• Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ended his campaign with a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, as he did in 2016 and 2020.
• Trump predicted victory, claimed leadership without evidence and insulted critics in his final speech as a presidential candidate
• Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz rallied supporters in Detroit with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Jon Bon Jovi and others.

GRAND RAPIDS — Holding what may be his last rally as a presidential candidate, Donald Trump ushered in Election Day with a late-night rally in Michigan that capped off a frantic campaign.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” the former president told fans at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, where he began his remarks after midnight. “It’s very sad, in a way, you know, because we’ve done all this, and this is the last one.”

Shortly after beginning his speech, Trump claimed without evidence that he was leading Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in early voting in Michigan, even though results cannot be reported until polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

“But pretend we’re losing a little bit, because we want to put a stage of unity tomorrow and everything,” Trump said. “This will be the biggest victory, politically, in the history of our country.”

As he has done at previous rallies, Trump said he would do “great things” for Michigan’s auto industry and attacked critics. He called Harris a “radical left-wing lunatic,” criticized former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton, while praising the oratorical skills of Winston Churchill.

“Get out and vote, there’s nothing they can do about it and we’re going to win,” Trump told thousands of fans who gathered at the rally.

CONFERENCE STORIES:

Whether out of superstition or strategic perspective, Trump chose to end his campaign in Grand Rapids for the third time, just as he did in 2016 and 2020.

Winning Michigan en route to a national victory would mean reclaiming a state that Trump himself turned into a presidential battleground eight years ago with his stunning 11,000-vote victory over Hillary Clinton.

Democrats, on the other hand, are hoping to maintain a six-year streak of statewide electoral victories since Trump’s 2016 election by carrying the state for Kamala Harris and, in turn, play a potentially critical role in electing the nation’s first female president.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz rallied supporters Monday night in Detroit, where he was joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and musical guests Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Stipe and The War and Treaty.

In a brief speech, Walz argued that Democrats have “momentum” in the race, thanks in large part to the support of women, who she said will “send a message loud and clear to Donald Trump, whether he likes it or not “.

Walz closed his final campaign event with a plea: “Michigan, bring this thing home for America. Let’s go.”

A close race

If the polls are correct, the race in Michigan could be extremely close again. No more than a percentage point or two separates the candidates in almost every recent, reliable poll.

But because of the margin of error in those polls, either candidate could easily win by a margin larger than Joe Biden’s 2.8 percent, 154,000 vote victory in 2020.

The level of attention both campaigns have paid to Michigan illustrates the importance of the swing state. Trump, Harris and their running mates have made a total of 40 campaign stops since early October alone — an average of more than one a day.

In their visits and through an onslaught of political advertising, each sought to reshape Michigan’s electoral coalitions into a historic victory.

Harris wants to bring disgruntled Republicans back into the Democratic camp as a pushback against Trump, who is trying to make new inroads with key minority groups that might be receptive to his message — young blacks and especially Arab Americans.

In the end, it could still come down to voter turnout, and that’s what drove both campaigns in recent days as each candidate turned to past wells of electoral support to squeeze out every vote before Election Day.

For Trump, that meant visits to Macomb County and western Michigan, regions home to the base of support that brought him victory in 2020. For Harris, it was college towns. She flanked her podium with both Maize and Blue and Green and White during campaign stops in Ann Arbor and East Lansing over the course of a week, competing on strong turnout among young voters.

At least one expert expects Michigan to surpass its record voter turnout rate of 73.2 percent in 2020. Michael McDonald, the University of Florida professor who invented the metric, used modeling to predict that 73.9 percent of Michigan’s voting-age population will vote this year. .

More than 1.2 million Michigan residents voted during the state’s new in-person early voting period, which ended Sunday.

Nearly 2 million more Michigan residents have voted absentee as of Monday morning, meaning early voting totals could still top the 3.3 million early ballots cast in 2020, when mail-in voting increased during the pandemic of COVID-19.

However, the weather forecast could affect Tuesday’s in-person vote. Much of the Lower Peninsula was expected to see rain for at least part of the day, and much of the research showed that inclement weather could reduce voter turnout.

Conspiracy-weary election officials are also hoping against — but bracing for — potential disruptions on Election Day.

“We’re going to be with state, local and in some cases federal law enforcement to protect the process, to protect the people in the process,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said at a news conference Monday.

Harris’s final argument

Harris, who was wrapping up her campaign in Pennsylvania on Monday night, rallied at Michigan State University on Sunday night, her latest attempt to boost youth voter turnout.

Benson told reporters Monday that 17 percent of early, in-person voters were between the ages of 18 and 30, a positive sign for Democrats.

In her final campaign stop in Michigan, Harris appealed to a message of unity, telling her audience that “I see the promise of America in everyone who is here” and urging them to help realize that promise.

Missing from Harris’ speech was any direct reference to her Republican rival. It was reportedly her first rally since becoming the Democratic nominee where Harris did not mention Trump by name, according to NBC News — an apparent attempt to end his campaign on a positive note.

“We’re here together, this incredible mix of people from all backgrounds, from every walk of life, under one roof together, and we’re here together for many reasons, including because we love our country,” Harris said. “And when you love something, you fight for it.”