Before election night, get the lowdown on the 2024 Democratic and Republican candidates vying to win the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic presidential candidate. The daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, Harris grew up in Oakland and spent much of her political career in California's Bay Area.

She was first elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2004 before later serving as California's attorney general. Harris was then elected to the Senate before being named President Joe Biden's running mate in the 2020 election.

She announced her own candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination after Biden withdrew from the candidacy and endorsed her on July 21. Harris is the first Black woman and the first Asian American to lead the nomination of a major political party.

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota is Harris' running mate. Before being elected to Congress in 2007 to represent the state's 1st Congressional District, Walz was a high school geography teacher and an assistant football coach. He also served in the Army National Guard. Walz has been governor of Minnesota since 2019.

Former President Donald Trump is the Republican presidential nominee seeking to become only the second commander in chief to win two non-consecutive terms.

Born in New York, Trump graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in economics. Before Trump launched his successful presidential run in 2016, he was a real estate developer, businessman and a reality TV star as host of “The Apprentice.”

Ohio Senator JD Vance is Trump's running mate. Vance was born in Middletown, Ohio, and wrote a memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, about his upbringing and white working-class Americans. He also attended Yale Law School, worked as a venture capitalist, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Vance was elected to the Senate in 2023, surviving a stronger-than-expected challenge from Democrat Tim Ryan and keeping the seat under Republican control.

To read about the Democratic, Republican and third party candidates here.