Election 2024 updates: Harris and Trump to debate in Philly; Delaware primary voters head to the polls

The race to be the city of Wilmington’s next mayor comes down to Tuesday’s primary Election Day. Democratic candidates are urging voters to get out and vote as Tuesday’s 8 p.m. voting deadline approaches.

Gov. John Carney is seeking the role, along with former statewide officeholder Velda Jones-Potter. Carney will leave statewide office next year after two terms as governor, two terms as lieutenant governor and three terms as the state’s lone representative to the U.S. House.

Jones-Potter was appointed state treasurer in 2009 and served about two years before losing her bid for a full term. She previously worked for DuPont and MBNA.

There is no Republican candidate so whoever wins the primary would replace outgoing Mayor Mike Purzycki, who is not running for re-election.

The mayoral candidates have expressed their views on several issues facing the city in previous months, including in an August forum hosted by the Rotary Club of Wilmington.

Carney said he is running for the seat because he cares deeply about the city.

“I thought long and hard about what to do next as my term as governor comes to an end, and I really decided that I could have a bigger impact on the issues that I care about as mayor of Wilmington than I could going back to Washington, D.C.,” he said. “We’ve been knocking on doors all over the city, and it’s really confirmed my choice to take a career in public service.”

Jones-Potter said she entered the race because she wants all Wilmington residents to have a better quality of life.

“In recent years, there has been a significant focus on infrastructure and building and development and it has not equitably provided for investment and care of our neighborhoods and our communities, people within our community,” she said. “So I am looking forward to creating a better balance between our infrastructure and growth and development.”

Jones-Potter said her vision for the city includes addressing the causes of homelessness and vagrancy and creating affordable housing.

“I envision our city being one that has very strong, vibrant neighborhoods, where they’re clean and they’re safe,” she said, “where we drastically improve our schools and the education of our children.”

Carney said big priorities for him also include safe neighborhoods, good schools, and commercial development.

“I would focus on creating a strong economy with good jobs because that’s always where it starts and opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses,” he said, “which is really important to the city and its residents.”

Abortion and reproductive rights are expected to play a big role in tonight’s presidential debate.

Not far from the debate site at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center is a giant, 20-foot inflatable IUD. Her name is Freeda Womb.

Dr. Dara Kass, a board member of Americans for Contraception, said the group is using the visual aid to reinforce the importance of electing Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump to protect abortion rights.

“She is here to draw attention to the concept that contraception is at risk,” said Kass.

Philadelphia City Councilmembers at-large Nina Ahmad and Kendra Brooks, who stopped by the inflatable IUD, were among those voicing support for Harris.

“As the mother of four daughters and three granddaughters, I will not stand by as our reproductive freedom is restricted for future generations,” Brooks posted to Instagram. “Whether it’s abortion, an IUD, or a maxipad, reproductive healthcare is crucial to the health and well-being of working families everywhere.”

For Ahmad, reproductive rights issues are “really [a] human rights issue.” “It is critical people understand what is at stake at in this election,” she said.

Brooks, who wrote that she is launching a reproductive rights task force in partnership with Mayor Cherelle Parker, said, “we are committed, and we are not going back.”

It’s primary Election Day in the First State, and tens of thousands of Delawareans will head to the polls to cast their vote. But many people avoided what could be long lines and took advantage of the last early voting day on Sunday, including voters in New Castle County.

In June, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down a lower court ruling that barred early voting and permanent absentee voting in the state’s general elections. Lawmakers passed a law in 2019 that allowed 10 days of early voting beginning in 2022. The permanent absentee law was approved in 2010. Early voting and permanent absentee voting in primaries and special elections is already allowed.

Department of Elections data shows at least 839 New Castle County residents cast ballots on Sunday at six locations in the area, including 233 voters at two sites in  Wilmington. An enthusiastic crowd of activists and candidates mingled together a short distance from the entrance of the Police Athletic League polling location in Northwest Wilmington, waving signs to promote their campaign or their preferred candidates.

Candidate for Wilmington mayor Velda Jones-Potter and gubernatorial candidate Matt Meyer showed up at the PAL polling site to greet supporters, cast their ballots and energize their base.

Jones-Potter said she was on-site to encourage her supporters to vote and make sure they didn’t experience any trouble casting ballots.

The Department of Elections acknowledged last week that 764 affected voters statewide who were registered automatically through the Department of Motor Vehicles were given incorrect party identification due to a “clerical error.” Of the 764, 328 voters reside in New Castle County and 87 in the city of Wilmington. A DOE spokesperson said the only calls they received were from the PAL Center, all of the affected registrations have been updated, no one had been turned away and everyone has been allowed to vote.

» READ MORE: Delaware candidates monitor polling location for voting issues before polls close

All eyes are on Philadelphia, with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump slated to debate each other for the first time in the 2024 presidential campaign.

The debate, hosted by ABC News at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, will kick off at 9 p.m.

Though the event is closed to the public, many local and state leaders plan to host events to watch the debate unfold in real-time.

Here are some watch parties that will take place in Philly (note: some may require an RSVP).

Nonpartisan gathering at City Tap House

100 N. 18th St.

Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan civic leadership group, will join the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Citizen and the Young Professionals Council to host a debate watch party at City Tap House, where attendees can compete for prizes and learn how to get civically involved. One free drink is included with each RSVP and light snacks will be available. Admission is free.

Dialogue at the Hilton

4200 City Ave.

Philadelphia Legislative Black Caucus members, led by Lisa Rhodes, will host state House Speaker Joanna McClinton, state Sen. Vincent Hughes and state Rep. Anthony Bellmon, among others, for their second presidential debate watch party.

The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue, featuring dialogue and information sessions in between debate breaks. The event is open to the public, but you must RSVP to attend.

Outdoor watch party in West Philly

4862-70 Parkside Ave.

The Container Village Association will host a watch party at its outdoor market, with festivities starting at 6:30 p.m. Organizers expect 200 people to attend. The party will include a live debate viewing, a political feud game, a political scavenger hunt and mock voting. Philadelphia City Councilmembers Curtis Jones Jr. and Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore-Richardson are also invited guests.

Belmont Mansion panel and watch party

Belmont Mansion Drive

The Black Women’s Leadership Council and Women Connected will host a Connecting Dots panel discussion and presidential debate watch party at the Belmont Mansion. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the program will begin at 6:45 p.m. Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir will be a special guest.

Philly Young Republicans watch party

433 Chestnut St.

The Philadelphia Young Republicans will host a debate watch party at Kimpton Hotel Monaco’s Lafayette South Room. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Fox Nation will broadcast live with special guests, including former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah), conservative TV personality Rachel Campos-Duffy, TV host and author Pete Hegseth and commentator Brian Brenberg. Food will be provided and there will be a cash bar.

Herstorical debate watch party

129 S. 30th St.

The PA Black Coalition for Harris will host a HERstorical debate watch party.

Organizers include PA Black Women for Harris, PA Black Men for Harris, Step, Stomp & Stroll Community Action Group and the Federation of Democratic Women. Due to an overwhelming response, the watch party was relocated to the Post restaurant at Cira Green.

Mayor Parker’s watch party at the Dell Music Center

2400 Strawberry Mansion Drive

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, PA Dems Chairman Sen. Sharif Street and Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bob Brady will be hosting a debate watch party that doubles as a Harris-Walz rally. Doors will open at 7 p.m., and the rally will begin at 8 p.m. Music, special guests and giveaways are expected.

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

The eastbound lanes of the Ben Franklin Bridge are officially closed to traffic ahead of tonight’s presidential debate.

All roads leading to the eastbound lanes of the bridge have been shut down, per the Delaware River Port Authority.

The closures include the ramp from the Vine Street Expressway (I-676) eastbound to the bridge.

Drivers are urged to take either the Walt Whitman Bridge or the Betsy Ross Bridge for travel to New Jersey.

The westbound lanes of the Ben Franklin Bridge, from New Jersey into Philadelphia, remain open.

Tuesday’s presidential debate in Philadelphia is an opportunity for swing state voters to hear Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump define their policy platforms on the national stage.

WHYY News’ politics reporter Carmen Russell-Sluchansky is covering the debate and joined WHYY “Morning Edition” host Jennifer Lynn for a preview.

___

CR: Good morning, Jennifer.

JL: Now, the site of the debate, the National Constitution Center, is within a security perimeter which now surrounds several blocks, including WHYY and parts of Independence Mall. Access is very limited. So Carmen, who will actually be in the Constitution Center tonight?

CR: Well, the candidates obviously, and some staff aides and Secret Service, but there won’t be an audience, and even media is very limited. Most media will actually be at the filing center set up at the Convention Center several blocks away.

JL: And are there any other important people going to be around during the debate for you to talk to?

CR: There’ll be plenty of campaign surrogates around, including members of Congress and others. And some are already here, such as Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, a Democrat who I saw at a press conference yesterday. He made the point that Harris’s primary job is going to be to motivate Democrats.

Wes Moore: This election will be determined by people who choose to vote and people who choose not to. And so I think the thing that she is going to be able to articulate and share is why it is so necessary for people to be a part of this process. That I think one of the greatest dangers that we have seen from the former president is it’s causing so much noise and chaos that I think it’s actually added to the level of skepticism that people feel about the system.

CR: So Moore said he expects former President Donald Trump to be somewhat incendiary.

JL: And what would the Democrats’ strategy be to counter that?

CR: Well, I was able to catch up with State Senator Sharif St. who is currently serving as the chair of the Pennsylvania Democrats. He told me that he expects Harris to focus on policy.

Sharif Street.: Look, I think Donald Trump is going to be Donald Trump. I think that Kamala Harris is going to present her vision for America. I think she’s not going to feed into Donald Trump’s theatrics. I think she’s going to stay focused. Let’s continue talking about the vision she has for America.

JL: OK. And what are Republicans looking to get out of this debate, Carmen?

CR: Republicans I talked to are looking for their candidate to effectively get Harris on the record when it comes to policies that she has, let’s say, evolved on since she ran in 2020. This is Jim Worthington of Bucks County, who is a large donor to Trump’s campaign and other Republican causes.

Jim Worthington: She’s stating one thing then and now she’s trying to become more moderate. I don’t think anybody’s going to buy that. So they’re going to ask her directly, point blank, you know, where do you stand on all these different things like immigration, the borders, defunding police, Israel … any number of things, fracking, there’s so many things she’s flip-flopped on.

JL: I mean, has she flip-flopped on so many things? We’ve heard about the fracking flip-flop.

CR: Well, there’s been some things that she has evolved on. When I talked to Jim Worthington, I asked him that question, are politicians allowed to flip-flop? And he said … evolving is talking about it when you’re vice president, not when you’re running for president.

JL: Who is undecided at this point and will this debate help anyone lock in their vote? Or is it really, as Gov. Moore said, that the election will be decided by the candidate who brings out their voters?

CR: Well, turnout will play a major role in the election and there aren’t that many undecided voters, but they are out there and they may have an impact given how close the race is in Pennsylvania shaping up to be. I spoke with a woman by the name of Ileen Fink who said she is still making up her mind. She feels neither candidate is addressing the issues she’s most concerned about, especially the environment and health care.

Ileen Fink: When Hillary ran against Trump years ago, I went for a completely different party, environment, independence, something like that, because I wasn’t for either one.  But I think that we’ll see what the debate has to say.

JL: Carmen, Is she voting for Trump?

CR: She won’t be voting for Trump, but she hasn’t made-up her mind about Harris yet.

JL: I understand there were also some protests planned. They are planned for tonight. I’m guessing there will be an anti-war rally.

CR: Yes, the Philly Palestine Coalition is organizing a protest outside the Constitution Center, but there will also be a pro-Trump rally and an anti-abortion rally. Honestly, I’m not sure where exactly they plan to congregate given all the street closures, but our news department will be covering those as well as we’ll be at a few watch parties around the city.

JL: Excellent. Well, thank you so much. Enjoyed having you on this morning.

CR: My pleasure, Jennifer.

With increased security and road closures in effect throughout Philadelphia, city offices within the Center City area will close at noon Tuesday, officials announced.

Operations will resume on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Delaware’s most prominent elected official, President Joe Biden, may have upended the presidential race in July when he dropped his bid for a second term, but it’s the impending departures of two other prominent Democratic officeholders, Gov. John Carney and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, that are having ripple effects throughout the ballot in Tuesday’s state primaries.

Carney will leave statewide office next year after two terms as governor, two terms as lieutenant governor and three terms as the state’s lone representative to the U.S. House. His departure has set off contested primaries for both the Democratic and Republican nominations.

The Democratic candidates are Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer and National Wildlife Federation CEO and former state Natural Resources Secretary Collin O’Mara. The Republican candidates are retired police officer Jerry Price, state House Minority Leader Michael Ramone and small business owner Bobby Williamson.

Hall-Long has Carney’s endorsement and is the only candidate in the race to have previously won statewide office. But the two-term lieutenant governor has had a difficult summer after a state-ordered forensic audit of her campaign finances revealed improprieties over an eight-year period.

Emails reviewed by the Associated Press also showed that members of the lieutenant governor’s staff engaged in campaign activity on her behalf during government work hours, which is prohibited by state law. Hall-Long has disputed the findings of the forensic audit, saying the issues identified in the report were the result of minor bookkeeping errors. Nonetheless, Meyer, her primary rival, has called for a federal investigation into the matter.

Carney is barred from running for a third term as governor but will still appear on some ballots in the state as a candidate for mayor of Wilmington, Delaware’s most populous city. His opponent in the Democratic primary is another former statewide officeholder, Velda Jones-Potter, who was appointed state treasurer in 2009 and served about two years before losing her bid for a full term.

Long-Hall is also term-limited as lieutenant governor, and four women have lined up to replace her. State Rep. Sherry Dorsey-Walker, state Sen. Kyle Evans-Gay and state party vice chair Debbie Harrington are running for the Democratic nomination. Former state Rep. Ruth Briggs King is unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Carper’s announcement in 2023 that he would not seek a fifth term created the state’s first open-seat U.S. Senate race since 2010, when U.S. Sen. Chris Coons was elected to the seat Biden had vacated to assume the vice presidency. Democratic U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester looks to replace Carper, as does Republican former Walmart executive Eric Hansen. Both are unopposed for their parties’ nominations and will not appear on Tuesday’s ballot.

With Blunt Rochester running to replace Carper in the U.S. Senate, both Democrats and Republicans will hold contested primaries to take over the seat she has held since 2017. Democratic state Sen. Sarah McBride is the best-known and best-funded candidate across both primary fields. She has the backing of Carper, Coons and Rochester, and had $1.7 million in the bank as of the end of June. Her only competitor from either party to disclose any funds raised was Republican Donyale Hall, who reported a campaign war chest of just shy of $7,500. If elected, McBride would become the first openly transgender member of Congress.

Although control of both the U.S. Senate and House may come down to just a small handful of competitive races, the seats in Delaware are expected to remain firmly in the Democratic column. Once a reliable bellwether in presidential races, Delaware has shifted heavily Democratic since the 1990s. Republicans have not won the governorship since 1988, a U.S. Senate seat since 1994 or the U.S. House seat since 2008.

About half of Delaware’s 21 state Senate seats and all 41 state House seats are up for election 2024, although only 12 districts will hold contested primaries on Tuesday. Democrats hold about two-to-one majorities in each chamber.

» READ MORE: What to expect in Delaware’s state primaries

The presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris happens Tuesday at 9 p.m., but the hefty security measures and road closures around the National Constitution Center that will come with it have already begun. And things will get worse before they get better Wednesday morning.

By early Tuesday morning, street closures will be in effect from Arch to Market streets, between 4th and 7th Streets, with Arch and Race streets completely closed off. The 6th Street exit of I-676 eastbound will also be closed. Cars and pedestrians will be allowed on 4th Street and Market Street. I-676 westbound is expected to remain open, but may close if deemed necessary. These closures will remain in effect until early Wednesday.

People who work in what city officials call the “secure zone” will need to pass through a checkpoint at 7th and Arch streets on Tuesday. Many businesses have told employees to work remotely, if possible, that day.

The eastbound lanes of the Ben Franklin Bridge from I-676 into New Jersey will be shut down from 8 to 10 p.m. Tuesday. As of now, the westbound lanes will remain open.

Delays, detours or changes to SEPTA have not been announced yet, but will be available on the transit agency’s Alert & Advisory webpage and social media.

Further information about road closures will be published on the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, City of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Police Department’s social media pages.

You can also sign up for free ReadyPhiladelphia alerts by texting READYPHILA to 888-777.

» READ MORE: What will be closed — and when — for Tuesday’s presidential debate in Philly

Delaware voters are heading to the polls to cast ballots in the state’s 2024 primary election. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Reporters from WHYY News are following each of the major campaigns — including the race for Delaware’s lone U.S. House seat, the race to replace John Carney as the state’s next governor and the race for Wilmington mayor.

As Election Day unfolds, follow WHYY News’ live special coverage on WHYY.org, the WHYY App and WHYY-FM.

Your voter game plan

• Have questions about the election? Our 2024 voter hub has the answers
• Looking for voter info? Here’s WHYY News’ Delaware voter guide
• Here’s what to expect from the First State’s primaries
• Want to learn more about the candidates? Here’s who’s running
• Eager for results? Follow along with WHYY as votes are tallied this evening

Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trump will debate each other for the first time tonight at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center.

WHYY News and NPR will offer live special coverage, including live updates online.

The ABC News Presidential Debate will air at 9 p.m. ET for 90 minutes.

Viewers can watch a live stream via WHYY.org or the WHYY App, or listen live via WHYY-FM.

This story originally appeared on NPR.

Vice President Harris will face off against former President Donald Trump Tuesday for the first time since becoming the Democratic nominee.

The playing field is different than it was two months ago when President Biden’s dismal debate performance spurred a wave of concern over his ability to defeat Trump, the Republican nominee.

Since then, a lot has happened. Trump survived an assassination attempt, he accepted the GOP presidential nomination, Biden dropped out of the race and Harris then took over and clinched the Democratic party’s nomination.

Harris has since made up the ground Biden lost in swing state polls and now stands virtually tied with Trump. Despite a groundswell of support and reportedly record-breakingfundraising amounts, her campaign’s honeymoon phase is likely to end, especially as Trump and Republicans look to ramp up attacks.