Former President Donald Trump is well on his way to a third Republican nomination with wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada the U.S. Virgin Islands and South Carolina, bringing him ever closer to a rematch with President Biden. Nikki Haley, Trump’s lone remaining challenger, has vowed to stay in the race.
Michigan holds its Republican primary on Feb. 27, and Super Tuesday — when more than a third of all GOP delegates will be up for grabs — will take place in early March.
Before you know it, it will be summer, when both parties hold their conventions. And after the presidential debates — which are still on the schedule despite Trump’s unwillingness to participate in the GOP debates — it will be Election Day.
Here are just some of the key dates on this year’s political calendar, a few of which are subject to change.
2024 election calendar
Jan. 15: Iowa GOP caucuses
Trump scored a decisive victory, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis edged out former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley for second place. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy finished a distant fourth, suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.
Jan. 23: New Hampshire primary
Trump defeated Haley, his lone remaining challenger in the GOP race after DeSantis dropped out two days before the primary. Biden won in New Hampshire despite not being on the ballot due to a rift between the Granite State and the Democratic National Committee, which decided to make the South Carolina Democratic primary on Feb. 3 its first formal contest.
Feb. 3: South Carolina Democratic primary
Facing nominal opposition in a state where he has long been a favorite among Democrats, Biden won easily, capturing more than 96% of the vote, with self-help author Marianne Williamson and Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips splitting the rest.
Feb. 6: Nevada primary
Haley suffered an embarrassing loss in the Republican presidential primary in Nevada on Tuesday, receiving fewer votes than the “none of these candidates” option. It was a contest in which Trump did not compete and the state party tried to have canceled. Nonetheless, a combination of intense support for Trump and distaste for Haley among Republican voters in the state combined to deal her an unusual humiliation.
Biden won Nevada’s Democratic primary handily.
Feb. 8: Nevada and U.S. Virgin Islands caucuses
Trump easily won the Nevada caucuses, as expected. Haley was not on the ballot, but Nevada Republicans made clear that they want Trump to be their nominee against Biden in November’s general election. The former president also won the Virgin Islands Republican caucuses, picking up all four delegates available from the U.S. territory in a contest that Haley had actually campaigned in.
Feb. 13: Long Island special election
Democrat Tom Suozzi won the special election in New York’s Third Congressional District, defeating Republican Mazi Pilip in the race to replace George Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December following a scathing House Ethics Committee report that concluded Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign.”
Feb. 24: South Carolina Republican primary
Despite Haley serving as the state’s governor for six years, Trump was declared the winner in South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET, just as polls in the state closed.
Feb. 27: Michigan primary
March 5: Super Tuesday
More than a third of all GOP delegates will be up for grabs on Super Tuesday, as 15 states — Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia — and one territory (American Samoa) hold their primaries or caucuses. Trump is not on the ballot in Colorado or Maine, where election officials declared him ineligible because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Trump is appealing, and the cases could wind up in the Supreme Court.
Conventions
July 15-18: Republican National Convention
The event will be held in Milwaukee, which hosted the 2020 Democratic National Convention during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aug. 19-22: Democratic National Convention
The event will be held in Chicago, which has hosted 11 previous Democratic conventions — most recently in 1996, when Bill Clinton and Al Gore were nominated for reelection. It was also the site of the disastrous 1968 Democratic convention, which was held in the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy and marred by massive antiwar protests that turned violent.
Debates
Sept. 16: 1st presidential debate
The Commission on Presidential Debates has scheduled three presidential debates, the first on Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, as well as a vice presidential debate in late September.
Sept. 25: Vice presidential debate
The lone sanctioned vice presidential debate will take place at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., on Sept. 25.
Oct. 1: 2nd presidential debate
The second presidential debate will take place at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va., on Oct. 1.
Oct. 9: 3rd presidential debate
The third and final presidential debate will take place at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Oct. 9, less than a month from Election Day.
Nov. 5: Election Day
Dec. 17: Deadline for electors to cast their votes
This was a routine, unremarkable ritual of U.S. democracy until the 2020 election — and the events that followed.
