State presidential primaries and caucuses begin in January and continue until June in advance of the Democratic and Republican conventions set for this summer.
Primaries and caucuses are two ways that people help states and political parties choose presidential nominees.
Most states hold primaries 6-9 months before a presidential election.
Primary voters choose their preferred candidate anonymously by casting secret ballots.
The state where the primary is held takes the results of the vote into account to award delegates to the winners.
Several states hold caucuses in the months leading up to a presidential election.
Caucuses are meetings run by political parties that are held at the county, district, or precinct level.
Some caucuses choose candidates by secret ballot.
Others require participants to divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support.
Undecided participants form their own group.
Each candidate’s group gives speeches and tries to get others to join their group.
In the end, the number of delegates given to each candidate is based on the number of caucus votes they received.
Depending on state and political party rules, primaries and caucuses can be “open,” “closed,” or some hybrid of the two.
During an open primary or caucus, voters do not have to be registered with a political party to take part in its primary or caucus.
During a closed primary or caucus, only voters registered with that party can take part and vote.
“Semi-open” and “semi-closed” primaries and caucuses are variations of the two main types.
States and political parties use different methods for deciding how many delegates they will award to each candidate.
Delegates go on to represent their state at national party conventions.
The election calendar below lists the dates for the primaries and caucuses for each state and territory:
- January 15, Iowa Caucus – Republican
- January 23, New Hampshire Primary – Democratic and Republican
- February 3, South Carolina Primary – Democratic
- February 6, Nevada Primary – Democratic
- February 8, Nevada Caucus – Republican & Virgin Islands Caucus – Republican
- February 24, South Carolina Primary – Republican
- February 27, Michigan Primary – Democratic and Republican
- March 2, Idaho Caucus – Republican & Missouri Caucus – Republican
- March 3, District of Columbia Primary – Republican
- March 4, North Dakota Caucus – Republican
- March 5 (Super Tuesday), Alabama Primary – Democratic and Republican, Alaska Caucus – Republican, American Samoa Caucus – Democratic and Republican, Arkansas Primary – Democratic and Republican, California Primary – Democratic and Republican, Colorado Primary – Democratic and Republican, Iowa Caucus – Democratic, Maine Primary – Democratic and Republican, Massachusetts Primary – Democratic and Republican, Minnesota Primary – Democratic and Republican, North Carolina Primary– Democratic and Republican, Oklahoma Primary – Democratic and Republican, Tennessee Primary – Democratic and Republican, Texas Primary – Democratic and Republican, Utah Primary/Caucus – Democratic primary and Republican caucus, Vermont Primary – Democratic and Republican, and Virginia Primary – Democratic and Republican
- March 12, Democrats Abroad Primary, Georgia Primary – Democratic and Republican, Hawaii Caucus – Republican, Mississippi Primary – Democratic and Republican, Northern Mariana Primary – Democratic, Washington Primary – Democratic and Republican
- March 15, Northern Mariana Caucus – Republican
- March 16, Guam Caucus – Republican
- March 19, Arizona Primary – Democratic and Republican, Florida Primary – Democratic and Republican, Illinois Primary – Democratic and Republican, Kansas Primary – Democratic and Republican, Ohio Primary – Democratic and Republican
- March 23, Louisiana Primary – Democratic and Republican & Missouri Primary – Democratic
- April 2, Connecticut Primary – Democratic and Republican, Delaware Primary – Democratic and Republican, New York Primary – Democratic and Republican, Rhode Island Primary – Democratic and Republican, and Wisconsin Primary – Democratic and Republican
- April 6, Alaska Primary – Democratic, Hawaii Primary – Democratic, and North Dakota Primary – Democratic
- April 13, Wyoming Caucus – Democratic
- April 20, Wyoming Caucus – Republican
- April 21, Puerto Rico Primary – Republican
- April 23, Pennsylvania Primary – Democratic and Republican
- April 28, Puerto Rico Primary – Democratic
- May 7, Indiana Primary – Democratic and Republican
- May 14, Maryland Primary – Democratic and Republican, Nebraska Primary – Democratic and Republican, and West Virginia Primary – Democratic and Republican
- May 21, Kentucky Primary – Democratic and Republican & Oregon Primary – Democratic and Republican
- May 25, Idaho Caucus – Democratic
- June 4, District of Columbia Primary – Democratic, Montana Primary – Democratic and Republican, New Jersey Primary – Democratic and Republican, New Mexico Primary – Democratic and Republican, and South Dakota Primary – Democratic and Republican
- June 8, Guam Caucus – Democratic & Virgin Islands Caucus – Democratic
- July 15 – 18, Republican Convention (Milwaukee, WI)
- August 19 – 22, Democratic Convention (Chicago, IL)
