Sweeping all of the swing states, Trump’s was an emphatic victory. And a key reason is that many Americans feel worse off than they were four years ago.

With just a few weeks until the presidential election, the polls have both sides in a dead heat – so now the result may hinge on who comes out to vote.

Polling shows the Democrat and Republican nominees remain in a tight race. The same can’t be said for the Queensland state election, where the LNP is polling strongly ahead of the Labor government.

More than 40% of Democrats and Republicans didn’t vote in the past three US elections. These non-voters could be pivotal in deciding who wins this year’s contest.

A relatively unknown political figure, Walz will now be defined by both the Harris and Trump campaigns in starkly different lights.

While a Harris presidency wouldn’t differ hugely from Biden’s, the two Democrats do have notable differences on the Gaza war and free trade.

Had Biden not retreated, and had he been defeated by Trump, he would have been excoriated for being self-centred, hubristic and arrogant. His decision to step aside allows for a different ending.

If the Democrats move forward with Kamala Harris, it could be the circuit breaker the party needed. It will also likely lead to misogynistic and racist vitriol.

Analysis of the rhetoric coming out of the Trump and Biden campaigns shows high levels or toxicity, particularly from the Republican.

Both parties will try to use the shooting for campaign advantage by tapping into voters’ emotions. How they do so could be pivotal.

Democrats now have an issue to mobilise voters. For Republicans, however, it’s more complicated.