Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are rushing around the country hitting every battleground state they can before Tuesday, and the drama has been heightened.
As surprise after surprise has hit both campaigns during the month of October, people are waiting to see what the next shocker will be. Trump got lucky having the FBI Director James Comey help his campaign out by suddenly announcing he was reopening the emails investigation against Hillary Clinton. He didn’t say there was anything incriminating, but even he is smart enough to know that his actions would put the election into a tailspin.
Who knew the FBI would wind up helping out Russia and Julian Assange in one fell swoop. You can certainly understand why Trump followers distrust so many segments of the government when these types of things occur.
One thing that has turned this election upside down is Trump has been able to force Republicans to vote for a Democratic presidential nominee for the first time, and Hillary Clinton has gotten many American to overlook her scandals knowing she’s a better choice in the White House than the Donald.
A member of the Bush family hinted that his family might even be swayed over to the other side of the aisle for once.
11:30 p.m.
Nevada Republican Senate candidate Joe Heck revoked his endorsement of Donald Trump last month, but now says he’ll “wait and see” about voting for the nominee.
Heck said in a Tuesday interview with KSNV-TV in Las Vegas that he thinks Trump would surround himself with military experts and would be a good commander-in-chief.
He said he wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton but he’s “working through” the possibility of choosing Trump and will have a decision on Election Day.
Heck said he could no longer support Trump the day after a recording revealed a lewd Trump conversation from 2005.
His Democratic opponent, former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, has made Trump a central issue. The two are in a tight contest to replace retiring Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.
10:30 p.m.
Donald Trump is getting a $10 million advertising boost from a super PAC attacking Hillary Clinton as too scandal-plagued for the White House.
With this late ad buy, Future 45 and a companion nonprofit group become the top big-money helpers to the Republican presidential nominee.
An ad set to debut nationwide Wednesday morning calls the FBI’s disclosure that it is again looking at Clinton’s email practices “a new bombshell.”
The 30-second commercial opens with Richard Nixon saying, “People have got to know whether or not their president’s a crook.” It concludes with the question, “How can we elect someone who is under FBI investigation?”
Future 45 is led by billionaire TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and counts Las Vegas casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson as its largest donor.
8:45 p.m.
George P. Bush says he’s the only member of his powerful political family who will be voting straight-ticket Republican and says his grandfather and uncle, both former presidents, could “potentially” cast ballots for Hillary Clinton.
Bush was addressing a small Republican rally in San Marcos, Texas, Tuesday night.
He was pressed later by media outlets to clarify his remarks. He said then of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush: “I don’t know how they voted. I’m speculating, to be honest.”
Asked if either could vote for Clinton, Bush answered: “Potentially. But hard to speculate.”
Bush is Texas’ land commissioner. His father, Jeb, is the former Florida governor who was defeated by Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary.
7:45 p.m.
Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump has “no excuse” for not releasing his tax returns and is calling on him to do so before the election.
Clinton says she’s particularly interested in learning about any dealings Trump has had with Russian interests and whether he contributed to charity. She told a crowd in Florida that most of those in attendance have probably paid more in federal taxes than Trump.
Breaking with decades of tradition, Trump has refused to make his tax returns public, citing an ongoing audit. Tax experts say there is no reason Trump couldn’t release his taxes while under audit.
Clinton also slammed Trump’s business record, calling him the “poster boy for everything that is wrong with our economy.”
7:40 p.m.
Donald Trump is urging early voters who have had second thoughts about their presidential choice to recall their ballots and change their minds.
Trump told supporters Tuesday that Wisconsin is one of four states in which someone who voted early could potentially change it at a county clerk’s office.
Trump said that voters who “are having a bad case of buyer’s remorse” should change their ballot “if you think you made a mistake.”
He said the four states that allow early ballots to be changed are Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.
In Wisconsin, voters can change their minds up to three times. The deadline for doing so is Thursday. Changing votes is very rarely done, according to the Early Voting Information Center at Reed College.
7:30 p.m.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin says Hillary Clinton’s choice to blend public and official business on a private email server could be impeachable if she wins the presidency.
Johnson told the Beloit Daily News (http://bit.ly/2eS9hcp) that Clinton “purposefully circumvented” the law. The Republican said, “this was willful concealment and destruction” involving information related to national defense.
Johnson says federal law provides anyone found to have concealed or removed such records is disqualified from holding office.
Johnson chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.
The FBI found that classified information had passed through Clinton’s home server but declined to recommend charges.
Johnson is locked in a re-election battle with Democrat Russ Feingold, whom he defeated in 2010.
The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond for a request for comment from media outlets.
5:56 p.m.
President Barack Obama is telling working-class voters not to be “bamboozled” by Donald Trump.
Obama is tearing into he Republican businessman’s working-class credentials.
Obama says Trump has “shown no regard for working people.” Repeating his disbelief: “C’mon, this guy?”
The Democrat says Trump “wouldn’t let you into one of his hotels unless you were cleaning the room.”
Obama is campaigning at Capital University near Columbus, Ohio, a state he won twice by winning just enough working-class voters while pumping up turnout among African Americans.
Poll show Clinton appears to be struggling here, thanks in part to Trump’s strength among working-class, white voters.
5:23 p.m.
So Donald Trump, Scott Walker and Bobby Knight walked into a small business roundtable.
Though that’s not actually the start of a joke, laughs abounded when the unlikely trio met with small business leaders in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
Trump introduced the former Indiana basketball coach who is known for his colorful personality.
While Knight was talking to the group, his cell phone rang four different times, loudly blaring the sounds of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in the hotel conference room.
Knight finally answered and pretended that a police officer was calling to bust Trump’s motorcade for speeding.
“Officer I’m very sorry,” Knight said. “But Mr. Trump is very busy right now.”
4:15 p.m.
Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump criticizes women for their looks because he’s “a bully.”
Clinton is unleashing a series of attacks on Trump during a rally in Dade City, Florida. She’s focusing in particular on his demeaning comments about women.
Clinton was introduced by former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who was criticized by Trump for gaining weight. Clinton said to the crowd: “Can we just stop for a minute and reflect on the absurdity of Donald Trump finding fault with Miss Universe?”
She noted that Trump panned Machado as “somebody who likes to eat.” She then said with a smile, “Well, who doesn’t like to eat?”
4 p.m.
Hillary Clinton’s running mate is telling Wisconsin voters that their state is critical for Democrats to win the White House.
Tim Kaine said at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, on Tuesday that “Wisconsin is absolutely key.”
He said: “If we win Wisconsin, it is very, very difficult for the other side to win this race.”
Polls have consistently shown Clinton leading Trump in Wisconsin. She has not campaigned in the state since the primary and Kaine was making his first stop since August.
Kaine was making two stops in the state on the same day that Republican Donald Trump was to hold an evening rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Kaine appeared with Democratic Senate candidate Russ Feingold who is in a tough race against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
3:55 p.m.
Hillary Clinton is campaigning alongside former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who was criticized by Donald Trump for gaining weight after winning her pageant title.
Machado says Trump “does not respect women” and “just judges us on our looks.” As she introduced Clinton at an event Tuesday in Florida, Machado urged voters to send the message in the election that Trump isn’t going to get away with his insults toward women.
Clinton raised Trump’s treatment of Machado during the first presidential debate, flustering her Republican rival. In the days following the debate, Trump perplexingly defended his treatment of Machado and stepped up his criticism of her.
3:40 p.m.
A government official says Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey have spoken privately with each other since news broke that the FBI would review new emails in the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
The conversation took place on Monday. The official said Lynch asked Comey how he was doing.
The official was not authorized to discuss a private conversation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official says Comey still has Lynch’s support.
Comey alerted Congress on Friday that the FBI would be reviewing new emails it had discovered that may be tied to the Clinton email investigation. That notification was given over the objections of the Justice Department, which opposed such an action so close to the election.
3:15 p.m.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman said “we are going to have to dump” her emails after news broke that the Democrat and her aides had used private email accounts to conduct State Department business.
The comments by John Podesta were in the latest batch of hacked emails released by Wikileaks.
After the New York Times revealed Clinton’s use of private email accounts, Podesta told Clinton’s chief of staff that they would have to dump “all those emails.” He said it was “better to do so sooner than later.”
Podesta didn’t say what “dump” meant, though “document dump” is Washington-speak for public disclosure.
About a week later, Clinton said she had turned over half of the 60,000 emails from her personal account to the State Department. The rest were withheld as personal.
2:15 p.m.
Hillary Clinton is also making plans to air TV commercials in typically Democratic Michigan and New Mexico.
Her campaign said Tuesday it will spend more than $100,000 on TV commercials in each of the two states. That announcement came shortly after Republican Donald Trump’s campaign said it would be advertising there.
Clinton’s campaign earlier confirmed it will be advertising in Colorado for the first time since July. And it also is deploying ads in Virginia for the first time since early August.
Clinton spokesman Jesse Ferguson said the Trump campaign sees a path through these states, but “we’re going to make sure those doors remain shut.”
Trump has to win some traditionally Democratic states to secure the 270 electoral votes needed for the presidency.
1:15 p.m.
Donald Trump is making a surprise stop at a local outpost of a beloved Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain.
Trump briefly visited a Wawa in King of Prussia. He stopped by after a speech attacking President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
The Republican presidential nominee wandered the store for a few minutes and posed for selfies with a trio of customers. He did not purchase anything.
He was joined by staffers, his daughter Tiffany and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway.
Trump has made several recent stops in the Philadelphia suburbs, a vote-rich area crucial to winning Pennsylvania.
The Republican’s campaign has doggedly tried to win the state but has consistently trailed in the polls. Pennsylvania last went for a Republican presidential candidate in 1988.
1 p.m.
The latest Wikileaks release reveals that the Clinton campaign looked to neuter the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee as far back as December.
Among the options discussed in the hacked campaign documents was forcing the chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, out of office after the party’s convention.
Other options outlined in a memo by top campaign aide Heather Stone would have kept Wasserman Schultz in place but in a weakened capacity.
The memo urged “systemic shifts at the DNC leadership level” to help Hillary Clinton win the presidency.
Wikileaks has been releasing thousands of hacked emails from campaign chairman John Podesta.
Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation just before the convention last summer after an earlier Wikileaks hack of party emails showed party officials had favored Clinton over challenger Bernie Sanders.
12:25 p.m.
Donald Trump says that if he becomes president, he’d immediately convene a special session of Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Trump delivered what his campaign billed a major speech Tuesday about President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. He spoke in the Philadelphia suburbs, which are crucial to his hopes of winning Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania.
Trump said Obamacare was “a catastrophe” and has to be replaced “very, very quickly.”
He said if it isn’t replaced, “we will destroy American health care forever.”
Trump left the detailed criticisms of the program to Mike Pence, his running mate. Pence delivered a lengthy takedown of the health law, highlighting the news that the cost of its premiums are rising.
11:40 a.m.
Donald Trump’s campaign will resume broadcast ads in Michigan and begin advertising in New Mexico as he tries to capture Democratic-leaning states.
Trump’s campaign is expressing new confidence in the final week of the campaign, thanks to the renewed focus on rival Hillary Clinton’s email practices.
The campaign says it will spend $25 million on ads in the final seven days of the campaign in Michigan, New Mexico and 11 other states.
Trump spent about $500,000 on Michigan ads at the end of August and the beginning of September.
Michigan hasn’t voted for a Republican since 1988. New Mexico voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Trump needs to capture some traditionally Democratic strongholds, but surveys suggest that will be difficult.
11:20 a.m.
A lawyer for Huma Abedin says the Hillary Clinton aide has always cooperated with State Department and FBI requests for information.
Attorney Karen Dunn said in a statement Tuesday that Abedin has been interviewed for hours and has provided records that are related to work and are potentially related to work.
Dunn said Abedin learned from media reports on Friday that a laptop belonging to her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, might contain emails of hers. The FBI is examining whether the emails are pertinent to its dormant investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server.
The attorney said Abedin has not been contacted by the FBI about this, but that she’ll continue to be forthcoming and cooperative.