US elections 2012 timetable
All you need to know about what's happening where and when.
The race for the White House is one that lasts all year.
Barack Obama is seeking a second term in office, and is likely to be unopposed when standing as candidate for the Democratic party. The Republican candidate won't be formally confirmed until the party's national convention in August, but the process to determine the winner of that contest got under way in January.
AP Photo, Matt Rourke
January
3: Iowa caucus
31: Florida primary
February
7: Colorado and Minnesota caucuses, Missouri primary
11: Maine caucus
28: Arizona and Michigan primaries
March
3: Washington caucus
6: Super Tuesday
A total of 10 states hold their ballots all on the same day; it's the biggest poll of the year after the general election
Georgia primary
Massachusetts primary
Ohio primary
Oklahoma primary
Tennessee primary
Vermont primary
Virginia primary
Alaska caucus
Idaho caucus
North Dakota caucus
10: Kansas and US Virgin Islands caucuses
11: Hawaii caucuses
13: Alabama and Mississippi primaries
20: Illinois primary
24: Louisiana primary
April
3: Washington DC, Maryland and Wisconsin primaries
24: Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island primaries
These New England states traditionally hold their ballots on the same day are are likely to confirm the popularity of any frontrunner
May
8: Indiana, North Carolina and West Virginia primaries
15: Nebraska and Oregon primaries
22: Arkansas and Kentucky primaries
June
5: California, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries
The results in these states will almost certainly confirm who is to be the Republican candidate in the presidential election
26: Utah primary
August
27: Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida
The Republican candidate will be officially nominated and confirmed
September
3: Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina
Barack Obama will be formally confirmed as the Democratic candidate in the presidential election
October
3: Presidential debate in Denver, Colorado
Barack Obama and the Republican candidate go head-to-head on live television for the first time
11: Vice-presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky
The Democratic candidate, expected to be the current vice-president Joe Biden, will go head-to-head with whoever the Republican presidential candidate has picked as a running mate
16: Presidential debate in Hempstead, New York
22: Presidential debate in Boca Raton, Florida
November
6: General election
As well as the presidential election, there will be elections for one third of the US Senate seats, the whole of the House of Representatives, eleven state governors and many state and local legislators
January 2013
20: Presidential inauguration
