The President of the United States is elected by electors through a complicated system involving state primaries and caucuses. Each party has its own rules for how these contests are conducted. The winners then go head-to-head in the general election, which is held on November 6. The candidate who receives a majority of electoral votes becomes the President.
The Electoral College is the only method in which a candidate for the presidency can be declared a winner without winning the popular vote. This is controversial because it discourages presidential candidates from spending large amounts of time and money in states that are unlikely to reward them with a landslide victory. Historically, presidential elections have been won by majorities in a handful of states. The only exceptions are Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s landslide victories in 1936, 1964, and 1972 (over 50 percent of the vote and 523 electoral votes).
In 2024, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are engaged in a close race for the presidency. Both campaigns are focusing their efforts on battleground states. The upcoming debates could be pivotal for the outcome of the election.
However, despite the hullabaloo surrounding presidential debates, they rarely move the needle significantly or in a lasting fashion. Instead, they serve as a platform for each candidate to broadcast their message and position themselves in the political landscape. The real action is on the ground, where campaigns are hustling to get their voters to the polls.
