The Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and the Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, debate for the first time during the presidential election campaign at The National Constitution Center on Sept. 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Calling the 2024 presidential campaign unprecedented might be an understatement.
A series of shocking events have rocked this presidential race as Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump sprint to the finish line in the hopes of securing the nation’s highest post.
Less than four months ago, Harris wasn’t even in the running.
And Trump, whose bid to return to the White House after a felony conviction in New York was already historic, survived two apparent assassination attempts.
The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates are closing out a neck-and-neck contest that could be decided by just a handful of voters in seven swing states.
On Election Day in the United States, here’s a glimpse into the highs — and lows — of the historic 2024 presidential campaign:
A Trump-Biden rematch
Trump and President Joe Biden, the then-Democratic presidential candidate, drew several challengers while vying for their respective parties’ nominations.
Trump certainly had a more competitive pool of primary challengers.
With the former president facing four separate prosecutions and the memory of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol fresh in voters’ minds, a field including former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson sought the Republican nomination.
Biden’s most serious challenger appeared at the primaries’ outset to be U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who was little known outside his Minnesota district. But the incumbent ultimately lost more votes to Democrats who chose “Uncommitted” rather than support Biden over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
After sweeping Super Tuesday victories in March, both Trump and Biden secured the number of delegates necessary to clinch their parties’ nominations.
Third-party hopefuls have also sought to make their mark during the 2024 presidential campaign, perhaps most notably Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist.
Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign in August and endorsed Trump.
Meanwhile, independent presidential candidate Cornel West and the Green Party nominee Jill Stein are both vying for the White House under third-party bids.
And amid the ongoing war in Gaza, pro-Palestinian organizers have put pressure on both the Biden administration and Harris, as she vies for the Oval Office, through the Uncommitted National Movement.
The movement has seen a wide swath of organizers who have protested Biden’s policies regarding the Israel-Hamas war and called for an arms embargo and ceasefire.
Biden bows out, Harris steps up
Following primaries in both parties, Biden and Trump were set for a rematch of the 2020 race and scheduled a general election debate for late June.
Biden’s disastrous performance, in which he spoke softly and appeared to lose his train of thought at times, prompted an outcry from Democratic lawmakers, who urged him to drop his White House bid.
Less than a month later while fighting a COVID-19 infection at home, Biden bowed out of the race and passed the torch to Harris.
The veep then embarked on an unprecedented and expedited presidential campaign. If elected, she would become the first woman president, the first president of South Asian descent and the second Black president.
The summer months also saw the formal nominations of Trump and Harris’ respective running mates — Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — as both parties revved up their supporters at their national conventions.
Assassination attempts against Trump
Trump survived an assassination attempt in July during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where officials say a would-be assassin killed one rallygoer, injured two others and shot the former president’s ear.
The attack prompted a slew of federal probes and a bipartisan congressional task force to investigate.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, whose agency faced a deluge of scrutiny following the attack, resigned just days later.
In September, authorities responded to a second apparent assassination attempt against Trump while he was golfing at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, prompting even more questions regarding the former president’s safety and security.
Trump’s legal battles take center stage in campaign
Against the backdrop of his presidential bid, Trump has been mired in several legal battles and had to balance court appearances with his campaign schedule.
Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May in a New York court. He is the first former U.S. president to be convicted of felony crimes.
He’s also been charged in a federal election interference case and a Georgia election interference case.
A federal classified documents case against him has been tossed out, at least for now.
His federal election interference case was put on pause for several months earlier this year while his claim of presidential immunity played out in the courts.
That argument made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which found that presidents are granted full immunity from criminal charges for any official “core constitutional” acts, though they have no immunity for any unofficial acts.
A White House win for Trump could greatly influence how the rest of his legal battles play out in the courts — and whether they continue at all.
Final stretch of 2024 presidential campaign
Harris and Trump sparred in a presidential debate in September, trading barbs while touting their own policy proposals.
As polling has repeatedly depicted Trump and Harris in a super-tight race in which neither has a measurable advantage, the two have spent the majority of their campaigns in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Trump campaign received backlash for comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s racist and vulgar remarks during a late October rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City, including calling Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage.”
And in what her campaign dubbed her “closing argument,” Harris called on voters last week to reject Trump’s “chaos and division.” She spoke to more than 75,000 spectators, according to campaign estimates.
She delivered her speech at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. — the site where Trump held a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, before his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol.
As the country reaches the end of an exhausting and winding presidential campaign, voters will soon determine whether Harris or Trump will be the next leader of the free world.