Kamala Pulls Ahead as Hurricanes Helene and Milton Threaten Voter Turnout

Welcome to October Surprise, the Daily Beast’s daily countdown to the biggest election of our lifetime. It’s only 28 days until Election Day and here’s what’s happening in the race to the White House between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

THE DOWNLOAD

As Donald Trump spreads misinformation about Democrats not helping people impacted by deadly Hurricane Helene, there’s a reason he may be antsy: those victims are mostly Republicans.

The Sun Belt battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia and Florida are taking a pummeling from two megastorms less than a month before Election Day. And history shows: a hurricane a month before a major election depresses turnout. This year, many of the hardest-hit regions are Trump strongholds.

In Western North Carolina, 25 counties were included in the “designated disaster area” ravaged by Helene. According to data, voters in those areas are overwhelmingly independent and Republican. In 2020, they supported Trump by a wide margin , helping him win the state. If they don’t vote this time around, Kamala Harris supporters could easily tip the toss-up state into her column.

Kamala Harris expressed outrage Tuesday over revelations that Donald Trump secretly mailed covid tests to the “murderous dictator” of Russia in 2020 even as he was telling Americans at home to inject “bleach in their blood.”

“ I believe Donald Trump has this desire to be a dictator,” Harris told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show.

Stern, an avowed Harris supporter, encouraged all his listeners to vote in the 2024 presidential election—but not if they plan to vote for Trump. "God bless you," Stern told Harris at the conclusion of their talk. "You should be president.”

POLLS OBSESSED

Harris has pulled slightly ahead of Trump nationally—and it’s within the margin of error—in a new New York Times/Siena College poll . The survey, conducted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, found Harris leading Trump 49 percent to 46 percent.

This is the first time Harris has led Trump in this particular poll since July, when she became the presumptive nominee after Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

ON THE MOVE

Tuesday was Media Blitz Day in New York City for Harris. Besides The Howard Stern Show , she appeared on The View and was booked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert .

Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, campaigned in Sacramento, California and Seattle before heading to a rally in Reno, Nevada.

No campaign events on the books Tuesday for Trump, but his running mate, JD Vance, rallied for votes in Detroit.

THROWBACK TUESDAY

On Oct. 8, 2020, then-President Trump was apparently recovered from Covid and ready to rage on live television, with a phone-in interview to FBN’s Maria Bartiromo . The pressing issue was whether he would take part in a virtual debate on Oct. 15, proposed by the Debates Commission to deal with the fact he may still be contagious. It was a firm no. “I’m not going to waste my time on a virtual debate,” he said. Then he added, “I don’t think I’m contagious.”

BEAST OF THE DAY

Conservative pundit Megyn Kelly raged over Vice President Kamala Harris ’ controversial decision to appear on the women-oriented podcast Call Her Daddy this week, calling the press tour stop the “presidential equivalent of a visit to the Amsterdam red light district.”

Kelly kicked off the Monday edition of her SiriusXM show with strong words for the Democratic nominee, who would be the first woman to sit in the White House if she wins in November.

“I want to start today with the total abandonment of American women,” Kelly said, repeating in a howl: “Total abandonment.”

SHAMELESS PLUG

With under four weeks to go everyone needs some light relief from this race. So hear what Taylor Tomlinson, host of CBS’ After Midnight has to say to the Daily Beast’s own Matt Wilstein on Wednesday on the latest edition of The Last Laugh podcast. Follow The Last Laugh on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google , or wherever you get your podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes when they are released.

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