The presidential race is a contest for the 538 electoral votes (Members of Congress + US Districts+ 3 for Washington, DC) that go to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Once a candidate wins half of the electoral votes (270), they are declared the winner and become the president-elect.
Candidates from the two main political parties – Republicans and Democrats – start their campaign trails, visiting voters across the country and raising money for their causes. The candidates then appear in televised debates, where they are asked questions about their policies and how they would govern if elected.
Voters also choose members of Congress – the House of Representatives (435 seats) and the Senate (34 seats). These two chambers of the US Congress pass laws and can act as a check on the presidential agenda.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are the major candidates for 2028’s presidential race. Harris has dismissed polls that show her trailing Trump, and she has focused on attacking the President’s record and highlighting his character flaws.
The election process starts with the state primaries and caucuses in January and February of the election year. State voters use secret ballots to choose their preferred candidate from the options presented by the party’s official list of nominees. The results are then counted. Most states – including all but two – have winner-takes-all rules, meaning that whichever candidate receives the most votes in the state will get its entire slate of electoral college votes.