On the eve of Election Day, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had only hours left to make their closing arguments to voters in a contest both are calling the most important of their lifetime.
With more than 95 million Americans having already cast their ballots -- an early voting record -- time was running out for Trump and Biden to sway uncommitted voters.
Trump had five rallies in four states -- North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin -- as both candidates planned to barnstorm the states they deemed critical in a final full day of campaigning overshadowed by coronavirus cases rising in nearly every election battleground.
Biden went to Ohio and Pennsylvania, closing out the day at a drive-in rally with Lady Gaga in Pittsburgh. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, is also campaigning in Pennsylvania and finishedd her day at a drive-in rally with John Legend in Philadelphia. Their ticket's top surrogate, former President Barack Obama, campaigned in Georgia and Florida.
Vice President Mike Pence had a pair of rallies in Pennsylvania -- a state Trump won by one point in 2016 and one where a Democratic win this time would leave him with an exceedingly narrow path to victory -- before joining Trump on the trail in Michigan.
Here is how the day is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 02, 2020, 10:50 AM EST
Trump, Biden head out for final day of campaigning as legal concerns loom
Departing from Delaware to Ohio this morning, Biden signaled a number one to reporters with his finger before audibly saying that there’s "one day" left until the election. He waved and held up one finger again from the top of the staircase before embarking for Cleveland to kick off the final full day of campaigning.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says "one day" as he arrives to board his campaign plane at New Castle Airport on Nov. 2, 2020 in New Castle, Del. One day before the election, Biden is campaigning in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that President Donald Trump won narrowly in 2016.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Moments earlier, Trump in Miami boarded Air Force One, heading off for five rallies across four states including a final rally this evening in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he closed out his 2016 campaign.
Trump, predicting a "red wave" is relying on his mega-rallies to boost voter turnout and himself to victory as they did in 2016, while Democrats are calling on some star power in the eleventh hour -- recruiting Lady Gaga and John Legend for drive-in rallies in Pennsylvania this evening.
President Donald Trump arrives to board Air Force One for a day of campaign rallies, Nov. 2, 2020, in Miami.
Evan Vucci/AP
As Trump has threatened legal action to stop the counting of ballots arriving after Election Day, Biden's campaign is making clear that they are "prepared for all scenarios," including the possibility of a post-election legal fight.
In a statement first to Politico confirmed to ABC News, the Biden campaign urged voters to show up in "overwhelming numbers" but also emphasized their large voter protection team and the fact that they are prepared for a potential post-election fight, including making sure they have the resources to fight it.
-ABC News’ Johnny Verhovek contributed to this report.
Nov 02, 2020, 10:34 AM EST
Coronavirus surging in every key swing state in final hours of voting
With Election Day just hours away, coronavirus cases are rising in every key political battleground state around the country, according to an ABC News analysis, a striking reality that highlights the inextricable link between the pandemic and the 2020 race, despite the president’s best efforts to refocus the conversation elsewhere.
As deaths and hospitalizations are rising as well, the outbreak is hitting in record numbers nationwide -- but the virus is spreading faster in case per population in many hotly contested states, including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, according to the analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
A voter cas at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on October 30, 2020 in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Hundreds of people lined up for about an hour to cast their ballot on the final day of early voting in Georgia.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Just this week, Pennsylvania, one of the most likely tipping points in the election, broke its single-day new case record this week with over cases 2,700 reported -- the highest since the start of the pandemic. In Wisconsin, there have been more than 150,000 new cases in just the past two months -- nearly double all the cases reported from March through the end of August combined. And Georgia, which has emerged as a competitive state, is experiencing a "surge."
Exactly how the most recent rise in cases in key swing states, which began earlier this fall, will ultimately impact the presidential election remains unclear, but experts said its effects have already been felt. Many say the surge in cases is likely to hurt the president at the ballot box, though a Trump campaign official Sunday suggested it may be to their advantage to have Democrats talking about it so much, as fear over the outbreak could prevent those more likely to support Biden from turning out on Election Day.
Record numbers of mail-in ballots have been requested, though, and early voting is smashing total tallies from 2016 and fears of getting the virus do not appear to be suppressing the drive to vote in person, even in places where cases are surging, experts said.
-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin, Soorin Kim and Mark Nichols
Nov 02, 2020, 10:02 AM EST
Trump to watch election night unfold from White House
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in a Fox News interview this morning, appearing as Trump's "campaign adviser," confirmed he plans to be at the White House on election night.
"We'll be there at the White House in D.C.," McEnany said.
President Donald Trump speaks flanked by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas before the swearing in of Judge Amy Coney Barrett as an US Supreme Court Associate Justice during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Oct. 26, 2020.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The Trump campaign had reportedly planned a traditional campaign party at his hotel, also off Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington. But the president told reporters last week that he was considering other options including staying at the White House or spending time between the two. The District's coronavirus precautions limit indoor gatherings to 50 people.
The Democratic ticket, meanwhile, is slated to be in Wilmington, Delaware, on election night.
-ABC News' Jordyn Phelps
Nov 02, 2020, 9:44 AM EST
Overview: Trump rallies in five states, Biden focus on Pennsylvania
With the clock ticking down until Election Day, Trump and Biden have only hours left to make their closing arguments to voters, and with more than 94 million already having cast their ballots, the pool of uncommitted voters they're hoping to win over is thinning out.
On the final full day of campaigning, the candidates return to the swing states they deem critical in their pathways to the White House the election -- but the trips come as the the contest is overshadowed by coronavirus cases rising across the country and in nearly every election battleground.
President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking during a campaign rally at Michigan Sports Stars Park, Nov. 1, 2020, in Washington, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP
Trump and Biden are competing amid a pandemic and continue to paint contrasting realities of the COVID-19 landscape, with Trump insisting "COVID, COVID, COVID' -- as he puts it -- will disappear from media reports after the election, saying the country is "rounding the turn" while Biden acknowledges ending the pandemic won’t be like “flipping a switch” if he’s elected.
Continuing what Biden has deemed “superspreader” events, Trump has five rallies in four states Monday -- in Fayetteville, North Carolina at 11:30 a.m., in Avoca, Pennsylvania, at 2:30 p.m., in Traverse City, Michigan, at 5 p.m., and in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at 8 p.m., -- before traveling back to where he ended his campaign in 2016: Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a final rally.
Other than making a quick side trip to neighboring Cleveland, Ohio, Biden is focused on barnstorming what is shaping to be the pivotal battleground of the election -- Pennsylvania -- with events in Beaver County at 2:40 p.m. and in Pittsburgh at 5:40 p.m. with members of the African American community. He closes out the day at a drive in rally with Lady Gaga in Pittsburgh.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks at a get out the vote event at Sharon Baptist Church, Nov. 1, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, is also campaigning in Pennsylvania and finishes her day at a drive-in rally with John Legend in Philadelphia. Their ticket's top surrogate, former President Barack Obama, is spreading out their efforts with events in Georgia and Florida.
Vice President Mike Pence has a pair of rallies in Pennsylvania -- a state Trump won by one point in 2016 and one where a Democratic win this time would leave him with an exceedingly narrow path to victory -- before joining Trump on the trail in Michigan.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside of the White House on Oct. 30, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
With a nation on edge, roiled by tension and palpable high anxiety on the eve of Election Day, the president seems more determined than ever to exploit divisions as his best hope of closing the gap in the polls.
Trump denied to reporters Sunday night that he would try to declare some of "victory" on election night but added, "as soon as the election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers." His comments on the heels of repeated attacks ON the Supreme Court for not allowing GOP efforts to block the counting of ballots arriving in the days after the election in key battleground states.