Philadelphia : With polls giving her the edge on Election Day, Democratic White House nominee Hillary Clinton said late Saturday that she planned to work hard to see her party make gains in Congress.
Speaking to reporters aboard her campaign plane, the 68-year-old former secretary of state said she no longer wished to respond to the attacks or provocations of her opponent Donald Trump in the run-up to the November 8 vote.
The 70-year-old Republican billionaire, making what his team had billed as a key policy speech laying out his plans for the first 100 days of his presidency, did hit on some key issues, vowing to create 25 million jobs over a decade and cut middle-class taxes.
But he also angrily pledged to sue the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct -- an issue that has dogged his candidacy in recent weeks and put Clinton in the driver's seat with just over two weeks to go in the campaign.
Barnstorming through key swing states on Saturday, the candidates provided a study in contrast -- Clinton was the picture of optimism and inclusion, while Trump lobbed scathing attacks at his critics, including his female accusers, the media and Clinton herself.
"We're talking about what's at stake in the election, drawing contrast, but we're giving people something to vote for -- not just against," said Clinton.
"As we're traveling in these last 17 days, we're going to be emphasizing the importance of electing Democrats down the ballot," she added, determined to capitalize on the divisions in the Republican Party sparked by Trump's White House run.
On Election Day, Americans will choose a new president to succeed Barack Obama, as well as a third of the 100 senators and all 435 members of the House of Representatives, who serve two-year terms.
Both houses of Congress are currently under Republican control, but the Democrats believe a changing of the guard in the Senate is within reach.
Remaining cautious on the eventual election result but noting "really encouraging signs" about turnout, Clinton said she was prepared to finish the campaign without worrying about her unorthodox opponent.
"I debated him for four and a half hours. I don't even think about responding to him anymore," she said in between two campaign stops in Pennsylvania.
"He can say whatever he wants, he can run his campaign however he wants to," Clinton added.
"I'm going to let the American people decide between what he offers and what we offer."
