The CNN Presidential Debate, held in Atlanta, moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, took place on June 17th. A post-debate poll by FiveThirtyEight indicated that the majority of likely voters believed Trump won the debate (60.1%), compared to only 20.8% that believed Biden won. Biden was criticized for stumbling over his words and appearing to lack the cognitive ability to answer questions, while Trump was attacked for espousing falsehoods during the debate. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) was unable to meet the criteria to participate in the debate and was thus excluded from it.

On July 13th, former President Trump was grazed in the ear during an attempted assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania during a campaign rally. The lone gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, also shot 3 other rally-goers, critically injuring David Dutch and James Copenhaver, and killing Corey Comperatore. Crooks’ motive remains unknown. The assassination attempt galvanized support for Trump. An investigation is currently underway regarding the assassination attempt.

The Republican National Convention (RNC) took place from July 15th to 18th. On the first day of the convention, former President Trump announced through a Truth Social that his running mate would be Ohio Senator and best-selling author JD Vance. Notable speakers included businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA-4), Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), Donald Trump Jr., and other members of the Trump family. 20 On the final day of the RNC,  Trump accepted the Republican Nomination for President.

Due to tumbling polling numbers and concerns regarding his cognitive health, President Biden withdrew from the presidential race on July 21st. He immediately endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris, and by the next day, she had secured enough delegates to become the Democratic Nominee for president.

On August 5th, Vice President Harris was confirmed as the official Democratic Nominee for president through a virtual roll call vote. The virtual roll call vote was originally intended to confirm the Democratic Nominee for president prior to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to comply with an August 7th deadline to appear on the Ohio ballot. The deadline was later pushed to after the DNC, but the virtual roll call vote went on as planned.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was chosen by Vice President Harris as her running mate on August 6th. Walz beat out other V.P. contenders including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Walz has served as the 41st governor of Minnesota since 2019. Prior to that, Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and as a social studies teacher, before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006, and later being re-elected 5 more times.

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) was held from August 19th to 22nd. Noteworthy speakers at the convention included President Joe Biden, Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Former President Barack Obama, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (CA-11). On the closing night of the DNC, Vice President Harris formally accepted the Democratic Nomination for president.

On August 23rd, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Former President Trump. Kennedy had previously said that he would drop out from the race if he believed there was no viable path to electoral victory. Kennedy decided to endorse Mr. Trump because, according to Kennedy, they agreed on issues important to Mr. Kennedy such as tackling chronic diseases, ending censorship, and defending democracy.

The ABC Presidential Debate took place on September 10th and was moderated by ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis. A post-debate poll conducted by CNN found that 63% of registered voters thought that Vice President Harris won the debate, versus only 37% who thought former President Trump had won. Harris was criticized for not answering questions and baiting Trump, while Trump was criticized for promoting untruths, such as his claim that Haitian immigrants were eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio.