Every four years, Americans elect a president on the first Tuesday in November. Beginning in January of the election year, voters participate in primaries and caucuses, influencing which presidential candidates are on the November ballot.
When is the 2024 presidential election?
The 2024 presidential election will take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
When are the presidential primaries and caucuses?
In 2024, presidential primaries and caucuses began in January and will run through June. Two states — Iowa and New Hampshire — hold a caucus and primary in January. Three states — South Carolina, Nevada, and Michigan — hold primaries and caucuses in February.
Twenty-eight states and Washington, DC, hold primaries and caucuses in March, seven states begin in April, and five states begin in May. The final four states — Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and South Dakota, hold primaries in June.
Political parties and state law determine caucus and primary dates. Because of variations in laws and bylaws, caucuses and primaries happen over several months, and not all on a single day.
Often, primaries and caucuses for different political parties happen on the same day, but sometimes, they are separated by days, or even months. The Idaho Republican caucus, for example, is scheduled for March 2, 2024, and the Idaho Democratic caucus is scheduled for May 23, 2024. Alternatively, the Utah Democratic primary and Republican caucus are both scheduled for March 5.
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What’s the difference between a primary and a caucus?
The purpose of these contests is not to directly select a presidential candidate, but rather to determine how many delegates will vote in support of a candidate at each political party’s national convention. Delegates are awarded either proportionally or winner-take-all, depending on the rules of the political party.
In a primary, voters participate by casting ballots for their preferred candidate. The ballots are counted, and the number of delegates for the state’s political party are awarded to the winning candidate. Those delegates then attend the political party’s national convention and count toward the candidate’s delegate count.
A caucus is a meeting of voters who are members of a political party. The members split into groups based on which candidate they support. From there, each group tries to persuade others to join their group and support their candidate.
In 2024, four states will hold only caucuses, 41 states and Washington, DC, will hold only primaries, and five states will hold both.
What is Super Tuesday? When is it?
In 2024, Super Tuesday is Tuesday, March 5. On this date, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia will all hold presidential primaries and caucuses. It’s often a turning point in the presidential race, as it can provide candidates with insurmountable delegate counts.
When is the Republican National Convention?
The Republican National Convention will take place from July 15-18, 2024, in Milwaukee.
When is the Democratic National Convention?
The Democratic National Convention will take place from August 19-22, 2024, in Chicago.
Political parties hold national conventions to select their presidential and vice-presidential nominees. This is done by state delegates, who are selected through state primaries and caucuses and attend the national convention to confirm their candidate choice.
To become the presidential nominee, a candidate typically must win the most delegates.
When are the 2024 presidential debates?
Presidential candidates from both major parties, and occasionally other parties, participate in debates. These are usually scheduled in September and October of the election year.
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