When voters go to the polls on November 6, 2024, they will choose a president and vice-president from two candidates running in the Electoral College. Under the Constitution, states are awarded electoral votes based on their population. A candidate must win a majority of the electoral vote (270) to become president. Electors, who are chosen by their state’s primary election process, will cast the ballots on behalf of the state’s voters.
The presidential race has been a bruising one so far. Several potential Republican challengers have dropped out of the race, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, after suffering heavy defeats by Trump in their party primaries and caucuses.
Ultimately, it will come down to which candidate is able to turn out the most voters and who can motivate their base to participate in early voting and on Election Day. Both campaigns will spend the next few weeks honing their messages and boosting turnout in battleground states.
A presidential debate can have a significant impact on the race, but it’s important to remember that most viewers are tuning in to support their favored candidate rather than to be persuaded to switch sides. The hullabaloo around presidential debates is usually overstated. For example, Hillary Clinton was judged to have won the debates against Donald Trump in 2016, but her performance did little to change the trajectory of the campaign.
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