Dear Editor,
Guyanese are eagerly waiting Thursday’s American ‘Presidential debate’ between presumed nominees incumbent Joe Biden (Democrat) and former President Donald Trump (Republican). Trump announced on Sunday that his planned nominee for Vice President will be in attendance at the debate; Joe Biden announced that incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris is his running mate. The nominees will be formally confirmed at each party’s national convention in July (Republican) and August (Dem). The general election is on the first Tuesday of November with early voting and postal balloting (on request) starting a week before and held daily.
Polls show an extremely tight race that can go either way. Trump is marginally ahead in national polls and in so called seven battleground states but within the margin of error, suggesting either candidate can win these states and as such the Presidency. Unlike in Guyana where the President is elected based on winning a plurality or majority of votes, in the US President is chosen by an electoral voting system comprising 538 EVs. The fifty states are allocated a number of EVs based on its representation in Congress which has a total of 535 members. Washington DC, not a state but a territory, was granted three EVs by Congress. A candidate needs 270 EVs to win the Presidency.
It is one of the closest elections in the country’s history. Analysts stated and polls revealed that if Trump were to select the former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as his VP running mate, he would win the elections. Haley was a sharp critic of the former President and ran against him earlier this year for the Republican nomination; she lost but won significant support throughout the country, particularly in battleground states. She resisted endorsing Trump but changed her position a month ago. Trump indicated that Nikki Haley would not be his running mate, suggesting that the former President feels another VP pick would also aid his re-election.
Sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
