How to Become President
Of the United States
Step 1 - Primaries and Caucuses
The first step to being elected to the office of President is to become nominated. Party members in individual states choose what their favorite candidates for the parties national nomination. Their are states that a candidate should focus on if they want to win the nomination. Foremost among them are Iowa and New Hampshire. For 2016, GOP candidates should also focus on Texas and Georgia as they are the largest states for Super Tuesday. Winning Super Tuesday will give a good boost in support. Democratic candidates should focus on California and New York for their nominations.
Step 2 - The National Convention
The national convention is when the delegates chosen by each state party converges to pick their candidates. The delegates then vote for a candidate. Some states require their delegates to vote the way the voters did and some don't. Also, if you are a GOP candidate, make sure that you have made yourself known to the super delegates, or those who vote for the national parties best interest. 20% of the GOP's delegates are super delegates and can vote for whomever.
Step 3 - General Election
If you have made it this far, congratulations, you are one of two choices voters have for President. The general election is when all citizens vote for President. To win this election, you will need to appear as centrist as possible to appeal to the independent voters and you will also need to paint your opponent as radical as possible. As a nominee you should focus on the swing states, as you are almost guaranteed to win the vote in certain states.
Step 4 - Electoral College
Now you will need to win over the people who actually pick the president, the electors. In half of the states, the electors have to vote for whom the general election deems applicable for president. But in the other half, they are allowed to vote for whom ever they please. This, however, has only happened a hand full of times in history. To win a states votes, you must only receive a majority of its vote. Meaning you only need 51% of the popular vote to get 100% of the electoral vote for a state.