Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton. He is the showman who played to his audience. She is the survivor who kept going after the prize. It has been a four-year journey to a signal chapter in American history. A week ahead of Election Day, here is our essay on how Mrs. Clinton has taken many punches but has seemed to always come back stronger and smarter, delighting her supporters and irking her detractors. (Read our essay on Mr. Trump, too.)

Throughout all the controversies and challenges for Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign, there was one constant among her closest advisers: She was a survivor.

Yes, she made things harder on herself by refusing to apologize quickly for her email practices at the State Department. But she would endure.

Sure, she struggled to overcome the mistrust of many millennials, independents, white men and others. But she would persevere.