As Election Day arrives in the United States, citizens are heading to the polls in a closely watched and highly competitive race for the White House. The candidates in this historic contest are Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, both vying to secure the nation’s highest office amid one of the closest presidential races in recent memory. National polls, alongside surveys in key swing states, have consistently shown Trump and Harris in a statistical tie, making this race one of the tightest in recent history.
With early voting hitting record numbers, over 78 million Americans had already cast their ballots by Monday morning. This figure, provided by the Election Lab at the University of Florida, underscores the heightened interest and engagement in this election. Both Harris and Trump spent the final full day of campaigning visiting battleground states, each outlining vastly different visions for the future of the United States.
Harris’s journey to the 2024 election began later than usual in the campaign cycle. She became the Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden ended his own campaign in July, following a challenging debate performance against Trump. During that debate, Biden’s apparent confusion and difficulties with verbal articulation led to widespread concerns, ultimately resulting in his decision to step aside.
The U.S. presidential election is determined not by the national popular vote but by the Electoral College system, which adds a unique layer of strategy to the race. In this system, each candidate must secure at least 270 out of 538 total electoral votes to win the presidency. These votes are distributed among the states according to population, meaning that larger states hold more electoral sway, while smaller states are still integral to the path to victory.
“Harris and Trump spent the last full day of campaigning making a final push in battleground states, selling wildly different visions of the country’s future to voters.”
This election cycle has once again highlighted the significance of swing states, where the competition remains especially fierce. While the national vote paints an important picture, it is the outcomes in these battleground regions that will likely determine the next president.
