When voters head to the polls on November 8, they will be choosing between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump for president. A few hotly contested battleground states could decide the election in its entirety.
Most voters tune in to a presidential debate to root on their favored candidate. The number of undecided voters is often in the single digits.
But a good performance in a debate can be enough to tip the scales in a close race. That’s why candidates spend so much time and money on televised political events like debates.
The debates are also a chance for the candidates to highlight their differences. For example, Harris’s decision to go after the economic policies of President Trump has resonated with some voters. Meanwhile, Trump has focused on his campaign of fear and division.
With the exception of Maine and Nebraska, every state uses a winner-takes-all system for its electoral college votes. This encourages candidates to focus exponentially more time and money on the handful of key swing states that could determine the outcome of the race. As a result, these races are frequently decided by tens of thousands of votes in just one or two key battleground states.
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