4 days to go: What to watch for

The presidential campaigns are sprinting for the finish amid tightening polls that show new opportunities for Donald Trump as he seeks a late comeback against Hillary Clinton. 

{mosads}”If the Cubs can do it, he can too,” one Republican told The Hill.

Here are five things to watch for with less than 100 hours to go.

New Hampshire breaking late for Trump

The schedule says it all: Democratic nominee Clinton and Republican nominee Trump both have campaign stops planned in tiny New Hampshire on Monday, the last day before the election.

The Granite State had fallen off the radar for many political watchers after Clinton opened up what looked to be a safe lead there.

Every single poll conducted in August, September and October showed Clinton ahead in the state. In October, Clinton’s lead ranged from 2 points all the way up to 15.

No more.

The last three polls of the state show either a tie or Trump in the lead.

The state is firmly back in toss-up territory after looking like a foregone conclusion for Clinton.

There are only four Electoral College votes in play, but the fact that a battleground state is back in play for Trump is encouraging news for his campaign.

The GOP nominee has two stops scheduled in New Hampshire in the home stretch of the race. He’ll visit Atkinson on Friday and will return on Monday night for a rally in Manchester.

Clinton, meanwhile, will be joined in the state by President Obama, who will co-headline a rally with her on Monday afternoon in Durham.

Trump seeks incursion into Clinton territory

Trump’s path to victory would widen significantly if he can pull off a surprise victory in a blue state on Election Day.

The campaign has zeroed in on two Rust Belt states — Michigan and Wisconsin — as fertile ground for an upset, believing Trump’s populist message and commitment to blowing up international trade deals will resonate there.

Michigan, which hasn’t gone for a GOP nominee since 1992, appears to be ground zero for the Trump campaign in its blue-state push.

Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, swung through Portage on Thursday, a small manufacturing town in southwest Michigan that has been hit hard by economic decline.

Pence was joined by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a former presidential candidate and reluctant Trump supporter who was making his first appearance for the GOP nominee after a bitterly contested primary race. 

Trump’s most active surrogates — mostly family members — are fanning out across Michigan. Donald Trump, Jr. will speak at a church in Farmington on Friday, and Eric Trump has stops planned in seven cities.

Wisconsin, which hasn’t gone red since 1988, is also on Trump’s radar.

The campaign recently began running ads there, and incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson (R) — who is locked in a close reelection fight — has climbed on board for the final push.

Johnson and Eric Trump campaigned together in Eau Claire on Thursday.

The Clinton campaign is not taking either state for granted, launching a new round of attack ads against Trump in both states.

Clinton will touch down in Detroit for an evening rally on Friday.

So far at least, Clinton’s blue wall is holding. She leads by 6.4 points in the RealClearPolitics average of Michigan and by 5.4 points in Wisconsin.

Battle for Pennsylvania heats up

Perhaps no state is more central to Trump’s hopes than Pennsylvania.

The Keystone State has always been a heavy lift for the GOP nominee, but his campaign has made it the lynchpin of their battleground strategy. They see glimmers of hope as Election Day nears.

Over the last month, Clinton’s lead in the RealClearPolitics average for Pennsylvania has been reduced from 9 points to less than 4 points.

And a Monmouth University survey released this week found Trump closing the gap among women.

He still trails Clinton among white women, 45 percent to 48 percent, but has gained considerable ground over the last survey, when he trailed 35 percent to 55 percent.

The Trump campaign sent the nominee’s wife, Melania Trump, and Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, to the state on Thursday to make a direct pitch to women there.

Clinton will arrive for an event in Pittsburgh on Friday and then appear that night in Philadelphia, where singer Stevie Wonder will hold a concert for her.

A second wave will hit the state for Clinton on Saturday, as Vice President Biden arrives and Katy Perry holds her own get-out-the-vote concert in Philadelphia.

The Monmouth survey found Clinton’s favorability rating has ticked down in Pennsylvania from a net negative of 7 points in October to a net negative of 17 points presently. 

She still fares better than Trump on that front, but his favorability rating has gone from minus 33 points in October to only minus 22 points in the latest poll.

Polls tighten in Iowa

Is the Trump campaign taking Iowa for granted?

Trump has had the luxury of largely passing over the Hawkeye State to focus on more pressing matters, as polls showed him holding a comfortable lead there for much of the last two months.

That’s changed. 

A Quinnipiac University survey released this week found Trump with only a 1-point lead. His advantage in the RealClearPolitics average is down to 1.7 points.

You wouldn’t know it’s in play from either candidate’s campaign schedule.

Pence held an event there on Thursday and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will rally supporters there on Friday, but beyond that, neither candidate currently plans to touch down in the state before the election.

Trump must win Iowa to have a shot. 

The Assange wildcard

Many of Clinton’s troubles are email-related, and her campaign is holding its breath that no further bombshells drop in the final hours of the race.

WikiLeaks has been publishing emails from a cache of tens of thousands of emails belonging to Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta nearly every day.

The emails have ranged the spectrum from embarrassing to damaging, with their impact heightened by the new FBI review of emails that may be related to the private email server Clinton used as secretary of State.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who despises Clinton, would love to send the election out with a bang.

Election Day cannot come soon enough for Clinton.