2020: Democratic primaries and key presidential election dates

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, and former Vice President Joe Biden.

March 4, 2020 3:30 PM PT

The 2020 election cycle has narrowed effectively to a race between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president. The 14 Super Tuesday primary states — including California — have had their say. But there’s more to come.

Here’s a list of key dates and events up until the country votes for president on Nov. 3, 2020. Many of the dates are tentative, so check back for updates.

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The Los Angeles Times wants to be your guide through the 2020 primary campaign season, the nominations and the general election.

We've created a curated calendar feed that you can subscribe to. The 2020 election calendar will contain key national events leading up to Election Day. We're keeping close tabs on important dates and events in California, and will add important reminders for voters here. We'll point you to stories to help you understand how these events impact campaigns and the election.

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2019
June 26-27 Miami, Fla.	First Democratic primary debate The first Democratic primary debate will take place over two successive nights. Appearing on the first night will be New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Ohio Representative Tim Ryan, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and former Maryland representative John Delaney. Appearing on the second night will be author Marianne Williamson, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former vice president Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, California Senator Kamala Harris, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and California Representative Eric Swalwell. Viewers can watch on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.
July 18	Live announcment of the lineups for second Democratic presidential primary debate CNN will conduct a live announcment of the lineup for each night of the second Democratic presidential primary debate occuring at the end of July. Because of the large field of candidates, each qualifying candidate will be assigned to one of the two nights. The drawing to determine the lineup will air live on July 18 in the 5 p.m. Pacific hour on CNN. Details of the drawing will be released at a later date.
July 30-31 Detroit, Mich.	Second Democratic primary debate Like the first debates, the second Democratic primary debate will take place over two successive nights. Appearing on the first night will be Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney; former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and spiritual self-help author Marianne Williamson. Appearing on the second night will be former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former U.S. Housing Secretary Julián Castro, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. Dana Bash, Don Lemon and Jake Tapper will moderate both nights of the debate. Viewers can watch on CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español. The network will also offer a livestream without requiring log-in to a cable provider on CNN.com and associated apps for phones tablets and and TVs.
Aug. 28	Deadline for Democratic candidates to submit qualifications for September debate Deadline for Democrats to certify with the DNC that they have met the qualifications for the third primary debate. To be eligible, candidates must each have more than 130,000 donors from at least 20 states. They also need at least 2% support in four media or university polls of voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina or nationwide.
Sept. 12 Houston, Texas	Third Democratic primary debate The third Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled to be held at Texas Southern University. For this debate the DNC toughened its qualifying requirements. As such, only 10 candidates reached the qualifying threshold on the Aug. 28 deadline. They are: former vice president Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, California Senator Kamala Harris, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, former Texas representative Beto O'Rourke, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis and Jorge Ramos will moderate. The debate will be broadcast on ABC and on Univision with a Spanish translation. It will be streamed on ABC News Live.
Oct. 1	Deadline to submit qualifications for October debate Today is the deadline for candidates to certify with the Democratic National Committee that they have met the qualifications for the fourth primary debate in October in Ohio. The qualifying requirements are the same as for the September debates: more than 130,000 donors from at least 20 states and at least 2% support in four DNC-approved polls of voters. The 10 candidates who qualified for the September debate automatically qualify for the October debate: former Vice President Joe Biden; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; former Housing Secretary Julián Castro and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas.
Oct. 15 Westerville, Ohio	Fourth Democratic primary debate The fourth Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Westerville, Ohio at Otterbein University. The deadline to qualify is Oct. 1. The qualifying requirements are the same as for the September debates: more than 130,000 donors from at least 20 states and at least 2% support in four DNC-approved polls of voters. The 10 candidates who qualified for the September debate automatically qualify for the October debate: former Vice President Joe Biden; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; former Housing Secretary Julián Castro and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas. If more than 10 candidates qualify, a second debate night will added on Oct. 16. The moderators will be the CNN anchors Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett as well as The Times's National editor, Marc Lacey.
Oct. 15	FEC quarterly contribution and spending deadline Today is the deadline for filing quarterly contribution and spending reports with the Federal Election Commission. Candidates running for office have until 11:59 to file the reports.
Nov. 20 Georgia	Fifth Democratic primary debate The fifth Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Nov. 20 in Georgia and will be hosted by MSNBC and the Washington Post. The moderators will be NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, NBC reporter Kristen Welker and Ashley Parker of The Washington Post. MSNBC and Radio One will broadcast the debate live. The venue is are not finalized. To qualify, candidates must reach at least 3% support in four DNC-approved state or national polls, or 5% in two DNC-approved state polls. Candidates must also have received contributions from more than 165,000 unique donors, including 600 unique donors in at least 20 states.
Nov. 26	California presidential primary filing period ends Today is the deadline to submit the paperwork to appear on the California primary ballot in March as a candidate for president.
Dec. 19 Los Angeles, Calif.	Sixth Democratic primary debate The sixth Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Dec. 19 on the campus of Loyola Marymount University. The debate, hosted by "PBS NewsHour" and Politico, features heightened qualification requirements. To qualify, candidates must reach at least 4% support in four DNC-approved state or national polls, or 6% in two DNC-approved state polls. Candidates must also have received contributions from more than 200,000 unique donors. The moderators will be PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff, POLITICO chief political correspondent Tim Alberta, PBS NewsHour senior national correspondent Amna Nawaz and White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor.
2020
Jan. 14 Des Moines, Iowa	Seventh Democratic primary debate The seventh Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Jan. 14 on the campus of Drake University. The Des Moines Register will host the debate in conjunction with CNN. The moderators will be CNN's Wolf Blitzer and Abby Phillip and The Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel. To qualify, candidates must reach at least 5% support in four DNC-approved early-state or national polls, or 7% in two DNC-approved early-state polls. Early-state polls are designated as polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada. Candidates must also have received contributions from more than 225,000 unique donors and a minimum of 1,000 unique donors per state in at least 20 different states. The qualifying window for polls and donations is between November 14, 2019 and Jan. 10, 2020. The fundraising threshold must also be reached by Jan. 10, 2020.
Feb. 3	Early voting begins in California Registered voters in California can begin casting their ballots today. And those who have signed up to receive vote-by-mail ballots should start receiving them today. Early-voting centers will be open through Feb 25.
		Democrats vote	Republicans vote
Feb. 3	Iowa caucuses
Through Feb. 25	Vote-by-mail ballots delivered to voters Voters in California who are permanent vote-by-mail voters, or those who have requested a vote-by-mail ballot, should start to receive them from Feb. 3 through Feb. 25. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot for California's presidential primary election is Feb. 25, 2020. If you are registered as a No Party Preference voter, you can request a ballot for the March 3, 2020, Presidential Primary Election from the following parties: American Independent Party Democratic Party Libertarian Party To learn more, visit the California secretary of state website.
Feb. 7 Manchester, New Hampshire	Eighth Democratic primary debate The eighth Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Feb. 7 on the campus of St. Anselm College. WMUR-TV will host the debate in conjunction with ABC.
		Democrats vote	Republicans vote
Feb. 11	New Hampshire primaries
Feb. 19 Las Vegas, Nevada	Ninth Democratic primary debate The ninth Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Feb. 19 in Las Vegas. The Nevada Independent will host the debate in conjunction with NBC News and MSNBC.
		Democrats vote
Feb. 22	Nevada caucus
Feb. 25 Charleston, South Carolina	Tenth Democratic primary debate The tenth Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled for Feb. 25 at The Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina. The Congressional Black Caucus Institute will host the debate in conjunction with CBS News and Twitter.
		Democrats vote	Republicans vote
Feb. 29	South Carolina primary
March 3	Alabama primaries
	American Samoa caucus
	Arkansas primaries
	California primaries
	Colorado primaries
	Democrats Abroad caucus
	Maine primary
	Massachusetts primaries
	Minnesota primaries
	North Carolina primaries
	Oklahoma primaries
	Tennessee primaries
	Texas primaries
	Utah primary
	Vermont primaries
	Virginia primaries
March 10	Idaho primaries
	Michigan primaries
	Mississippi primaries
	Missouri primaries
	North Dakota caucus
	Washington primaries
March 12	Virgin Islands caucus
March 14	Guam caucus
	Northern Marianas caucus
March 15 Washington D.C.	Eleventh Democratic primary debate The eleventh Democratic Party primary debate is scheduled to be held for March 15 in Washington D.C. at CNN's studio. The moderators will be the CNN anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper as well as Univision anchor Ilia Calderón.
March 15	Northern Marianas convention
March 17	Arizona primary
	Florida primaries
	Illinois primaries
	Ohio primaries — postponed to April 28
March 24	American Samoa caucus
	Georgia primaries — postponed to May 19
March 27-29	North Dakota convention
March 29	Puerto Rico primary — postponed to May
April 2-4	Alaska convention
April 4	Alaska primary — postponed to April 10
	Hawaii primary — postponed to late May
	Louisiana primaries — postponed to June 20
	Wyoming caucus — postponed to April 17
April 7	Wisconsin primaries
April 10	Alaska primary
April 17	Wyoming caucus
April 28	Ohio primaries
	Connecticut primaries — postponed to June 2
	Delaware primaries — postponed to June 2
	Maryland primaries — postponed to June 2
	New York primaries — postponed to June 23
	Pennsylvania primaries — postponed to June 2
	Rhode Island primaries — postponed to June 2
May 1-2	Virginia Convention
May 2	Guam caucus
	Kansas primary
	South Carolina Convention
May 5	Indiana primaries — postponed to June 2
May 7-9	Wyoming state convention
May 9	Arizona state convention
May 12	Nebraska primaries
	West Virginia primaries
May 19	Kentucky primary — postponed to June 23
	Oregon primaries
June 2	District of Columbia primaries
	Montana primaries
	New Jersey primaries
	New Mexico primaries
	South Dakota primaries
June 6	Virgin Islands caucus
June 20	Louisiana primaries
Aug. 17-20 Milwaukee	Democratic National Convention The Democrats would like to get Wisconsin back in their column in 2020, one reason for holding the nominating convention in Milwaukee.
Aug. 24-27 Charlotte, N.C.	Republican National Convention The GOP plans to hold its nominating convention in a state that President Trump won by 3 points in the 2016 election.
Sept. 29 South Bend, Ind.	Presidential debate The first debate between the nominees for president will be at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The debate will start at 6 p.m. Pacific and will be 90 minutes, accoring to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The details will be announced at a later date.
Oct. 7 Salt Lake City, Utah	Vice Presidential debate The first debate between the nominees for vice president will be at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. The debate will start at 6 p.m. Pacific and will be 90 minutes, accoring to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The details will be announced at a later date.
Oct. 15 Ann Arbor, Mich.	Presidential debate The second debate between the nominees for president will be at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. The debate will start at 6 p.m. Pacific and will be 90 minutes, accoring to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The details will be announced at a later date.
Oct. 22 Nashville, Tenn.	Presidential debate The final debate between the nominees for president will be at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. The debate will start at 6 p.m. Pacific and will be 90 minutes, accoring to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The details will be announced at a later date.
Nov. 3	Election day

Updates and Changes

On Sept. 6, 2019, the Kansas Republican Party announced it would not have a presidential nominating caucus. It had been scheduled for March 7, 2020.
On Sept. 7, 2019, the South Carolina Republican Party voted to not have a presidential nominating primary. It had been scheduled for Feb. 15, 2020.
On Sept. 9, 2019, theNevada Republican Party opted out of having a presidential nominating caucus. It had been scheduled for Feb. 25, 2020.
On Sept. 9, 2019, the Arizona Republican Party notified Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs that it will opt out of a presidential nominating primary, Arizona Republican Party spokesman Zach Henry said via email. The presidential nominating primary had been scheduled for March 17, 2020.
On Sept. 21, 2019, the Alaska Republican Party announced Saturday it would cancel the 2020 primary. It had been scheduled for March 3, 2020.

* Date subject to change.

Sources: The Green Papers, Times reporting

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