dade city, fla.<u+2014>with polls showing a tightening in the presidential race, hillary clinton and donald trump are moving advertising dollars and fine-tuning their closing arguments during the final week of one of the most unpredictable elections in modern history. mrs. clinton on tuesday renewed her attacks on her republican rival, calling him a <u+201c>bully<u+201d> who she said has mistreated women. he has <u+201c>spent a lot of time demeaning, degrading, insulting and assaulting women,<u+201d> the democratic nominee told a crowd of nearly 1,600 at pasco-hernando state college here. <u+201c>who acts like this? i<u+2019>ll tell you who: a bully.<u+201d> mr. trump, in a midday address in pennsylvania, shifted his focus away from questions about mrs. clinton<u+2019>s emails and instead delivered a speech calling for repeal of the affordable care act . <u+201c>obamacare means higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality,<u+201d> he said, promising to call a special session of congress to spur action on repealing the health-care law. <u+201c>it is a catastrophe,<u+201d> he said. the moves come as polls show the race tightening. the real clear politics average of presidential polls on tuesday showed mrs. clinton with a lead of just 2.2 percentage points now. it is unclear if the shift in voter preferences is mostly a result of the federal bureau of investigation saying on friday that it had uncovered new emails that might be related to the review of mrs. clinton<u+2019>s use of a personal email server in the state department, or more a late move by republican-leaning voters to mr. trump. mrs. clinton<u+2019>s florida speech, which was echoed by her running mate, sen. tim kaine, in a wisconsin appearance, is part of a broader push by her campaign to regain the offensive after the fbi<u+2019>s controversial announcement. her campaign also said tuesday it was starting new ad campaigns in colorado, virginia, michigan and new mexico. the campaign hadn<u+2019>t previously aired any ads in the latter two states, where polling shows mrs. clinton with strong leads. those messages are being bolstered by a $6 million ad buy from priorities usa action , mrs. clinton<u+2019>s allied super pac, which expanded its buys in florida and pennsylvania, and for the first time bought ads in wisconsin. capital journal is wsj.com<u+2019>s home for election 2016 news. mr. trump is also trying to broaden his attack geographically. after his pennsylvania speech, he traveled to wisconsin for a rally in a state that has been considered a long shot. and his campaign said it was adding michigan and new mexico to the list of states where it would buy home-stretch tv ads. but mr. trump<u+2019>s travel schedule also reflects pressure on him to do better in the largest, most competitive states: he is making four stops in florida over two days starting wednesday, and making two stops in north carolina on thursday. <u+201c>hillary clinton is preoccupied fighting the sitting fbi director and president obama over yet another email scandal,<u+201d> said brad parscale, mr. trump<u+2019>s digital director. <u+201c>by increasing our presence in battleground states and expanding into new markets, mr. trump is well-positioned for an impressive victory on nov. 8.<u+201d> the candidates<u+2019> moves provide clues to each campaign<u+2019>s strategy for winning next tuesday, with the democrats looking to hold swing states won by president barack obama in 2012 and block mr. trump in such must-win states for him as florida, north carolina and pennsylvania. the trump campaign is looking to make good on his predictions that he could upend conventional wisdom and capture industrial states that have long leaned democratic. during her florida speech, mrs. clinton called mr. trump<u+2019>s behavior <u+201c>frankly painful<u+201d> to discuss, and she cited a tape that emerged last month in which the new york businessman describes groping women. she also recalled the accounts of several women who have come forward in recent weeks to say that mr. trump inappropriately touched or assaulted them<u+2014>claims mr. trump has denied. <u+201c>we heard that tape and we know what he does to women,<u+201d> mrs. clinton said. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m not going to repeat it, but we know what donald trump was bragging about.<u+201d> introducing mrs. clinton was alicia machado, the venezuelan 1996 miss universe winner who has said she was frequently humiliated by mr. trump, then the owner of the pageant. <u+201c>trump was overwhelming. i was scared of him, he made fun of me, and i didn<u+2019>t know how to respond,<u+201d> ms. machado said at tuesday<u+2019>s rally. now a naturalized u.s. citizen, she said she will vote for mrs. clinton and called for voters to send the message: <u+201c>no trump<u+2014>he<u+2019>s not getting away with it.<u+201d> in a second event tuesday, in sanford, fla., mrs. clinton criticized mr. trump for not releasing his tax returns and for using a reported $916 million in losses in 1995 to avoid paying federal income taxes . <u+201c>he took everything our great country has to offer, scooped it up with both hands, then paid nothing to support us,<u+201d> she said. in wisconsin, mr. kaine leaned heavily on the idea that the election of mrs. clinton would be a historical milestone for the country while excoriating mr. trump as someone who <u+201c>doesn<u+2019>t look at a woman and see an equal,<u+201d> but rather a <u+201c>part woman, part object.<u+201d> hope hicks, a trump campaign spokeswoman, said her boss<u+2019>s <u+201c>record of employing and empowering women throughout his exceptionally successful career speaks for itself. unlike hillary clinton, who is desperate to distract from her illegal server and a new criminal investigation.<u+201d> mr. trump<u+2019>s health-care speech, before an invitation-only crowd in the suburbs of philadelphia, brought him and his vice-presidential nominee, mike pence, to a battleground state that is crucial to his ability to win the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidency. but polls have shown him lagging behind mrs. clinton in the state. mr. trump sought to exploit a fresh piece of ammunition against mrs. clinton over the health-care issue, because pennsylvania has been hard hit by the recently announced premium increases. view interactive while the obama administration said last week that rates would increase by an average of 25% across three dozen states that use healthcare.gov, the market leader in many states is raising rates by a far greater average. the individual-insurance market leader in pennsylvania is raising premiums by an average of 50%. <u+201c>the case has never been stronger for repeal,<u+201d> said mr. pence, speaking before mr. trump. <u+201c>this government takeover of health care we call obamacare is failing.<u+201d> mr. trump returned to the fbi investigation at an evening rally in eau claire, wis., where he called it <u+201c>the biggest scandal since watergate.<u+201d> in a show of party unity in the run-up to the election, mr. trump was introduced by a parade of gop officials from wisconsin, including his onetime primary rival gov. scott walker, sen. ron johnson, who is running a tough race for re-election, and republican national committee chairman reince priebus. corrections & amplifications: donald trump was at an evening rally in eau claire, wis. an earlier version of this article misspelled the name of the city. (nov. 1, 2016) write to rebecca ballhaus at rebecca.ballhaus@wsj.com , janet hook at janet.hook@wsj.com and carol e. lee at carol.lee@wsj.com
tighter presidential race brings a shift in tactics - wsj
rebecca ballhaus janet hook carol e. lee