When elections happen in the United States, voters decide who they want to represent them. The main political parties, the Democratic and the Republican, set up their teams and start “going on tour” around the country to attract support and raise money for their campaign. They also participate in televised debates, where they have to answer questions and defend their positions against each other.
By the summer of 2024, a few Republicans were challenging Trump for the party nomination: Nikki Haley, who had served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump from 2017-18 and as governor of South Carolina from 2011-17; Ron DeSantis, the current governor of Florida; and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. By the end of August, however, Haley dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, which allowed him to win most of the remaining Republican primaries and caucuses and become the clear frontrunner.
The presidential race is decided by the Electoral College, where each state gets one vote for its two U.S. senators and for each of its representatives in the House of Representatives. The winner of a state receives all of its electoral votes, except for Maine and Nebraska, which use a proportional system where the candidate with the highest number of popular votes in each congressional district wins all of their electoral votes. To become president, a candidate must win at least 270 electoral votes.
Once a candidate has won a majority of electoral votes, Congress selects the president and vice president. The 1800 election tested the constitutional method when Jefferson and Aaron Burr had 73 electoral ballots each–32 short of a majority. Under the 12th Amendment, a majority of the House must choose a president and vice president.