President Biden and former President Donald Trump each secured enough delegates during the March 12 primary contests to clinch their party nominations at this summer’s conventions, setting them up for a rematch in the 2024 presidential election.
The last time a presidential rematch happened was in 1956, when Republican President Dwight Eisenhower defeated Adlai Stevenson, the same Democrat he had beaten in 1952.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining challenger, announced on March 6 that she suspended her campaign and conceded that the former president would likely be the GOP nominee when Republicans hold their convention in July. Democrats will hold theirs in August.
And after the presidential debates — which are officially on the schedule, though it’s unclear if they’ll happen — it will be Election Day.
Here are some of the key dates and outcomes on this year’s political calendar.
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 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 it 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 that 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 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
Trump and Biden swept nearly all of this year’s Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses. Haley won the Vermont Republican primary, denying Trump a clean sweep; Biden lost to political unknown Jason Palmer in the sparsely attended Democratic caucuses in American Samoa.
March 12: Trump and Biden clinch nominations
Both Trump and Biden clinched the nomination for president inside their respective parties in the latest round of state primary contests. The former president has won 1,241 of the 1,215 needed to claim the majority.
Biden has 2,107 pledged delegates of the 1,968 needed for the nomination.
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.
