There is only one way to win the Election.
What is happening now are the Primaries. This is Phase #1 for each party to chose their Candidate to go to Phase #2: The General election. The General Election is in November. The popular vote is meaningless. The US follows an Electoral College system. There are 538 electors and these are divvied up amongst the states based on population size. If you win the State you get their electoral college votes (California = 55; Texas = 38; etc.). The candidates need 270 electoral college votes to win. Here is the map. The toss up states (swing states) are the key to winning.
View attachment 404579