The presidential race refers to the competition between candidates from the two major political parties for the office of President of the United States. Candidates from each party start campaigning and traveling the country, visiting states and participating in televised debates. These events provide voters a chance to learn more about the candidates and their positions on issues that are important to them.
Once a candidate accumulates enough support from their party members through a series of presidential primaries and caucuses, they will officially become their party’s nominee. The nominee will then go to their national convention where they will be formally selected as the presidential candidate and will choose a vice-presidential running mate.
During the debates, the two candidates will attack each other’s policies and attempt to paint a picture of who they would be as president. Despite the hullabaloo about these events, they rarely change the trajectory of the campaign in any meaningful way. For example, Hillary Clinton was judged to have won her debates against Donald Trump, but that bump in her poll numbers did not last.
In December, Americans head to the polls to vote for a president and their preferred vice-president. The election is determined by a process called the electoral college whereby each state, based on its population, gets a number of electors — 2 votes for its U.S. Senators and 1 vote for its members of Congress. The candidate that receives 270 of 538 electoral votes becomes the President and Vice-President.
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