Tech billionaire Elon Musk has quietly donated a “very substantial” amount of his own money directly to a PAC that is canvassing Hispanic voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Fox News has learned.

Musk donated to a PAC called The Hispanic Voters Alliance, which is canvassing voters in Arizona, California and Oregon to help Republicans up and down ballot. 

Fox News has also learned that the latest FEC filings for The Hispanic Voters Alliance will be released to the public on Thursday and will reveal the extent of Musk’s financial support. Musk’s donation to the PAC came from Musk directly and not through one of his PACs or organizations. The PAC has used the money in recent weeks to get out the Hispanic vote for Republicans. 

The PAC is associated with Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas. Gonzales hosted Musk during the billionaire’s visit to the Texas border in Eagle Pass, Texas, last year.

HERE’S HOW ELON MUSK’S $1M A DAY GIVEAWAY TO BATTLEGROUND VOTERS WORKS

Musk has already made waves on the Pennsylvania campaign trail in support for former President Donald Trump’s re-election, including offering $1 million a day to swing-state voters who sign his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution.

Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck in a recent USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, with Trump at 44% and Harris at 45%. Harris, however, appeared to be losing ground among Latino and Black voters. 

ELON MUSK RESPONDS TO GOV. SHAPIRO’S COMMENT HIS SUPER PAC PETITION WAS ‘DEEPLY CONCERNING’

The new poll found Latino voters now back Trump by 49% to 38%. Black voters prefer Harris by 72% to 17%, but that 55-point edge is significantly less than the advantage Democrats traditionally enjoy. 

Trump has made inroads among Black and Latino voters in the 2024 race by courting men, as he campaigns on the economy and crime. 

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

More than $538 million in advertising dollars spent by former President Trump and Vice President Harris’ presidential campaigns and their allies have been poured into the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania ahead of Election Day, according to a new report. 

The figure comes from an analysis published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday. 

That makes Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes considered critical to securing the presidency, the most expensive battleground state. According to the analysis, Democrats spent more than $294.7 million in Pennsylvania, and Republicans spent $243.6 million. 

Both campaigns and their respective allies spent about $185 million – or 52% – more collectively in Pennsylvania than the second most expensive swing state of Michigan, according to AdImpact. 

The top presidential candidates and their running mates have visited Pennsylvania 76 times since January, the Inquirer reported, though that jumps to 90 when including the stops President Biden made before he discontinued his re-election bid and endorsed Harris in July. 

JEWISH-AMERICAN GROUP URGES US CITIZENS IN ISRAEL TO VOTE AS ABSENTEE BALLOTS CAN IMPACT SWING STATES

Most of those visits to Pennsylvania have happened since the beginning of August. 

Of Trump’s 25 campaign visits, 18 have been outside of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as the Republican nominee has focused on Rust Belt towns like Wilkes-Barre and Johnstown. 

In recent weeks, his strategy has shifted to the suburbs of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, as he and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, court more undecided voters in areas that can lean blue. 

“The blue-collar Trump voter, the union member Trump voter, the person who is concerned about the border Trump voter, the person concerned about his job in fracking, energy or manufacturing,” Trump senior adviser Tim Murtaugh told the Inquirer. “All of those people are Pennsylvania Trump voters.”

KAMALA HARRIS ‘HAS BECOME TOXIC’ FOR PENNSYLVANIA, TOP KEYSTONE STATE LAWMAKER SAYS

Harris has prioritized population hubs, making three-quarters of her visits to the state in Philadelphia and its suburbs and Allegheny County, which combined account for 44% of registered Pennsylvania voters. She and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have also paid visits to smaller towns. 

“The strategy has always been, throw the kitchen sink at campaigning everywhere and not taking any voters for granted,” Harris senior adviser Brendan McPhillips told the Inquirer. “Our unofficial motto is go everywhere, talk to everyone.”

Biden for President and Harris for President have spent more than $123.7 million since January on Pennsylvania’s airwaves, while Democratic PACs and issue groups bought another $171 million worth of ads supporting Harris that will air until Nov. 5. 

Harris and her allies have focused on Philadelphia’s media market, outspending Trump and his allies on streaming, cable, digital and radio ads. Trump dropped more on broadcast buys, the Inquirer reported. 

Trump’s campaign spent $52.5 million on advertising in Pennsylvania, and super PACs supporting the president spent another $191.2 million in the battleground state.

With two weeks to go until Election Day on November 5, a new poll in swing state Nevada indicates a margin-of-error race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.

According to the survey by AARP, Trump edged Harris 49%-47% in a head-to-head match up for the state’s highly coveted six electoral votes. The Republican presidential nominee holds an even slimmer 47%-46% one-point margin over the Democratic Party standard-bearer in a full ballot with third-party candidates. The survey is the latest of likely voters to indicate a coin-toss race in Nevada.

As he runs to win back the White House, Trump aims to become the first GOP presidential nominee to carry Nevada since then-President George W. Bush in his 2004 re-election victory. Trump narrowly lost the Silver State in both his 2016 White House victory and in his 2020 re-election loss to President Biden.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION POWER RANKINGS

The AARP survey, conducted Oct. 8-15 and released on Tuesday, indicates the former president holding a narrow advantage among independent voters. It also points to a large gender gap, with Trump up 18 points among men, while Harris leads women by 15 points.

Recent polls in Nevada and across the nation indicate an erosion of support for Democrats among Latino voters, and according to the AARP poll, Trump enjoys a slight lower-single digit edge over Harris among those voters.

HARRIS AND CHENEY TEAM UP FOR A BATTLEGROUND BLITZ 

Of note, the survey doesn’t point to a large education divide.

“There is only a small educational attainment gap, with Harris up 6-points with voters with college degrees, and Trump up 5 among those without degrees,” the survey’s release highlights.

The poll indicates Trump with a seven-point lead among voters 50+, and a four-point advantage among those age 65 and older.

“With the presidential and senate races so close, appealing to high-turnout older voters should be a major priority for all the campaigns,” AARP Nevada State Director Maria Moore emphasized. “If candidates want to win in Nevada, they should focus on the issues that matter to older voters, from protecting Social Security to supporting family caregivers and bringing down the costs of necessities like food and housing.”  

Nevada is one of seven swing states whose razor-thin margins decided Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump and are likely to determine if Harris or Trump wins the 2024 White House race.

The Silver State is not only a presidential battleground – it’s also home to a crucial Senate race that is one of a handful that will decide if the GOP wins back the chamber’s majority.

According to the poll, Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen holds a five-point 49%-44% advantage over Republican challenger Sam Brown.

The AARP poll was conducted by the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (Republican) & Impact Research (Democrat). The firms interviewed 1,368 likely voters in Nevada. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Harris campaign announced a concert series with Bruce Springsteen in battleground states to mobilize voters with just two weeks to go until Election Day.

The Harris campaign’s “When We Vote We Win” concert series will be a massive get-out-the-vote effort in key states, a senior campaign official said. 

The official said Springsteen will headline the kick-off concerts, with the first on Thursday in Atlanta. Former President Barack Obama will join Vice President Kamala Harris for the event. 

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS IN NEW INSTAGRAM VIDEO: ‘VISION OF AMERICA’

The official said Springsteen will headline another concert on Monday in Philadelphia, another event Obama will attend. 

The concert series will hit all seven battleground states: Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin. The official said the campaign will announce additional concerts in the coming days. 

‘KAMALA ERA’: DNC LAUNCHES TAYLOR SWIFT-THEMED CAMPAIGN IN PITCH TO YOUNG VOTERS

A senior campaign official said campaign advisers see the events as opportunities to attract voters and ensure the attendees turn out to vote.

Springsteen announced his support for Harris earlier this month, saying she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have “a vision this country respects and includes everyone, regardless of class, religion, race, your political point of view or sexual identity, and they want to grow our economy in a way that benefits all.” 

Springsteen slammed former President Donald Trump, saying he “doesn’t understand the meaning” of being “deeply American.” 

The announcement comes after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) rolled out a Taylor Swift-themed “I Will Vote” campaign to target young voters across battleground states with just over two weeks until Election Day. 

The DNC’s “I Will Vote” campaign includes a new Snapchat filter urging young voters to be “fearless” on issues that Democrats say “will decide this election,” including reproductive rights and the economy, while urging them to “learn how to cast their ballot for Vice President Harris this November.”

Meanwhile, Trump will hold a massive rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday.

Republicans in two key battleground states were hit by twin legal setbacks Monday, after judges in Michigan and North Carolina rejected their efforts to crack down on overseas voting from U.S. residents living abroad, criticizing both the short timeline and the proposed remedy sought by the plaintiffs.

A claims court judge in Michigan described the effort as an “attempt to disenfranchise” voters living overseas, while a Superior Court judge in North Carolina said the plaintiffs “presented no substantial evidence” to back their claims that the current laws do not go far enough to protect against election fraud.

The two separate court rulings come just weeks after Republicans in Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina filed lawsuits aimed at restricting both the registration and vetting process for overseas voters. 

Republican plaintiffs argued that current law makes it possible for these residents to register and vote in elections without proper identification. That contention has been fiercely rejected by Democrats, who argued the level of vetting sought by Republicans would disenfranchise “tens of thousands” of voters abroad, including U.S service members and their families. 

FLURRY OF PRE-ELECTION LEGAL CASES IS NOW ‘STANDARDIZED’ STRATEGY, EXPERTS SAY

Judges in U.S. battleground states appear to back this line of thinking, following two separate decisions filed Monday. 

In Michigan, the Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel rejected plaintiffs’ effort to invalidate a rule that allows spouses and dependents of U.S. service members stationed overseas to vote at that person’s former home address, even if they never lived in the state themselves.

Patel criticized the timing of the GOP-led lawsuit, which was filed just 28 days before the election, and said it would result in “extreme prejudice” for would-be voters and election administrators.

“Consistent with federal law, the Michigan Legislature made a policy choice to allow a small pool of individuals who accompany family members abroad to qualify as Michigan residents for the purpose of voting in Michigan because they are connected to Michigan through their spouse, parent, or someone serving a parental role,” Patel said, adding that “It is hard to imagine a more prejudicial situation arising from plaintiffs’ delay.”

Patel further noted that the law for overseas voters has been in place for 12 years and had gone unchallenged until now. 

FLURRY OF PRE-ELECTION LEGAL CASES IS NOW ‘STANDARDIZED’ STRATEGY, EXPERTS SAY

And in North Carolina, Wake County Superior Court Judge John Smith dismissed the GOP lawsuit that pushed for similar rules for absentee voting and spouses of U.S. service members, noting that the current statute for overseas voting had been adopted in 2011 with bipartisan support, and “has not been challenged until the filing of this complaint and motion.”

Further, he said, plaintiffs “have failed to show any likelihood of irreparable harm” as a result of the voters in question.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: VOTER OUTREACH, BALLOT EFFICIENCY AND A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING

In Pennsylvania, judges are expected to rule on three separate lawsuits Republicans have filed in recent weeks seeking to restrict overseas voters and their registration under the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which oversees the voting process for U.S. residents living abroad.

Democrats, for their part, have criticized the legal push as a last-minute effort by Republicans to restrict voter turnout from a demographic that has until recently been a reliable bedrock of GOP support. 

More than 1.2 million overseas ballots were cast in the 2020 election, according to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. 

And in a dead-heat sprint to Election Day, these voters could play a pivotal role in the race’s final outcome. All three states are considered “toss-up” states in the 2024 election, and could prove pivotal in picking the next president.

“Election-denying extremists, afraid they are losing this election, are actively working to disenfranchise members of our military deployed outside of the United States,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran, told Fox News.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

A deepfake video disparaging vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was created by “Russian influence actors” who are trying to undermine Kamala Harris’ campaign, U.S. intelligence community officials told Fox News. 

The video circulating on social media purports to show former Mankato West High School student Matthew Metro claiming that he was groped and kissed by Walz in 1997 when the Minnesota governor was a teacher there. Except the allegations are completely fabricated. 

“Based on newly available intelligence analysis conducted over the weekend, Russian influence actors manufactured and amplified the content,” the officials told Fox News, adding that the video fit a pattern used by Russian actors in which the subject was “staged direct to camera and trying to make them go viral.” 

These intelligence community officials also pointed out that they believe Russia is likely to be more aggressive in its efforts to sow division in the U.S. post-election if Harris wins, because Russia prefers that former President Trump win the 2024 race. 

TIM WALZ PRESSED ON ‘THE VIEW’ ABOUT PAST MISSTATEMENTS: ‘I SPEAK HONESTLY’ 

The real Matthew Metro – who is now living in Hawaii – told The Washington Post that he has never met Walz. 

“It’s obviously not me: The teeth are different, the hair is different, the eyes are different, the nose is different,” he said. “I don’t know where they’re getting this from.” 

TIM WALZ HITS BACK AT CRITICS OF HIS GUN-LOADING TECHNIQUE: ‘I CAN SHOOT BETTER THAN ALL OF THEM’ 

Metro called the deepfake “an invasion of my privacy and my personal life.” 

It so far has been viewed more than 5 million times, The Washington Post reported, citing engagement data from the social media platform X. 

Metro told the newspaper that he suspects his dormant accounts on Facebook and other social media platforms might have been raided for images and information about his background to create the deepfake. 

Both the Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Vice President Kamala Harris’ senior campaign spokesperson, Ian Sams, remained silent when pressed on whether he still believes in his previous sharp critiques of Harris campaign surrogate, Liz Cheney, who Sams described in 2013 as a “warlord” and blamed in 2019 for “lead[ing] us into Iraq.” 

“Liz Cheney helped lead us into Iraq from a special State Department Middle East post her dad’s administration created for her,” Sams criticized Cheney on Twitter, now X, in 2019.

“Liz Cheney brings the crazy today,” he said in a separate 2013 social media post, which linked to a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Cheney wrote at the time. Meanwhile, that same year, Sams shared an article from Salon.com, which referred to Cheney as an “aspiring warlord.”

CNN ANCHOR CALLS OUT HARRIS CAMPAIGN AFTER SPOKESMAN KNOCKS TRUMP’S ‘MENTAL ACUITY’ FOR TURNING DOWN INTERVIEW

Fox News Digital uncovered several social media posts by Sams critiquing Cheney, who, in more recent days, has praised the former GOP Wyoming congresswoman following her endorsement of his boss.

Just over the weekend, Sams touted the fact that Cheney would be stumping for Harris in the battleground state of Wisconsin. A few days before that, he was defending Cheney from attacks by former President Donald Trump. 

“Congresswoman Cheney is a patriot,” Sams told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell last month. “I think, in the last five years, we’ve seen over-and-over again, her put country over party. Or as John McCain would say, ‘To put country first.'” 

Sams added during the interview that he thinks Harris “really respects … true conservatives,” like Cheney.

CAMPAIGN ADVISER DENIES HARRIS IS LOSING SUPPORT WITH MEN, BLAMES TRUMP FOR BORDER

Besides praising the congresswoman and her endorsement of Harris, Sams has also highlighted the fact that Harris was endorsed by a large cohort of former President George W. Bush officials, including those who worked on national security. It was Bush’s administration that invaded Iraq in 2003.

Fox News Digital reached out to Cheney for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

“A broken clock is right twice a day, and a Kamala Harris spokesman is right once in his life,” the Trump campaign said in a statement Monday, highlighting Sams’ 2019 post about Cheney “lead[ing] us into Iraq from a special State Department Middle East post” that he claimed Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, created for her. 

However, despite Sams’ claim that Cheney’s father “created” a state department position exclusively for her, the position existed before she was ever hired.

“Ian Sams wrote the truth about Kamala Harris’ surrogate (and likely future Defense Secretary),” the Trump campaign statement concluded.

The Georgia Supreme Court is reviewing a judge’s decision to nullify new rules, including a hand-count ballot measure, passed by the Republican-majority State Elections Board (SEB).

The Peach State’s highest court said it will hear the Republican National Committee’s (RNC’s) appeal late last week after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox, Jr. ruled the measures were “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.”

The RNC filed a subsequent request asking the court to temporarily block Cox’s ruling and allow the rules to go into effect while the decision was weighed, according to Democracy Docket. 

His decision covered a requirement for ballots at each precinct to be hand counted by three separate county officials to ensure the total matches the machine-tabulated number, as well as a provision directing county boards to certify election results only after “a reasonable inquiry” into their accuracy, among others.

GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE

Plaintiffs in the case included civil rights groups like the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and Eternal Vigilance, as well as a current and a former state official.

The state Supreme Court noted it “lacks jurisdiction over this motion” but said it would take the case due to the “issues of gravity and public importance” it presents. The RNC and its allies, including the Georgia state GOP, requested an emergency expedition of the appeals process.

It comes as Election Day approaches in exactly two weeks, though Georgia has already shattered early voting records just seven days after the process began last Tuesday.

The SEB voted to pass the rules in a 3-2 decision on Sept. 20, with three Republican-appointed members voting for the change and one against.

GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE

In addition to the two aforementioned rules, the SEB measures struck down by Cox included an ID requirement and heightened documentation requirements for people delivering absentee ballots to drop boxes, and a rule requiring video surveillance of drop boxes for votes cast there to be counted.

The plaintiffs in the case argued the SEB did not have the authority to make such rules.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented the plaintiffs in the case, said the measures were “injecting chaos into the democratic system in the immediate run-up to the November election.”

‘ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID’: GEORGIA JUDGE STRIKES DOWN NEW ELECTION RULES AFTER LEGAL FIGHTS

“Early voting has begun and over 1 million Georgians have already cast their ballots. Judge Cox’s ruling prevented a rule change in the middle of the game,” the ACLU said in response to the Republicans’ appeal.

Even if the court rules in the GOP’s favor, however, the hand-count ballot rule would still be blocked due to a separate Fulton County Superior Court ruling temporarily delaying its implementation. Another earlier ruling mandated that the elections must be certified by a certain date, regardless of county officials’ inquiries.

Democrats had accused the GOP officials of trying to sow doubt and chaos in the election process with the new rules.

Republican skeptics, including State Secretary Brad Raffensperger, have argued their implementation is unworkable this close to the election.

However, party officials like Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon argued the rules are necessary guardrails to ensuring election security.

“If his decision were upheld, it would severely curtail the ability of the state elections board to regulate our elections and to do the job,” McKoon said.

The Harris campaign referred Fox News Digital to a response to an earlier ruling temporarily blocking the hand-count ballot rule when asked for comment, “From the beginning, this rule was an effort to delay election results to sow doubt in the outcome…We will continue fighting to ensure that voters can cast their ballot knowing it will count.”

FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers are looking for answers from the Biden administration about what action is being taken against illegal immigrants who assault Border Patrol agents, as officials report a “significant rise” in assaults.

Lawmakers, led by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland and acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller asking about illegal immigrants who assault agents in an effort to evade capture.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BITES BORDER PATROL AGENT IN THE FACE AMID ‘SIGNIFICANT RISE’ OF ATTACKS ON CBP

“In FY23, CBP reported that 610 agents were assaulted, while in FY24 at least 413 agents were assaulted. Though these incidents primarily involve physical assault, CBP agents also endure a large percentage of assaults by other means, including through the use of projectiles, vehicles, and firearms,” they say.

In August, Border Patrol in the El Paso Sector of Texas warned that it has seen a “significant rise in attacks on Border Patrol Agents recently.”

That was highlighted last month when an illegal immigrant bit a Border Patrol agent in the face after being encountered coming across from Mexico.

CAUGHT ON CAMERA: FENCE-CUTTING MIGRANTS BUSTED BY FEDS 

While the attacker in this instance was prosecuted, it has fueled concerns from the lawmakers that illegal immigrants are not being prosecuted sufficiently. They cite media reports that assaults have become a regular occurrence.

“Though this incident was somewhat outlandish in the mode of attack, CBP agents have stated they experience assaults like this almost every night while on duty, including getting rushed by large groups of illegal aliens all at once, many of whom will punch and kick the outnumbered agents,” they say.

The Republicans also say that statements from agents contradict claims that “CBP is working closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hold these criminal illegal aliens accountable.”

The lawmakers are asking for the number of illegal immigrants CBP has referred to the Department of Justice for assault and how many of those have been charged.

They are also asking whether CBP reached out to DOJ to discuss why an illegal immigrant is not charged with assault, and whether the agents themselves are contacted. They also want to know how many illegal immigrants who have assaulted agents have been released into the U.S. and the types of support they offer to agents who have been assaulted. CBP says it responds to congressional inquiries through official channels.

The letter comes amid intense scrutiny of the southern border and the way it has been handled by the Biden administration. It comes after a massive influx of illegal immigration that has dropped sharply since June, when President Biden signed an order limiting releases into the U.S.

The Harris and Trump campaigns have fought over who is the best candidate to tackle the crisis. The Trump campaign has sought to pin the 2021-2024 crisis on Vice President Kamala Harris and her role in the administration, while the Harris campaign has attacked former President Donald Trump for rejecting a bipartisan border security bill introduced earlier this year, but that has failed to pick up Republican support.

Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.

Catholics are a significant portion of the population in a handful of battleground states such as Pennsylvania and Arizona, with experts weighing in that Vice President Kamala Harris’ history of anti-Catholic political rhetoric could be a factor against her in the voting booth. 

Former President Donald Trump is increasingly making a play for the voting bloc in the form of supportive pro-Catholic messages on X and Truth Social, while Harris has come under increasing scrutiny from the Catholic community for a series of questionable remarks and snubs stretching back to her Senate days.  

“While President Trump fiercely defended religious freedom in his first term, the Harris-Biden administration is the most anti-Catholic administration in history. Kamala Harris has weaponized institutions against Americans of faith, and now, her disrespect and hostility has continued to her campaign for president with her most prominent surrogates mocking Catholic Americans,” RNC spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. 

Last Thursday, in New York City, Trump took the dais at the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, where hundreds gathered to raise donations for Catholic charities amid the election cycle. The Al Smith dinner began in 1946 and was named after the first Catholic presidential candidate who also served as the 42nd governor of New York. The dinner has grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons, with candidates from both political parties historically joining the dinner to take light-hearted jabs at one another, adding a bit of levity in the midst of heated campaigns.

DEMOCRATS DRIVING RELIGIOUS VOTE AWAY FROM PARTY AS TRUMP COURTS CATHOLICS: ‘ANTI-CHRISTIAN’ PARTY

This election year, however, Harris snubbed the event in favor of sending a pre-recorded video of herself and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Molly Shannon, who reprised her comedic role of a Catholic school student named Mary Katherine Gallagher. 

The video was panned by critics as “cringe,” while even the emcee of the dinner, comedian Jim Gaffigan, called out Harris for her absence. 

“You know, this event has been referred to as the Catholic Met Gala. Twenty-two percent of Americans identify as Catholic. Catholics will be a key demographic in every battleground state,” Gaffigan said during the event. 

“I’m sorry. Why is Vice President Harris not here?” he continued, with some of the audience jeering. “I mean, consider this. This is a room full of Catholics and Jews in New York City. This is a layup for the Democratic nominee. I mean, in her defense, I mean, she did find time to appear on “The View,” Howard Stern, Colbert and the long-time staple of campaigning, the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. You know what I think it is? I think she doesn’t like me.” 

Trump said Harris’ snub of the event “surprised” him and others at the dinner. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York and host of the Al Smith dinner, called Harris’ snub of the dinner a “shame” in the lead-up to the big night. 

TRUMP APPLAUDS CATHOLIC GROUP’S MULTI-MILLION ANTI-HARRIS CAMPAIGN APPEALING TO CHURCH FAITHFUL

“The last time a major presidential nominee skipped the Al Smith dinner, they lost in a landslide — and alongside Catholics for Trump, we look forward to delivering another historic victory for President Trump in November,” Kelly added in comment to Fox Digital, referring to 1984 Democratic nominee Walter Mondale and his historic blowout loss to President Ronald Reagan that year.

Catholic League President Bill Donohue told Fox News Digital on Monday that Harris’ snub of the Al Smith dinner sent “an unmistakable message to Catholics.” The campaign previously told the media that Harris would not attend the dinner in order to campaign in a battleground state. 

Simultaneously to skipping the Al Smith dinner, Harris held a campaign rally in Wisconsin, where she told two pro-life student protesters that they were “at the wrong rally” when they yelled, “Jesus is Lord,” and, “Christ is King” last Thursday. 

“Just before the Dinner, Harris revealed her true colors, which weren’t pretty, when she mocked two young people at a Wisconsin rally after they yelled ‘Christ is King,’” Donohue told Fox News Digital. “Instead of treating them the way she treats left-wing activists who interrupt her—she insists on having the right to talk—she berated them, saying, ‘You guys are at the wrong rally,’” he said.  

COMEDIAN JIM GAFFIGAN TAKES SURPRISING SHOTS AT HARRIS FOR SKIPPING ‘CATHOLIC MET GALA’

“Ironically, Harris was right. Christians are not welcome at her rallies,” he continued, adding that the vice president is “much more at home with Hollywood celebrities, most of whom are secularists, than she is with Christians.”

A handful of key battleground states this election cycle have huge Catholic populations, with the voting bloc potentially helping determine the outcome of the election. About 24% of the Pennsylvania population, which has been touted as the state that will likely determine the overall outcome of the election, identifies as Catholic; about 25% of the population in Nevada identifies as Catholic; 18% in Michigan; 21% in Arizona; and 25% in Wisconsin. Other notable battleground states have a smaller Catholic population, including Georgia and North Carolina, both of which have a roughly 9% population of Catholics. 

The Catholic vote was historically blue until the 1960s and early 1970s, when crime and cultural issues came to the fore alongside economic concerns, most notably in 1972 when President Richard Nixon’s campaign slammed Democratic opponent Sen. George McGovern as a candidate who supported “amnesty, abortion and acid.” 

Now, the Catholic vote is seen as split down the middle, with Republican strategist Ryan Girdusky, a Catholic, pointing to four key subsets that fall under the Catholic umbrella: weekly Catholic mass goers; occasional/seldom mass goers; White Catholics; and Hispanic Catholics. 

“[Harris is] not going to win over weekly mass goers,” Girdusky said in a phone interview on Monday. “They’re more likely to be pro-life and care about social issues. But she’s going to have to sit there and win over seldom Catholic mass goers and Hispanic Catholic mass goers. And keep her losses with White mass goers down to Biden levels.”

President Biden, the second Catholic president in the nation’s history, won the Catholic vote over Trump in 2020 by about five percentage points. In 2016, Trump won the voting bloc at 52% support compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 44% Catholic support. Former President Barack Obama won the Catholic vote in both 2008 and 2012, as did former President George W. Bush in his 2004 election against John Kerry, Pew Research data shows. In 2000, however, former Vice President Al Gore won the Catholic vote by two points over Bush, despite losing the presidential election overall. 

TRUMP PROMISES ‘CHRISTIAN VISIBILITY DAY’

“The fact that she hasn’t done a tour of Catholic schools, she hasn’t talked about the importance of Catholic institutions, that says quite a bit, and that does quite a bit. … Even Nancy Pelosi, who is Catholic, did a lot of – when she was passing Obamacare – did a lot of outreach to Catholic priests to try to get some support within religious institutions. [Harris has] completely ignored that entirely. I think that the brazen level of disrespect could irritate some people who otherwise would maybe be ambivalent to her or open to her,” Girdusky said. 

“And I think that the question for a lot of Catholics is: Does she like somebody like me?”

Stretching back to her years in the Senate, Harris came under fire from Catholics for her grilling of judicial nominees in 2018 for their membership in a Catholic fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus, which has more than 2 million members worldwide. Catholic news network EWTN found Harris had grilled three Trump nomi​​nees that year, Paul Matey, Brian Buescher, and Peter Phipps, over their memberships with the organization. 

“Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?” Harris asked Buescher in one of the hearings. “Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when you joined the organization?”

“Do you believe that a fetus is entitled to any protection under the U.S. Constitution?” she asked Matey in another hearing. 

KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION

The Catholic Church has viewed abortion as a moral evil and grave sin since the first century, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and only acknowledges marriage as a union between a man and a woman. 

The three nominees were ultimately confirmed despite the grilling from Harris and other Democrats. 

Donohue said that following Harris’ grilling of Buescher, which was held in December 2018, he was so alarmed by the line of questioning, he spent the day after Christmas issuing a news release condemning it. 

“In questioning the nominee, Harris noted his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a large Catholic fraternal organization. ‘Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?’ That was a red herring. Harris’ real target was the Catholic Church. She knew the Knights were loyal Catholics and as such they oppose child abuse in the womb,” Donohue told Fox Digital. 

“Harris was also upset that the Knights ban women. I asked at the time whether she has a problem with Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, or Women of Reform Judaism? They ban men. What about the Catholic Daughters of the Americas? Or the League of Women Voters? Is it proper that the American Association of University Women bans men?” he continued. 

KAMALA HARRIS ACCUSED OF BEING AN ‘AFFRONT TO THE CATHOLIC VOTER’ BY SEAN DUFFY

“Or is it only Catholic men’s groups that are a problem?”

Harris’ campaign also notably came under fire earlier this month when a supporter, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, donned a Harris-Walz campaign hat in a video where she was seen feeding Doritos to a kneeling podcast host. The video was slammed as an attack on and mockery of the Holy Eucharist, the most important sacrament in the Catholic Church. 

Whitmer later apologized and said the video was intended to be “about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs,” which Biden signed into law in 2022. 

Harris has also fervently campaigned on abortion access, including visiting a Planned Parenthood ahead of her presidential campaign this year in what was seen as the first time a sitting U.S. vice president has ever visited an abortion provider. Girdusky said Harris holds an “overzealous support for abortion” that is “almost celebratory,” which could rub Catholics the wrong way. He argued that a pro-choice politician such as Biden is able to show voters he supports abortion access, while also respecting the church’s views and traditions, which can win over Catholic voters. 

KAMALA HARRIS SLAMMED FOR ‘BIZARRE’ RESPONSE TO CHRISTIAN PROTESTERS

“There are a lot of people who, whether they are daily, weekly or seldom mass goers, who really take offense to the people who just trash religion every day,” Girdusky said of Harris’ abortion stances. 

When asked for comment on the recent comments and snub viewed critically by some Catholics, a Harris campaign official only addressed Harris skipping the Al Smith dinner. 

“The VP was not at the Al Smith dinner because she was campaigning in Wisconsin. The campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election. The Vice President told the organizers that she is committed to attending the Al Smith dinner as President. This would make her one of the first sitting Presidents to attend,” the campaign official said. 

Trump has meanwhile amplified his support of the Catholic faith, including wishing the Virgin Mary a happy birthday last month on social media, playing the Ave Maria during different rallies and notably posting a prayer calling on St. Michael the Archangel to “defend us in battle.”

“A Pew Research Center survey of Catholics reveals her losing to Trump 52-47 (over 60% of White Catholics prefer Trump). Given her voting record, and the decisions she has been making lately, that is hardly surprising,” Donohue concluded. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.