How to Write a 2024 U.S. Presidential Election Essay

Introduction

The 2024 US presidential election on November 5 was one for the history books. What began as an anticipated rematch between current president Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump took a dramatic turn when Biden withdrew from the race in July 2024, passing the Democratic torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump ultimately won the election, defeating Harris and reclaiming the presidency—making him only the second president in American history to serve non-consecutive terms. Both candidates had die-hard supporters, and the contest was fiercely contested in terms of an energized base getting out the vote. It was also an election that many pundits, journalists, writers, and students had to cover and discuss. The implications were—and continue to be—enormous. So, in this tutorial, let's talk about how to write an essay on the 2024 US presidential election. Now that the results are in and the historical record is clearer, there is even more material to work with. This essay tutorial will list a few potential topics to focus on, give some possible titles, and provide an example of what a good essay could look like. Overall, this 2024 US presidential election essay tutorial will help you understand the ins and outs of this landmark election by examining the strengths and weaknesses of the presidential candidates through a non-biased lens. It will also discuss the influence of social media, examine the proposed policies of both candidates, and consider the impact of demographics and voting security on the election outcome. With the benefit of hindsight now available, essays on this topic can be richer, more analytical, and more historically grounded than ever before. Let's get started.

Potential Essay Topics

• The Role of Social Media in Shaping Voter Perceptions: This topic could be used to analyze how social media platforms, online advertising, and digital campaigns influence public opinion and voter behavior. In the 2024 cycle, platforms like X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube played outsized roles in shaping narratives, making this topic especially rich for analysis. The emergence of AI-generated political content and deepfakes also added a new layer of complexity worth examining.
• Policy Analysis of the Presidential Candidates: With this topic, one could compare and contrast the proposed policies of the presidential candidates, and focus on key areas such as healthcare, the economy, foreign policy, and climate change. Now that the election is over and Trump's second-term policy agenda is taking shape, students can also analyze which campaign promises are being pursued and which have been modified or abandoned.
• The Impact of Voter Demographics on Election Outcomes: One could look at how different demographic groups (age, race, gender, etc.) are expected to vote and why. The 2024 results revealed some surprising demographic shifts—notably, Trump made notable gains with Black and Latino male voters compared to 2020, a development that political scientists and commentators are still analyzing heading into 2026.
• Election Integrity and Security: Discuss the measures in place to ensure a fair election, including protection against foreign interference, voter suppression, and the reliability of mail-in ballots. Post-2024, debates about election integrity have continued to evolve, with ongoing legal challenges and legislative changes to voting laws in several swing states providing fresh material for an essay.
• The Role of Third-Party and Independent Candidates: The 2024 race saw notable independent activity, most prominently from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who eventually withdrew and endorsed Trump. Analyzing how third-party and independent candidates affect vote share, media coverage, and major-party strategy offers a compelling additional essay angle.
• Combination of any or all of those topics: Another idea is to combine a few of these topics to create a comprehensive essay. A broad synthesis essay that touches on social media, demographics, policy, and election security would be particularly ambitious and impressive for an academic audience.

Alternate Essay Titles

1. The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: A Comparative Analysis of Candidates
2. Digital Battlegrounds: The Influence of Social Media in the 2024 Presidential Race
3. Policy and Perspective: Understanding the 2024 Presidential Election Candidates and Their Positions
4. Will the 2024 US Elections be Secured to Prevent Voter Fraud?
5. From Biden to Harris: How the Democratic Candidate Switch Shaped the 2024 Presidential Race
6. The Return of Trump: What the 2024 Election Result Tells Us About American Politics

Essay Outline

1. Introduction
   • Introduce what the essay will cover
   • Thesis statement
   • Brief orientation to why the 2024 election is historically significant even now, in 2026
2. The Candidates
   • Brief background of each candidate.
   • Overview of their political careers and accomplishments.
   • Note: if writing about the full race, consider including a section on Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee in July 2024.
3. Strengths and Weaknesses
   • Analysis of each candidate's strengths: leadership qualities, policy proposals, support base.
   • Discussion of weaknesses: controversies, policy criticisms, electoral challenges.
   • Consideration of how each candidate's perceived strengths and weaknesses played out in the actual election result.
4. Digital Media's Role
   • The impact of social media campaigns.
   • Strategies used in digital advertising and their effectiveness.
   • The rise of AI-generated content, political podcasts, and long-form digital media as campaign tools in 2024.
5. Policy Comparison
   • Detailed comparison of key policy areas.
   • Prospective impacts of these policies on the general population.
   • Where relevant, note which policies have already begun to be implemented in Trump's second term as of 2026.
6. Voter Demographics and Election Security
   • Influence of demographics on voting patterns.
   • Examination of election security measures and their sufficiency.
   • Post-election analysis of how demographic predictions held up or surprised analysts.

7. Conclusion
   • Recap of main ideas and key points
   • Reverse hook or closing thought
   • Reflection on what the 2024 election result means for the future of American democracy and political discourse

2024 U.S. Presidential Election Example Essay

Abstract

The 2024 U.S. presidential election represents a major turning point in American politics—one that delivered more plot twists than almost any election in modern memory. The race was marked by a nation's heightened polarization, the dominant influence of social media, questions about national policy, concerns about voting security, and the unprecedented mid-race withdrawal of an incumbent president. This essay gives a comprehensive examination of the election by breaking it down into parts. First, it looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the presidential candidates, set against the backdrop of influential digital platforms and shifting voter demographics. Using a non-biased analytical lens, the paper examines the candidates' policy proposals in key areas such as the border, immigration, the economy, foreign policy, and climate change. Additionally, it looks at how social media shaped public opinion, how voter demographics affected election outcomes, and the ongoing challenges to election integrity and security. The race ultimately concluded with Donald Trump defeating Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who entered the race in July 2024 after President Biden stepped aside. In this way, the essay gives readers a deeper understanding of the major aspects of the 2024 presidential election and its lasting significance as we move further into 2026.

Main Essay Title

Analyzing the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: A Balanced Examination of Candidates, Their Policies, and the Influence of Social Media, Security, and Demographics

Essay Introduction

The 2024 U.S. presidential election will be remembered as a pivotal moment in American history. It proved historic due to the stark choice between divergent paths for the country's future represented by the two polarizing candidates—and was made even more historic by the extraordinary events that unfolded along the way, including an assassination attempt against Donald Trump in July 2024 and President Biden's decision to withdraw from the race just months before election day. This essay intends to unpack the election by examining the strengths and weaknesses of the presidential candidates through a non-biased lens, discussing the influence of social media, identifying and assessing the proposed policies, and considering the impact of demographics on the election outcome. Even from the vantage point of 2026, the 2024 election continues to shape American political life in profound ways, making it a subject well worth rigorous analysis.

Thesis Statement

The outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election was influenced by the candidates' ability to hold up in the face of social media scrutiny, the appeal of their policies to a diverse electorate, and even the integrity of the election process itself—and its consequences continue to reverberate through American political, economic, and cultural life today.

Body of Essay

Brief Background of Each Candidate

Before entering politics, Donald Trump was a well-known real estate mogul and television personality. He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and took over his family's real estate business in 1971, expanding it from Queens and Brooklyn into Manhattan. Trump's business ventures include real estate, hospitality, and entertainment, with his role as the host of The Apprentice increasing his fame (Biography, 2023). His return to the presidency in January 2025—following his 2024 victory—made him only the second person in U.S. history, after Grover Cleveland, to serve two non-consecutive presidential terms, a fact that adds considerable historical weight to any essay written about this election.

Joe Biden's political career spans several decades, beginning with his election to the New Castle County Council in 1970. He was one of the youngest people ever elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, representing Delaware until he became Vice President in 2009. Biden's early life was marked by personal tragedy, including the loss of his first wife and daughter in a car accident. He is known for his work on foreign relations, criminal justice, and domestic policy during his tenure in the Senate and as Vice President under Barack Obama (Astor, 2023). Biden served as the 46th President of the United States from 2021 until January 2025. His decision in July 2024 to withdraw from the presidential race—the first sitting president in modern history to do so under such circumstances—was itself one of the most consequential political moments of the entire election cycle and deserves dedicated attention in any comprehensive essay on the 2024 race.

Kamala Harris, who stepped in as the Democratic nominee after Biden's withdrawal, brought her own substantial political biography to the race. A former California Attorney General and U.S. Senator, Harris had served as Biden's Vice President since January 2021. She was already a historic figure—the first woman, first Black American, and first person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency. Her late entry into the race as the standard-bearer gave Democrats an energetic if compressed campaign period. Her campaign focused on reproductive rights, economic fairness, and presenting a contrast to Trump's style of governance. Understanding her candidacy is essential for any complete analysis of the 2024 election.

Overview of Their Political Careers and Accomplishments

Trump served as the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. His presidency was marked by significant tax cuts, deregulation, and a focus on conservative judicial appointments. Trump prioritized immigration reform, trade policies that renegotiated several international agreements, and a strong stance against China on trade and security issues. After leaving office in January 2021, he remained the dominant figure in Republican politics, fended off multiple legal challenges during the intervening years, and secured the 2024 Republican nomination with relative ease. His return to the White House beginning in January 2025 as the 47th President capped a political comeback without modern precedent in American history.

Biden served as Vice President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, and as the 46th US President starting in 2021. His campaign characterized his political career by his contributions to foreign policy, efforts to combat sexual assault on college campuses, and advocacy for middle-class America (White House, 2023). As Vice President, he played an important role in supporting the Obama administration's response to the financial crisis and healthcare reform. As president, Biden oversaw the passage of major legislation including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act—accomplishments his supporters pointed to as evidence of substantive governance, even as critics questioned his administration's handling of inflation, the southern border, and foreign policy challenges.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Trump's leadership style is marked by his direct communication, often through social media (he owns his own platform—Truth Social—ever since getting booted from Facebook and Twitter). This direct approach resonates with his base. He has a strong support system among voters who favor his approach to economic policies, national security, and conservative social issues. His ability to mobilize and maintain a loyal voter base is a significant strength. The 2024 campaign demonstrated that this loyalty was remarkably durable even in the face of multiple criminal indictments, a civil fraud judgment, and a historic conviction on 34 felony counts in New York—none of which prevented him from winning the presidency by a clear margin in both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

However, Trump's presidency and campaign strategies have been polarizing, contributing to significant divisions within the American electorate. His handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the 2020 election, including two impeachment proceedings, have been points of criticism and controversy. His rhetoric on immigration, in particular, drew sharp condemnation from opponents who argued it stoked fear and hostility, while supporters contended it reflected a legitimate and urgent policy concern.

Biden is known for his legislative experience and ability to connect with voters on a personal level. He boasted extensive experience in foreign and domestic policy as a career politician and had a track record of bipartisan cooperation. His appeal to moderate voters and emphasis on unity were key strengths during his 2020 campaign and early presidency. However, by 2024, concerns about Biden's age and cognitive fitness had moved from whispered speculation to front-page news. Questions about his and his son Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine and China were also sources of controversy that dogged the administration throughout its term. His centrism and past legislative decisions, such as the 1994 Crime Bill, continued to face scrutiny from both the left and the right. Ultimately, after a widely criticized debate performance against Trump in late June 2024, pressure from within his own party became too great, and Biden announced his withdrawal from the race—a decision that reshaped the entire final chapter of the election.

Kamala Harris, as the late-entering nominee, had both strengths and weaknesses of her own. On the positive side, her entry into the race generated an immediate surge of enthusiasm and fundraising within the Democratic base, particularly among younger voters and women energized by debates over reproductive rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Her background as a prosecutor gave her a sharp debating style, and her debate performance against Trump was widely seen as stronger than Biden's had been. On the challenging side, her abbreviated campaign timeline left limited opportunity to define her message broadly, and she struggled at times to articulate clearly how her policy vision would differ from Biden's—a difficult position given both her loyalty to the administration and the political need to project fresh direction. In the end, she lost to Trump in what analysts described as a combination of economic dissatisfaction, demographic shifts, and the structural difficulty of running as an incumbent-party candidate in a high-inflation environment.

Social Media's Role

Trump's use of social media to directly communicate with the public has been unprecedented, and has shaped his political narrative and rallied his base. Biden's campaign tried to use digital platforms for outreach and engagement, but in terms of raw engagement few political leaders could match Trump's reach and intensity. Overall, both campaigns employed targeted digital advertising and data analytics to reach specific voter demographics. Trump's campaign was notable for its aggressive use of social media for direct engagement, while Biden's campaign also leaned into digital strategy, notably attacking Trump for his use of certain words, like "bloodbath," at one of his campaign rallies to make Trump look like both a white supremacist and an antisemite (Hains, 2024).

The 2024 election also ushered in a new era of political communication through long-form digital media. Trump appeared on enormously popular podcasts—most notably a widely viewed interview with Joe Rogan on The Joe Rogan Experience—that reached millions of younger male voters who might not have engaged with traditional media. This represented a significant evolution in campaign strategy, reflecting the broader shift in media consumption habits among key demographics. The Harris campaign similarly pursued podcast appearances and digital content, though critics argued the Democratic outreach to non-traditional media audiences was slower to materialize. For students writing essays on this election, the role of podcasts, YouTube content creators, and influencer endorsements in 2024 is a topic area that remains relatively underexplored and could form the basis of an original and timely argument.

Additionally, 2024 marked the first presidential election in which AI-generated content played a measurable role in political communication. AI-created images, voice clones, and video manipulations circulated across social media platforms throughout the campaign, raising urgent questions about misinformation, voter manipulation, and platform accountability. Both campaigns had to contend with the existence of fabricated content depicting their candidates, and fact-checking organizations found themselves overwhelmed by the volume and speed at which synthetic media spread. Any comprehensive essay on social media's role in the 2024 election should grapple with this development, as it represents a genuinely new dimension of the information environment that will only grow more significant in future election cycles.

Policy Comparison

Trump and Biden—and later Trump and Harris—presented contrasting visions for America, particularly on border security, immigration, climate change, NATO, and economic policy. Trump advocates for deregulation, a strong stance on immigration, and "America First" economic policies. Biden supported expanding healthcare access, rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate, and immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. Harris largely continued Biden's policy platform while emphasizing reproductive rights and economic opportunity for working families as key pillars of her campaign message.

Trump's policies aim to stimulate economic growth through tax cuts and deregulation, with a focus on American industries and workers. In his second term, which began in January 2025, Trump moved quickly to implement sweeping immigration enforcement measures, impose broad tariffs on imported goods, and roll back many of the climate and environmental regulations put in place during the Biden years. As of 2026, the debate over the economic effects of these policies is ongoing, with supporters crediting them for prioritizing American workers and critics raising concerns about inflationary pressures from tariffs and the long-term costs of reduced environmental investment. Biden's policies prioritized social equity, environmental sustainability, and expanding social safety nets, aiming to address long-term systemic issues. For an essay on the 2024 election, comparing these policy visions and then assessing which elements have actually been enacted in the early months of Trump's second term provides a rich opportunity for analysis that goes beyond campaign rhetoric to examine real-world governance.

Voter Demographics and Election Security

The electoral base for Trump includes rural, white, and older voters, but the 2024 results confirmed a trend that had been building since 2020: Black and Latino male voters moved toward Trump in meaningful numbers compared to previous elections. Exit poll data and post-election analysis suggested that economic anxiety—particularly concerns about inflation and the cost of living—was a driving factor in this shift. Biden's and Harris's base tended to be urban, younger, and more inclusive of immigrants, with college-educated suburban voters remaining a critical battleground. Both candidates worked to widen their demographic appeal, with mixed results. The final outcome illustrated that neither party can take any demographic group for granted in an era of fluid political coalitions.

Election security remains a top concern, with both campaigns emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the electoral process. Efforts to ensure election integrity include combating misinformation, securing voting infrastructure, and promoting voter education. Many Trump supporters continued to harbor doubts about the integrity of the 2020 contest, and these concerns were a motivating factor for Republican base turnout in 2024. The new heads of the RNC, Michael Whatley and Lara Trump, pledged to make election security one of the topmost important issues of focus in the months leading up to the election (Samuels & Vakil, 2024), and the party invested significantly in poll-watching and legal infrastructure. In the aftermath of the 2024 election, the relative absence of widespread contested results—despite some litigation in individual states—led some observers to argue that election security infrastructure had improved, while others contended that ongoing debates about voting access, mail-in ballots, and the purging of voter rolls remain unresolved challenges heading into future election cycles. These are debates that show no sign of diminishing as of 2026, and they deserve careful, balanced treatment in any essay on this topic.

Essay Conclusion

The 2024 presidential election represents the broader national debates on governance, policy direction, and democracy in a form more dramatic and consequential than perhaps any election in a generation. With this analysis of the candidates' strengths and weaknesses, as well as the external factors influencing the election—from social media and AI-generated content to demographic shifts and election security debates—one can appreciate just how enormous this election was and how long its effects will be felt. Now, writing from the vantage point of 2026, we can begin to assess not just what was promised during the campaign but what has actually unfolded in the first year of Trump's second term. This essay should help one to see the need for informed, critical engagement in the democratic process, safe elections, and careful consideration of the impact of social media on the way voters form their views and opinions. Above all, it should remind the reader that elections are not just moments—they are inflection points whose consequences ripple outward for years to come.

Works Cited / Bibliography

Astor, M. (2023). The long career arc of Joe Biden. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/04/24/multimedia/biden-career-timeline.html

Biography. (2023). Donald Trump. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/political-figures/donald-trump

Hains, T. (2024). Biden Campaign Ad Pairs Trump "Bloodbath" Quote With "Jews Will Not Replace Us". Retrieved from Realpolitics.com

Samuels, B. & Vakil, C. (2024). RNC elects Michael Whatley, Lara Trump as new leaders. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4519117-rnc-elects-leadership-michael-whatley-lara-trump/

White House. (2023). Statement from President Joe Biden on New Steps Against Perpetrators of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/20/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-new-steps-against-perpetrators-of-sexual-violence-in-conflict/

Conclusion

Writing a 2024 US presidential election essay requires a basic understanding of the political, social, and technological factors at play in this epic contest that brought head-to-head the two opposing sides of a deeply divided country. Now that the election is over and its results are clear, there is an even stronger foundation from which to write—one that allows for analysis of actual outcomes, not just predictions. This tutorial provides a good way to cover the main aspects of this election. Using it, you should be able to touch on its various dimensions in a balanced, unbiased, and informative way. Your goal in writing this essay will be to support awareness, increase political literacy, and ultimately to encourage participation in the democratic process. Whether you are writing this essay for a political science class, a composition course, or your own intellectual curiosity, the 2024 election offers no shortage of material. It was an election full of historic firsts, unexpected turns, and consequential choices—and from the perspective of 2026, we are only beginning to understand its full meaning.