Dear reader,

As I write this message to you, I’m on the road to North Carolina to report on the state of the 2024 presidential race as it enters the final stretch. I’m heading to the western part of a state that was devastated earlier this month by Hurricane Helene, speaking to local campaign organisers who are having to help with relief efforts at the same time as encouraging people to vote.

The hurricane was just one of the extraordinary events that have pummelled this election: from the assassination attempts on Donald Trump to the eruptions in the Middle East.

Throughout this election, the Guardian’s reporting has focused on the stakes – for people and planet – of a second Trump victory. If you value independent, investigative reporting that puts scrutiny before the candidates’ spin, please consider supporting us today from just €4/month or a one-off payment of any amount.

We’ll be keeping an incredibly close eye on the seven swing states – North Carolina being one of them – that will effectively decide the outcome. But that’s just the start of our coverage, which will include live blogs, expert analysis and a live results tracker that is a feat of design and engineering. We will also bring the Guardian’s distinctive lens to bear on the election, in an attempt to draw out the historically high stakes on 5 November.

In everything we do, we are mindful of the Guardian’s special obligation to report not only for our millions of American readers, but also for the many millions more who read us around the world. If ever an election had global ramifications, it is this one. The very health of the planet depends on it, as do the lives of those living in war-torn Ukraine, the Middle East, and communities around the world to which Trump plans to return vast numbers of undocumented immigrants in mass deportations.

So at a time when it would be all-too easy to get sucked into myopic detail on the horse race – Harris up one point! New crazy remark from Trump! – we are trying to keep our eye on the prize: that what happens on 5 November could change the world we live in. It’s going to be a hairy ride. Buckle up!

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Thank you,

Ed Pilkington
Chief reporter, Guardian US