By Jonathan Easley - 02/27/18 10:35 AM EST
President Trump Announces His 2020 Re-Election Campaign — Watch Video
By Matt Webb Mitovich June 18, 2019
The presidential election process follows a typical cycle:
Spring of the year before an election – Candidates announce their intentions to run.
Summer of the year before an election through spring of the election year – Primary and caucus tooltip debates take place.
January to June of election year – States and parties hold primaries tooltip and caucuses.
July to early September – Parties hold nominating conventions to choose their candidates.
September and October – Candidates participate in presidential debates.
Early November – Election Day
December – Electors tooltip cast their votes in the Electoral College.
Early January of the next calendar year – Congress counts the electoral votes.
January 20 – Inauguration Day What you think is obviously not the reality.