Miraculous rise

US Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign has already raised over $500 million in the month since President Joe Biden announced abandoning his reelection campaign. The $540 million amount is a fundraising record for a single month, driven in part by a massive $82 million haul during the four-day Democratic National Convention, where Harris formally accepted the nomination.

But it is not just fundraising. About two months ago, Biden's disastrous debate performance and former president Donald Trump's incredible show of restraint - by his own low standards - appeared to have sealed the election for Trump. But after Biden eventually accepted he had no realistic path to victory and handed the reins of the party over to Harris, young voters, progressives and independents suddenly started caring again, causing the VP to surge in the polls and fundraising. Meanwhile, Trump, who - again, by his own low standards - was doing a remarkable job at mostly staying on message during public appearances, has been floundering and is clearly panicking, reverting to rambling speeches and social media commentaries laced with the kind of misogyny and racism that have become central to his brand.

However, despite Harris having become the clear favourite, the presidency is still up for grabs. This is because the US president is not directly elected but rather picked by the electoral college - an undemocratic relic of slavery that gives disproportionate power to less-populous states, almost all of which also supported slavery during the American Civil War. The electoral college separates voters by state, meaning that overwhelming popularity in larger, mostly liberal states is irrelevant if a candidate can't win 51% in several smaller right-leaning states. This is why the last two Republican presidents - Trump and George W Bush - both won their respective first elections despite getting significantly fewer votes nationwide.

So despite a commanding lead, on November 5, Harris will still need to win in Pennsylvania, or at least two of the other five smaller 'swing states', to seal the deal.