10 + 1 Key Dates
Sorry to break the news folks......
Out for now......
Matt
Nov. 10, 2015:
The next Republican debate will be held in Milwaukee. This event, which is sponsored by Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, is expected to proceed as planned, but the remaining debates may not. The candidates' dissatisfaction with the Oct. 28 CNBC debate has left the future of some events, including the Dec. 15 debate in Nevada, up in the air. The Fox News-sponsored debate planned for January should still happen on schedule.
Nov. 14, 2015:
The next Democratic debate will be held on a Saturday night in Iowa. Following this meeting, candidates will also debate on Dec. 19 and Jan. 17 before caucuses and primary voting begin in February.
Jan. 31, 2016:
This one's a big day for money in politics. For the first time since July, super PACs report on how much money they've raised and the names of donors. These candidate-aligned groups can raise and spend unlimited money outside the control of candidates and have become key to success in a presidential race. This date is also when the campaigns next report on their fundraising, showing who's got the cash to put up a sustained fight on the eve of voting.
Feb. 1, 2016:
Finally -- some actual voting happens. Iowans meet to choose their favorite for the Republican and Democratic nominations, in the storied Iowa caucuses. After several years of positioning by the hopefuls and a months-long blizzard of opinion polls, these are the first votes that count in the presidential contest. They are followed soon after by the New Hampshire primaries on Feb. 9 -- then the big rallies and ads take off.
March 1, 2016:
There's no clump in U.S. politics like Super Tuesday, when contests are held in 13 states. Among the big ones for both parties: Colorado, Texas and Virginia. Until this point, the race is largely one of expectations and bounce. Super Tuesday, though, offers a huge cache of delegates needed for the nomination. It's typically when the numbers really start to count.
March 15, 2016:
Another big night for winning delegates and scoring in battleground states, with primaries in Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri and Florida. The Florida primary, a big deal in its own right, takes on added significance because Floridians Marco Rubio, the senator, and Jeb Bush, the ex-governor, are running.
July 18-21 and 25-28, 2016:
The conventions: The Republican National Convention will be held first in Cleveland while the Democrats will meet later in the month in Philadelphia. This is each party's chance to crown their winner and dazzle partisans. However, it's likely that we'll already know who the candidates are by this time. In 2012, Mitt Romney had clinched the Republican nomination by the end of May, and Barack Obama had the nom by the beginning of June in 2008.
Sept. 5, 2016:
The start of Phase 3, perhaps? Labor Day is the traditional (informal) kickoff of a presidential campaign that actually has been going on for months. Really, it's the start of the final stretch.
Sept. 26, 2016:
The first of three head to head debates of the Democratic and Republican nominees. This will take place in Ohio, followed by two more debates in St. Louis and Las Vegas.
Nov. 8, 2016:
The moment we've all been waiting for -- Election Day. Finally.
And a bonus date that will likely fall sometime soon after Nov. 8.......
The start of the next campaign. After the 2012 election, it took Marco Rubio less than two weeks to start talking about 2016. Get ready for 2020.
