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Trump, Clinton Holding Final Debate as Election Looms


FILE - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes a photograph with a member of the audience after speaking at a Women for Hillary fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency in Washington.
FILE - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes a photograph with a member of the audience after speaking at a Women for Hillary fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency in Washington.

U.S. presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton go up against each other Wednesday night in their final debate before voters choose who will be the next leader of their country.

The 90-minute debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, will cover a range of issues, including immigration, the economy, foreign hot spots and the candidates' fitness to be president.

With election day looming on November 8, the debate stands as one of the last chances for Clinton and Trump to make an impression on a national audience. Each will likely be asked to address issues that have dogged their campaigns, including Clinton's use of a private email server when she was secretary of state and allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump.

An average of major political polls from the past two weeks indicated Democratic candidate Clinton leading Republican candidate Trump by about seven points.

That advantage has spurred Clinton to expand her efforts into states that Republican candidates usually win, both as a move to help her own chance in the election and in a bid to boost the chances of more Democrats earning seats in Congress.

Clinton's campaign said it will spend $2 million more on advertising in the southwestern state of Arizona, which has been won by a Democratic presidential candidate only once in the past 16 elections.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Bangor, Maine, Oct. 15, 2016.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Bangor, Maine, Oct. 15, 2016.

It also plans to send one of its most popular surrogates, first lady Michelle Obama, to the state on Thursday to hold a rally for Clinton. Recent polls indicate Clinton and Trump locked in a tight race in the state, located just along the border with Mexico.

In addition, the Clinton campaign is also increasing its efforts in Missouri and Indiana, two Midwestern states where Trump leads. But both states have closely contested Senate races that Democrats and Republicans view as important in their efforts to win political control next year in the Senate, where Republicans now have a majority.

Trump told supporters Tuesday he does not believe the poll results and renewed his warnings of election fraud.

"They even want to try and rig the election at the polling booths where so many cities are corrupt and voter fraud is all too common," Trump said.

Trump has produced no evidence of voter fraud or other claims he has made, like alleging that Hillary Clinton was on drugs during their last presidential debate.

A new survey by the political website Politico and the polling company Morning Consult indicates many Americans are skeptical about the integrity of the national election, with 41 percent of voters believing the election could be "stolen" from Trump. There was a wide partisan split in the poll results, with 73 percent of Republicans, but only 17 percent of Democrats, agreeing that there could be massive vote fraud.

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