As voters go to the polls on November 6, they will select a president and vice presidential candidate. They will also elect members of Congress – the House and Senate – who will pass laws and act as a check on White House plans.
Most people who want to be president belong to the same political party. People with similar ideas form parties, which hold contests called primaries and caucuses to decide their party’s final presidential nominee. The winning delegates are then “endorsed” at the national convention by their fellow party members and that person becomes the presidential candidate. Each party nominates a running mate, too.
After the nomination process is complete, candidates begin campaigning across the country. They appear in televised debates and try to convince voters to support them.
In a highly unusual election in 2016, New York businessman Donald Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president. He won a majority of the votes in the Electoral College, which is based on each state’s population and how many US Senators and Representatives it has. He did not win the popular vote, but his populist, nationalist campaign was enough to give him victory.
Democrats are hoping skilled candidates like Texas’ Beto O’Rourke and Georgia’s Stacey Abrams will generate the enthusiasm to take down Republicans in states such as Ohio and Florida that Obama won twice. But it remains to be seen whether those efforts can overcome the statewide advantages Republicans have in key battleground states.
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