Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona. In the United States, these states are called the “swing states”, the 7 states that could change everything.

As Ekwutosblog points out, the American election is not played by direct universal suffrage. The candidate who obtains the most votes is not necessarily the one who will be elected. In order to be elected president, a candidate must have a plebiscite of at least 270 electors. Each state has a number of electors corresponding to the number of its representatives in Congress. The “swing states” are often those that change everything, they are the states where the elections are really played out.

With less than 4 weeks to go before the election, French media Le Parisien has taken into consideration the situation in which Donald Trump and Kamala Harris find themselves within these 7 states. Based on data from the FiveThirtyEight site, here is what emerges:

The two candidates are side by side. While Donald Trump was leading in most swing states until the end of July, the arrival of Kamala Harris in the presidential race has reshuffled the cards. According to Le Parisien, the Democratic candidate is ahead of her opponent in voting intentions in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin. In Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia, the polls show a real to-and-fro between the two candidates.

At this stage, while the gap is only two points (barely) between Trump and Harris, the results are impossible to predict. The election could be decided by a handful of votes.

The Rivers State House of Assembly has declared the seats of Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and three other pro-Fubara lawmakers vacant in the wake of their absence from sittings for 152 days.

While making the declaration on Tuesday during plenary, the Speaker Rt Hon. Martin Amaewhule explained that Ehie did not properly write to inform the House of his new office, and as such his seat has been declared vacant.

Regarding Victor Oko-Jumbo and the two others, the House held three separate votes to declare their seats vacant for absenteeism from sitting for 152 days consecutively without notification or permission, in violation of the 1999 Constitution.

Ekwutosblog gathered that the House  further agreed to write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct elections to replace the now vacant seats within 90 days to provide representation for their people.

Also, the Assembly agreed to give Fubara another opportunity to present the 2024 Appropriations Bill following the Appeal Court’s nullification of the N800 billion budget which he had presented to a parallel House led by Edison Ehie.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday emphasised that Vice President Kamala Harris would “cut her own path” if she wins the 2024 election, signalling a shift in focus with three weeks to go until election day.

Speaking at the Sheet Metal Workers International Association in Philadelphia, Biden highlighted Harris’s potential to bring fresh perspectives to the country’s challenges, contrasting her approach with that of former President Donald Trump, whose views Biden labelled as “old, failed, and thoroughly dishonest”.

Biden’s remarks suggest Harris will have more freedom to establish her own political identity in the final weeks of the campaign.

Harris, who has faced increasing pressure to clarify how her policies would differ from Biden’s, has maintained loyalty to the president while focusing on her vision for change.

Harris has repeatedly said, “I’m not Joe Biden,” but has not been forthcoming with any specific policy distinctions.

Reflecting on his own presidency, Biden noted, “Every president has to cut their own path. That’s what I did, and that’s what Kamala will do.”

He praised Harris’s leadership and expressed confidence in her ability to guide the country forward, assuring the audience that passing the torch to Harris was a decision he made with full confidence in her ability to lead the next generation.

Biden also took the opportunity to attack Trump, criticising his refusal to accept the 2020 election results and his support of the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.

Biden has made few public campaign appearances since stepping back from the 2024 race, which he dropped out of after a poor debate performance saw his party lobbying him hard to give up his candidacy.