As of October 8, ABC’s Project FiveThirtyEight (538) reported that democratic party nominee and vice president Kamala Harris leads in the polls by 0.7% at 48.0%, however this is a drop in contrast to previous polling. 538 also reported that former president and republican party nominee Donald Trump sits at 47.3% in the national polls.

The vice presidential debate was held Tuesday, October 1 in New York. CBS News reported that overall viewers felt the debate was both positive and evenly matched. 42% of viewers reported they felt that republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance won, whereas 41% of viewers reported they felt that democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz won the debate. Roughly 17% of respondents to CBS News stated they felt it was overall a tie. 

CNN reported on October 8 that Trump supporters are calling for punishment from the federal government to consulting company Deloitte due to an employee leaking private messages from Vance. CNN reported that Deloitte is a recent example of companies targeted by “former President Donald Trump or those in his orbit.” Trump’s oldest son Donald Trump Jr made a variety of comments on his X account calling Deloitte out for the leaked messages. 

“An executive at @Deloitte named Kevin Gallagher decided to interfere in the election & leak private convos with JD Vance to help Kamala Harris,” Trump Jr said in his post. 

In the same post, Trump Jr also called out the $2 billion Deloitte receives in government contracting and suggested the GOP should stop the taxpayer funding the company receives. 

NPR reported on October 8 that Harris has conducted a series of interviews to reach young new voters in a ‘media blitz’. One of which included an appearance on Alex Cooper’s podcast Call Her Daddy, which has sparked controversy with some voters. The podcast is known for its discussions on intimate relationships. A Harris campaign official stated that the appearance served as an opportunity to “reach voters where they are.” One of the main focuses of the discussion centered around abortion access. 

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