The US presidential race is a months long contest where the people vote for candidates from each of the two main political parties. Each state gets a certain number of so-called electoral votes, partly based on population. The person who wins a majority of these 538 votes becomes the president.
The election process starts with a series of party primaries or caucuses that allow voters to choose a candidate. The winner of these events then gains the official nomination of the party for the presidency. This can be a big advantage, especially when the candidate has the support of major donors and the backing of the party establishment.
Donald Trump won the Republican nomination without too much difficulty in 2024. He was supported by Nikki Haley, the former U.S ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, who dropped out of the race after being defeated by Trump in 14 of the 16 Republican primary races on Super Tuesday in January.
Democratic voters opted for Kamala Harris, the current U.S senator from California, over Joe Biden in a close and divisive contest. The map shows that there were large swathes of the country coloured red for Republicans, while Kamala Harris won states in the north east and west of America.
In mid December the electoral college will meet and vote for the candidates who will become President and Vice President. In this system, a candidate needs to win at least 270 electoral votes to be elected. However, if no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes the winner is chosen by a secret ballot in the House of Representatives. There have been a few cases where “faithless” electors have chosen to vote for other candidates but this is very rare.