Why Neither Harris Nor Trump Are Making Public Appearances on Election Day

Neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump will hold political rallies on Election Day. After months of intense campaigning, presidential candidates traditionally avoid the campaign trail on Election Day, instead choosing watch parties in meaningful locations or low-key events.

Harris will spend part of her day conducting radio interviews for stations in key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Later, she will head to Howard University, her alma mater in Washington, D.C., for a watch party. Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), will start his day with a political event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, before joining Harris at Howard in the afternoon.

Trump, a Florida resident, will spend the day in his home state, where he has stated he plans to vote in person. He will host his election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), has no public events scheduled for Election Day. He spent Monday campaigning with Donald Trump Jr. in several swing states, but it remains unclear if Vance will join Trump in Florida. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request from the Washington Examiner about Vance’s plans.

Election Day itself typically sees candidates stepping back from active campaigning, with only minor exceptions. For example, in 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton stayed off the campaign trail, choosing instead to remain in Chappaqua, New York, where she cast her ballot at a local school before heading to New York City for her election night event. In 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama voted in his Chicago neighborhood, followed by a low-key campaign stop in Indiana, which he went on to win. His opponent, then-Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), opted for a busier schedule, casting his vote in Phoenix before traveling to Nevada and Colorado for final campaign stops in key battlegrounds.