A presidential race begins when candidates from the two major political parties – Democrats and Republicans – begin their campaign trails. They set up their campaigns, go on tour and take part in televised debates where voters get to question them about the policies they’d pursue as president.
As the election gets closer, numerous polls indicated that Trump and Harris were neck-and-neck both nationally and in swing states. But as votes were counted on November 5, Trump was the clear winner – winning both the national popular vote and the electoral college. It was the first time that a Republican won both of these Electoral College counts in a general election since Ross Perot’s second run for the presidency in 1992.
The election was also a battle over how to govern the nation, with voters expressing dissatisfaction over how the economy is doing and their views on immigration. Trump had a significant advantage among white voters and made gains with working class people who don’t have four-year college degrees, while Harris gained ground in the black and Latino communities.
In the Electoral College, each state has a fixed number of electoral votes based on its population. Except for Maine and Nebraska, the total electoral vote goes to the candidate who receives a majority of the statewide popular vote. A candidate needs a majority of 538 electoral votes to become president. Voting-eligible adults who did not cast ballots were fairly evenly split in their preferences for the two major candidates: 44% chose Trump, and 40% chose Harris.