With less than three months to go until Americans vote in the presidential election, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump continue to vie for support. The Democratic candidate holds a slim 1-3 point lead in national polls while both candidates remain competitive in states that will determine the winner of the electoral college votes.
In the days before the first debate, political pundits and insiders were expecting a fierce fight. The format of the debates allowed for candidates to criticize their opponents’ policies and record, but they were forbidden to attack them personally or resort to name-calling. The rules also required that the candidates stay within allotted time limits and use their answers to address the question at hand.
As the campaign progressed, Trump shifted the focus of his campaign. He centered his campaign on tackling illegal immigration, which is a popular issue in border and swing states. At the first debate, he followed advice from his advisors and turned nearly every answer into an attack on his opponents’ record.
As the race for president continues, there are growing calls to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a direct popular vote system. This would allow a candidate with a majority of the national popular vote to become president even if they lost many of the states, and it could encourage candidates to spend more time and resources competing for votes in “swing” states where voters are closely divided.