All of the important primary, convention, and debate dates you need to know for the 2020 presidential election

Ruobing Su,Ruobing Su,Grace PanettaNov 1, 2019, 21:01 IST

Election workers take away a ballot box full of votes at a drive-through mail-in ballot return drop set-up outside the Registrar of Voters office in San Diego, California.Mike Blake/Reuters

The 2020 election might seem like a long way off, but Iowans will cast the first votes of the 2020 presidential primaries and caucuses just a little over three months from now.
Between February and June, nearly every state and US territory will hold a primary election or caucus.
After all the Democratic primary votes are cast, delegates for the candidates will gather at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in mid-July.
In September and October of 2020, the Commission on Presidential Debates will host three presidential and one vice-presidential debate in Indiana, Utah, Michigan, and Tennessee.
The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 3.
And on January 20, 2021, Trump will either hold his second inauguration, or a new president will be inaugurated for the first time.
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The 2020 election might seem like a long way off, but Iowans will cast the first votes of the 2020 presidential primaries and caucuses just a little over three months from now.

Between February and June, nearly every state and US territory will hold a primary election or caucus. While US territories don't have voting power in federal elections, they still send delegates to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

Additionally, four states, Kansas, Arizona, South Carolina, and Nevada, have canceled their Republican primaries altogether, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump's long-shot Republican primary challengers.

Throughout the spring between January and April, the Democratic National Committee will also continue to hold Democratic primary debates.

After all the Democratic primary votes are cast, delegates for the candidates will gather at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in mid-July to determine who will be the 2020 Democratic nominee.

The Republicans will hold their presidential convention at the end of August in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Trump is all but assured to be re-nominated as the Republican presidential nominee.

In September and October of 2020, the Commission on Presidential Debates will host three presidential and one vice-presidential debate in Indiana, Utah, Michigan, and Tennessee - all states Trump carried in 2016.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, November 3. A little over two months later on January 20, 2021, Trump will either hold his second inauguration, or a new president will be inaugurated for the first time.

Here's a breakdown of all the most important primary, convention, and debate dates you need to know for the rest of the 2020 election cycle:

See All of the important primary, convention, and debate dates you need to know for the 2020 presidential election >>

Here's a look at the most important dates of the 2020 election from February 2020 to January 2021.

Primary elections: February 3 through June 6, 2020.

February 3: Iowa caucus.
February 11: New Hampshire primary.
February 22: Nevada Democratic caucus.
February 29: South Carolina Democratic primary
March 3 — Super Tuesday: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Vermont primaries, Virginia Democratic primary. Democratic voters living overseas also cast primary ballots.
March 8: Puerto Rico Republican primary.
March 10: Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, and Washington primaries, Hawaii Republican caucus, North Dakota Democratic primary.
March 14: Northern Marinara Islands Democratic caucus.
March 17: Florida, Illinois, and Ohio primaries, Arizona Democratic primary.
March 24: Georgia primary.
March 27: North Dakota Republican convention.
March 29: Puerto Rico Democratic primary.
April 4: Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming Democratic primaries/caucuses, Louisiana primary for both parties.
April 7: Wisconsin primary.
April 28: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island primaries.
May 2: Kansas and Guam Democratic primary/caucus.
May 5: Indiana primary.
May 12: Nebraska and West Virginia primaries.
May 19: Kentucky and Oregon primaries.
June 2: Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota, and District of Columbia primaries.
June 6: US Virgin Islands Democratic caucus.

Democratic primary debates 7-12: January to April 2020

The Democratic National Committee has already hosted Democratic primary debates in June, July, September, and October, and is set to hold a debate every month from now until April 2020.

The DNC has made every debate qualification threshold progressively stricter over time.

So far, nine candidates have qualified for the fifth Democratic primary debate, which will be co-hosted by the Washington Post and MSNBC in the Atlanta, Georgia area on Wednesday, November 20.

Democratic National Convention: July 13-16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Republican National Convention: August 24-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Presidential debates: September and October 2020

Earlier this month, the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced the dates and locations for three presidential and one vice-presidential debate to be held in the fall of 2020:

September 29: First presidential debate at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana.
October 7: Vice presidential debate at the University of Utah at Salt Lake City.
October 15: Second presidential debate at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
October 22: Third presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

CPD said that all four debates will begin at 9:00 PM ET and will run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks.

General election: November 3, 2020

Inauguration day: January 20, 2021

Every four years, inauguration day is held on January 20 the year after the election when every state's electors cast their votes.

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