The race for the White House is on: Meet the US presidency candidates

The gloves are about to come off in the US presidential election as candidates begin the crucial first round of live television debates on August 6 that will separate the wheat from the chaff in the unforgiving medium that is US prime time.

What happens in the debates over the next six months and the polls that follow will set the stage for dozens of primaries across the country in which Republicans and Democrats will choose their candidate to be nominated at the summer conventions for the November race.