David Hadwen is QJBlogs’ Political Columnist. He’s a fourth-year history major with a specific interest in American Politics. Follow him on Twitter @David_Hadwen.

No matter whom you support in the upcoming American presidential election, this is an anxious time. If you have no allegiance or you are new to the process, it can be bewildering. Those who are confused are right to be so. American politics is sometimes bizarre and has its fair share of internal inconsistencies. That being said, things become much clearer once you have a basic understanding of the system. There’s a simple expression to keep in mind: ‘Money talks.’

The election is only two weeks away and the race seems to be getting tighter and tighter. Mitt Romney`s excellent performance in the first debate gave life to his stagnant campaign. His poll numbers got a significant jump and Obama supporters were demoralized. In the aftermath of the second debate, Obama is again beating Romney in the national polls but his lead is tenuous.

This back-and-forth match is a good description of the overall swings in momentum at the campaign`s national level. However, in the US it doesn’t matter who gets the most votes out of the entire country. In the presidential election of 2000, Al Gore received more votes nationwide than George Bush but Bush won the presidency. That happened because the election is actually decided by a system called the Electoral College. In this system, points are awarded for winning the popular vote in individual states. This means that elections come down to certain ‘swing states.’

In the current election, the most important swing state is Ohio. If Obama wins Ohio, he will probably win the presidency. This is good news if you are an Obama fan, because he is polling ahead of Romney in this state by a decent margin. Ohio is a tough nut to crack for Romney because it’s a state with a strong history of organized labour. Unions typically support Democrat candidates, and Romney`s image as a big businessman will not help him with these voters.

When all is said and done, the two campaigns will have spent approximately $200 million buying advertising in Ohio, making Ohio probably the most expensive swing state in American electoral history. Indeed, this will be the most expensive general election ever by a long shot. Something approaching $2 billion will have been spent by both sides and their affiliated groups in the course of this campaign.

Behold the contradictions in American politics. A country that many claim is a beacon for democracy often has its national election decided by one state. This same country holds an election every four years where untold amounts of money have to be spent in order to motivate the populace to vote. This year the election is Obama’s to lose and Ohio is the most important state to watch.

QJPolitics is a new column that’ll appear biweekly on Mondays. If you have a suggestion for a topic, email journal_blogs@ams.queensu.ca.