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The presidential campaign heads west on Thursday as Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump take their closing arguments to voters in the critical swing states of Arizona and Nevada.

With five days to go until voting closes on Election Day, the candidates are expected to make a pitch to Latino voters in the two states — and talk about border security, one of the biggest issues for the campaign.

In Arizona, Trump will be in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale speaking at an event with 

, the conservative commentator known for stirring controversy. Harris will speak at a rally in Phoenix where Los Tigres del Norte, a renowned Mexican norteño band based in California, are slated to perform.

Arizona — which Trump lost by less than 11,000 votes in 2020 — remains one of the most closely contested states in this year’s election. Republicans are hoping a ballot measure that would make illegal border crossings 

 will help motivate support for Trump, while Democrats have sought to mobilize voters around a ballot measure that would enshrine

With their stops in Nevada, home to a large population of service industry workers, both candidates will be returning to a state where they have touted plans to eliminate 

Trump will be in the city of Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas. Harris will be in Reno and Las Vegas, where she will appear alongside pop icon Jennifer Lopez and Maná, a Mexican pop rock band.

In Arizona, Latinos make up 25% of the eligible voter population while in Nevada they represent just over one in five eligible voters, according to

. Democrats have traditionally won significant shares of the demographic, but 

 has shown the Republican nominee chipping away at that advantage.

The Sun Belt dash comes as both candidates continue to navigate the fallout from a comedian’s crude joke referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York last weekend.

 against Trump, but by Wednesday Harris was cleaning up comments made by President Biden during a video call in which he sounded like he was calling Trump supporters “garbage.” Trump 

 on Wednesday by speaking to the press from inside a garbage truck.

Trump is also making an unusual campaign stop in New Mexico on Thursday, a state that has not elected a Republican to the White House since 2004. The rally in Albuquerque will mark

 his first time in the reliably Democratic state

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Election 2024

Ximena Bustillo

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With five days left until Election Day, the candidates are expected to make a pitch to Latino voters in Arizona and Nevada — and talk about border security, one of the biggest issues for the campaign.

Harris and Trump will bring their closing arguments to 2 key Southwest swing states

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