Only days before the November 5 U.S elections, I am flooded with more emails from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats presidential candidate, Governor Tim Walz and the camp of the Republicans supporting former President Donald Trump.

And lately, even former President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and a host of big personalities are sending their emails. Others like Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Robert de Niro, John Legend, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Filipino Americans Olivia Rodrigo and Cher and others are doing their campaign through social media. NBA superstars Steph Curry, Lebron James and Kevin Durant, among other sports personalities, have donated hefty sums to the Harris-Walz campaign aside from lending their names in social media for the Democratic team.

Taylor Swift wrote: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them…”

Obama wrote: “Alfred, I think the vast majority of Americans don’t want to live in a country that’s bitter and divided. We want something better.

“As much as any policy or program, I believe we want to return to an America that taps into what Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.”

“That’s what this election is about. That’s what my friend Kamala is fighting for: A new way forward.

And that’s why I’m asking you to do everything in your power to make her the next President of the United States,” Obama wrote.

President Clinton, who I had the chance to interact with when he met then President Fidel Ramos at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit in Seattle, Washington, wrote: “Alfred, it’s Bill Clinton. I’m honoured to be speaking at the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago, and I wanted to reach out.

“This is our moment to stand behind Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got, because America’s future depends on it.

“Kamala Harris is ready to lead this great nation…”, President Clinton wrote.

After their televised debate, VP Harris wrote: Donald Trump rehashed the same old tired playbook. I refused to let him off the hook. But debates do not win elections, Alfred.”

“This debate made clear that this election is a choice between two distinct visions for America.

“While Donald Trump wants to restrict our fundamental freedoms and drag us backward, Tim and I are charting a new way forward. A future where every American can not only get by, but get ahead,” VP Harris said.

I must confess that since closely watching the US presidential election campaign, I was wrong many times in my predictions.

I was in Seattle attending the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) convention at the Hyatt when FilAms were talking about the 2008 presidential race with neophyte Democratic Senator Barack Obama from Chicago pitted against veteran Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.

As a relative of many Filipino war veterans and military soldiers, I rooted for McCain, a decorated Navy pilot who was wounded and captured in Vietnam and who, during his military career, had been in the Philippines, the Clark Air Base, in particular. I lost after Obama, the Harvard-educated lawyer born in Hawaii of a Kenyan father and American mother, won decisively with 365 Electoral College votes with runningmate Joe Biden of Delaware against McCain’s 173. Obama also won the popular vote with 69,498,516 votes (52.9%) against 59,948,323 (45.7%) of McCain who ran with Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin.

In his reelection in 2012 , Obama ran against then Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney whose runningmate was US Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Obama won with 332 electoral votes and 65,915,795 popular votes while Romney got 206 electoral votes and 60,933,504 popular votes.

In 2016, sitting President Barack Obama endorsed his partymate, fellow lawyer and former First Lady Hillary Clinton against Republican political newcomer Donald Trump. I rooted for Hillary having interacted with her husband before, writing in an “Out of Order” column “ready for hilarious victory for Hilary as voters would dump Trump.” Again, I was wrong as Trump, campaigning with the slogan “Make America Great Again” reminding Filipinos of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ‘Make the Country Great Again,” went on to haul the winning 304 electoral votes while Clinton had 227 electoral votes despite Clinton winning the popular votes with 65,853,514 (48.2%) votes as against Trump’s 62,984,828 (46.1%) votes.

Trump sought reelection in 2020 but was decisively beaten by Obama’s Vice President Joseph Biden who secured 306 electoral votes against Trump’s 232 votes. Biden also won the popular votes, raking in a record 81,283,501 (51%) votes as against 74,223,975 (46.8%) votes for Trump. While both Biden and Trump interacted well with Filipino Americans and Filipinos, I rooted for Biden whose inauguration was nearly frustrated as Trump and followers contested the poll results that resulted in an assault of Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Vice President/Senate President Mike Pence and the House of Representatives and Senate members at the Capitol Hill.

Reviewing the social media outputs during the campaigns, we saw Obama setting the record with most aggressive posts and emails and won. Hillary did the same but this did not translate to winning electoral votes but she won the popular votes.

As advance/early voting started a few days ago and the campaign sprint is heating up, national surveys now show that VP Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump in what appears to be a close election, to be decided by battleground states like Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

The big question now is – will America get finally its first woman president or a second Donald Trump term?

No matter what, I go for Kamala Harris for peace, democracy and ways forward.