Your guide to all the key primaries, debates and what happens next


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, South Carolina and Michigan, bringing him ever closer to a rematch with President Biden.

Nikki Haley, Trump’s lone remaining challenger, has vowed to stay in the race through at least Super Tuesday — when more than a third of all GOP delegates will be up for grabs.

But 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 some of the key dates on this year’s political calendar, a few of which are subject to change.

2024 election calendar

Former President Donald Trump points to his supporters during his caucus-night event in Des Moines, Iowa.

Former President Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 15. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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

Nikki Haley holds a microphone to her mouth.

Haley pauses during a speech at a campaign stop in Aiken, S.C., on Feb. 5. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)

Haley suffered an embarrassing loss in the Republican presidential primary in Nevada on Feb. 6, 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

George Santos.

Rep. George Santos shortly before the House voted to expel him from Congress in December. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

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

Trump and Biden easily won their respective primaries easily in a state crucial to each of their presidential election victories. But Biden faced a sizable “uncommitted” protest vote led by Muslim and Arab Americans who have been disillusioned by his response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. With about 98% of the votes counted, more than 100,000 Michigan Democrats (or 13%) had cast ballots for “uncommitted.”

March 5: Super Tuesday

A total of 14 states will hold both Republican and Democratic nominating contests on Super Tuesday: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Alaska will also hold Republican caucuses, and Democrats will complete their Iowa caucuses and announce results. Additionally, American Samoa will hold its Democratic caucuses.

Conventions

A massive display on the jumbotron at the United Center in Chicago promoting it as the site of the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

The United Center in Chicago, the site of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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

A split screen showing images of Donald Trump and Joe Biden on a smartphone during a presidential debate in Nashville in 2020.

Trump and Biden during a presidential debate in Nashville in 2020. (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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

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