©  Alex Brandon and Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press

With two weeks left, the stars are coming out for what could be the closest election in a generation.

The final two weeks of campaigning between former President Trump and Vice President Harris figure to be a barn burner.

The strategies for the final push are coming into view.

• Harris will lean on the cultural reach of her celebrity endorsers.

• Eminem will introduce former President Obama at a campaign rally in Detroit on Tuesday night.

• Bruce Springsteen will headline a concert in Atlanta on Thursday, which will mark the first joint campaign appearance between Obama and Harris. Springsteen will also play before an Obama event in Philadelphia next week.

Notably, both Trump and Harris will be in Texas on Friday.

• Trump will record a podcast with Joe Rogan at his studio in Austin.

• Harris will be in Houston for a rally to promote abortion rights with Rep.
  Colin Allred (Texas), the Democratic Senate candidate.

Rogan has created a media empire that’s enormously popular with young men, who represent a key constituency for Trump.

Harvard polling director John Della Volpe wrote this in The New York Times today about Trump’s appeal to young men:

“If effective, his effort could peel enough away from the Democratic Party to transform the country’s electoral math for years to come.”

The final Atlanta Journal Constitution survey of Georgia before the election, which finds Trump with a 4 point statewide advantage, underscores the gender gap Harris faces. Harris leads by 18 points among women, while Trump leads by 31 points among men.

Meanwhile, The Hill’s
Nathaniel Weixel reports that Harris’s event Friday in Houston will highlight her campaign’s focus on abortion in the closing days of the race.

• Harris adviser
  David Plouffe explained to The Washington Post they believe the event will resonate outside of Texas: “Obviously the most important decision a presidential campaign makes is where their principal is spending time. So the fact that we’re going to Texas means we really believe that will help us in those seven battleground states.”

• The Hill’s Saul Elbein reports on the record early-voting numbers from Texas, which are bolstered by Democratic-leaning areas.

Trump has been trending upward in the polls in recent weeks, provoking concern among Democrats that he’s on the path to victory.

Here are a sampling of the grim headlines facing the Harris campaign today:

• Senate Democrats running away from Harris in ‘blue wall’ states.
• Early voting could signal ‘serious danger’ for Harris in Nevada.
• Democrats brace for a possible crack in the blue wall and signs of North Carolina slipping.
• As Harris courts Sun Belt, high housing costs stand in her way.

But amid all of the noise, The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling averages show the candidates are within 1 point of each other in all seven battlegrounds.

“Historically, it would be unusual to have seven states come down to a point or less,” Plouffe told CNN. “But I think at this point, you have to assume that’s a distinct possibility.”

According to the
University of Florida’s Election Lab, 17.6 million votes have already been cast.

💡 Perspectives:

The Hill: What if Biden was the better candidate all along?

Vox: If Harris loses, expect Democrats to move to the right.

The Hill: How Harris can help working class men.

Silver Bulletin: Likability isn’t enough for Harris.

The Hill: A vote for Trump is a vote for Musk.

The Guardian: Harris must win over non-college educated whites and fast.

RealClearPolitics: Unseen middle class Black voters move to the right.

CNN: Liz Cheney is trying to give GOP women permission to vote for Harris.

The American Prospect: The changing spirit of Montana.

Read more:

• Trump leans into populism, crudeness and possibly a second term.
• Texas rally highlights Harris focus on abortion in closing days.
• How third-party candidates could make a difference in swing states. 

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• A judge ordered Rudy Giuliani to hand over his assets to Georgia election workers.

• The presidential race is drawing millions of dollars to betting sites.

• Gold hovers near new highs amid Middle East and election uncertainty.

• Empty tables and rising costs are pushing more restaurants to bankruptcy.

• More than 11,000 actors and artists signed a statement calling the unlicensed use of creative works for artificial intelligence training a “major unjust threat” to creators. 

©  AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Biden is not on the campaign trail with Vice President Harris, but some of his official White House events could boost the Democratic nominee in the final days of the election.

• Biden is in New Hampshire this afternoon with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to promote the health care savings achieved from the administration’s initiatives, such as the Medicare price caps enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act. A new report from the Department of Health and Human Services found that nearly 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries saved roughly $1 billion from price caps on prescription drugs in the first half of 2024.

• The Biden administration announced Tuesday it would allocate more than $400 million into manufacturing projects spread across 15 regions that rely heavily on coal production and mining. The money will go toward facilities that invest in clean-energy products, such as low-carbon cement. The funding, which is allocated through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will be put toward facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania, as well as Kentucky, Texas, Washington, Illinois, Tennessee, West Virginia and Utah.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is making another push for peace in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

• The year-long escalation of war across the Middle East has been a major drag on Harris’s campaign, particularly in must-win Michigan, which has a large population of Arab Americans.

• Arab Americans have historically voted for Democrats by wide margins, but a new survey Arab News/YouGov survey finds former President Trump with a small lead over Harris.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel, where he said he’ll engage in “intensive discussions about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

• This is Blinken’s 11th trip to the region over the past year. A peace deal has so far been elusive.

• Blinken on Tuesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek truces in Lebanon and Gaza.

• Amos Hochstein, Biden’s point person for the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, says the situation has “escalated out of control.” He said that merely committing to a past United Nations resolution aimed at keeping troops out of parts of Lebanon, which helped deescalate a prior conflict, would not be enough this time around.

Read more:

• FBI investigating leak of US intel on Israel’s attack plans for Iran.
• The anti-missile system the U.S. shipped to Israel is now in place.

©  Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press

• The Hill’s Emily Brooks has an inside look on how Republican congressional candidates are handling the issue of abortion, which was an albatross on the party during the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans are still on the defensive, but Brooks reports: “In debates, GOP congressional candidates are taking a more aggressive approach when talking about the issue, accusing Democrats of misrepresenting their position. Republican campaigns are successfully pitching fact-checks to local media that pick apart the claims of Democratic campaigns, and candidates are going on air with ads to directly articulate their stances on abortion.”

• Georgia judges are picking apart controversial new election rules from the state’s Republican-led State Election Board. The rules, which could have been deployed only weeks before Election Day, were poised to impact election procedures and how votes are counted. Georgia’s Republican secretary of State had warned that chaos would ensue with the late changes. Nearly 1.7 million Georgians have already voted. The battle is not over yet, as the State Election Board aims to appeal to higher courts.

• Judges in Michigan and North Carolina rejected the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) challenges to certain overseas ballots in the key swing states. The RNC alleged the two states were improperly accepting overseas ballots from people who never lived in their jurisdictions. The Hill’s Zach Schofield has the full story here.

• A federal judge also tossed a RNC lawsuit challenging how Michigan maintains its voter rolls. 

  
  

• Republicans have notched some high-profile wins in the education space in recent years, winning key legal battles to block the White House’s student debt repayment plan and getting rid of affirmative action in college applications. Now, they’re looking to capitalize on that momentum, The Hill’s Lexi Lonas Cochran reports.

“How The Hill and its editor helped launch my career in American journalism,” by Jonathan Swan for The Hill’s Opinion section.

“The story of the hurricanes,” by Jeb Lund for The Nation.

“What the downfall of Walgreens means for America,” by Emily Stewart for Business Insider.

“Why the West should be paying more attention to the rising price of gold,” by Mohamed El-Erian for the Financial Times.

14 days until Election Day.

90 days until Inauguration Day 2025.

(all times Eastern)

Tuesday

• Harris’s interview with NBC News will air at 6:30 p.m.
• Trump holds a rally in Greensboro, N.C., at 7 p.m.

Wednesday

• Harris will participate in CNN town hall in Pennsylvania. Her previously recorded interview with Telemundo will air in the evening.

• Trump holds campaign events in Zebulon and Duluth, Ga.

There a story you think should be getting more attention? Something people should be talking about? Drop me a line: jeasley@thehill.com

You’re all caught up! Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend this newsletter to others: TheHill.com/Evening. See you tomorrow.