With candidates needing 270 of the 538 electors to win, elections tend to be decided in the hotly contested "swing states" with a history of alternating between Republican and Democratic candidates.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. August 20, 2024 and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., August 15, 2024 are seen in a combination of file photographs.
Credit: Reuters/Marco Bello, Jeenah Moon