US Election 2012: Romney in clear after Santorum pulls out

ASSOCIATED PRESS DELEGATE COUNT
(1144 delegates required for outright victory)
Mitt Romney 844
Rick Santorum (campaign suspended) 260
Newt Gingrich 137
Ron Paul 79

RICK SANTORUM suspended his presidential campaign last night, leaving  the way clear for Mitt Romney to take the Republican nomination for the general election in November.

Mr Santorum made his decision as the race resumed following a tough Easter break for the former Pennsylvania senator.

Even for an ambitious man like him, some things in life are clearly more important than politics.

That point was reinforced when Mr Santorum's young daughter Bella, who suffers from a rare genetic condition, was hospitalised last week.

Though she was subsequently discharged on Monday, it seems likely that the health scare had a profound effect on Mr Santorum when he considered the state of his campaign.

After all, it was already highly unlikely that he was going to win the eventual nomination anyway.

Front-runner Mr Romney has claimed more than twice as many delegates after a string of successes in the liberal north east which had rejected Mr Santorum's brand of evangelical conservatism.

Indeed, since the last win for Mr Santorum in Louisiana, Mr Romney has prevailed in Maryland, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

There are further victories expected at the end of April in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and even in Mr Santorum's state of Pennsylvania.

Yet, despite his advantage, Mr Romney is so far only just over half way towards the 1,144 delegates required to secure the nomination officially.

But, with Mr Santorum now out of the way and some delegate-rich states like California and Texas yet to go to the polls, Mr Romney will inevitably reach his target eventually.

Still hoping that he somehow failss is third-placed candidate Newt Gingrich.

The former House Speaker has spent the last four months splitting the right-wing vote between himself and Mr Santorum.

However, he has now made an audacious appeal to Mr Santorum's backers after news of his rival's withdrawal filtered through.

"I am committed to staying in this race all the way to Tampa so that the conservative movement has a real choice," said Mr Gingrich, even though he is less likely still to win than Mr Santorum.

"I humbly ask Senator Santorum's supporters to visit newt.org to review my conservative record and join us as we bring these values to Tampa."

Labelling himself as the candidate who could win in the Deep South, Mr Gingrich became a busted flush once he lost in Alabama and Mississippi to Mr Santorum last month.

Moreover, Mr Gingrich is struggling for funds and all too aware that he will also have to step aside once the delegate mathematics ultimately work out for Mr Romney.

Assuming, then, that there are no more dramatic twists in this extraordinary contest, this has still been a long, hard road to victory for the former Massachusetts senator.

Even before the opening contest in Iowa in January, there had been an array of front-runners for the nomination including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain.

Mr Romney made some early inroads once the contest started properly, but he seemed intent on ceding his advantage - firstly to Mr Gingrich in South Carolina, and then to Mr Santorum in the mid-West states.

Despite far exceeding the spending power of his rivals, multi-millionaire businessman Mr Romney consistently failed to appeal to the Republican support base on the conservative right.

Worse still, he hardly helped himself with a series of gaffes which made him look aloof and out-of-touch with the needs of 'Middle America'.

Nevertheless, as the most moderate candidate, he was still recognised by the bigwigs in the Grand Old Party as the man most likely to beat incumbent Democrat President Barack Obama.

The drawn-out and divisive Republican nomination seems to have harmed Mr Romney's chances in the general election, though.

Not only has it used up vital funds but the latest polls suggest Mr Romney faces an uphill task to beat Mr Obama on 6 November.

Indeed, a new poll from the Washington Post/ABC News puts Mr Obama on 51%, ahead of Mr Romney by seven points. It is a significant lead in what is effectively a two-horse race.

Buoyed by his ratings, Mr Obama was in Florida yesterday to push his "Buffett rule" in a call for millionaires to pay higher taxes - and it seems likely at the moment that he will have four more years in which to enact his plans.

Meanwhile, Mr Santorum looks like he might have just given himself four more years to prepare for another presidential bid.

After all, it was exactly what Mr Romney did four years ago. The nominee-elect effectively used his failed attempt in 2008 to build his support base and come back stronger in the 2012 process.

Realising that he had no chance against Mr Romney, and possibly seeing the general election against Mr Obama as a lost cause anyway, could it be the case that Mr Santorum is doing the same for 2016?

2012 PRIMARY/CAUCUS SCHEDULE
KEY DATES
3 January Iowa (caucus) - Rick Santorum 

10 January New Hampshire (primary) - Mitt Romney

21 January South Carolina (primary) - Newt Gingrich
31 January Florida (primary) - MR

4 February Nevada (caucus) - MR
7 February Colorado (caucus) - RS, Minnesota (caucus) - RS
11 February Maine (caucus) - MR

28 February Arizona (primary) - MR, Michigan (primary) - MR
29 February Wyoming (caucus) - MR

3 March Washington (caucus) - MR
6 March: Super Tuesday Alaska (caucus) - MR, Georgia (primary) - NG, Idaho (caucus) - MR, Massachusetts (primary) - MR, North Dakota (caucus) - RS, Ohio (primary) - MR, Oklahoma (primary) - RS, Tennessee (primary) - RS, Vermont (primary) - MR, Virginia (primary) - MR

10 March Kansas (caucus) - RS, US Virgin Islands (caucus) - MR

13 March Alabama (primary) - RS, Hawaii (caucus) - MR, Mississippi (primary) - RS

20 March Illinois (primary) - MR

24 March Louisiana (primary) - RS, Missouri (caucus) - RS

3 April District of Columbia (primary) - MR, Maryland (primary) - MR, Wisconsin (primary) - MR

24 April Connecticut (primary) - MR, Delaware (primary) - MR, New York (primary) - MR, Pennsylvania (primary) - MR, Rhode Island (primary) - MR

8 May Indiana (primary), North Carolina (primary), West Virginia (primary)
15 May Nebraska (primary), Oregon (primary)
22 May Arkansas (primary), Kentucky (primary)
29 May Texas (primary)

5 June California (primary), Montana (primary), New Jersey (primary), New Mexico (primary), South Dakota (primary)
26 June Utah (primary)

27-30 August REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION Tampa, Florida
3-6 September DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION Charlotte, North Carolina
6 November US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

US Election 2012: Romney progress on Super Tuesday

ASSOCIATED PRESS DELEGATE COUNT
(1144 delegates required for outright victory)
Mitt Romney 655
Rick Santorum 278
Newt Gingrich 135
Ron Paul 51

WHITE HOUSE hopeful Mitt Romney took a major step towards the Republican nomination after winning six of the ten states on Super Tuesday.

Mr Romney won by big margins in Idaho, Virginia, and Massachusetts, where he had been governor from 2003 to 2007.

The front-runner also scored victories in Alaska, Vermont and, most importantly of all, the bellwether state of Ohio.

But Mr Romney was unable to secure an outright victory with main rival Rick Santorum winning in Oklahoma, Tennessee and, surprisingly, in North Dakota.

In third place, Newt Gingrich won in the most delegate-rich state of the night, his home state of Georgia, but he gained just 26 nominations across the other nine contests.

Indeed, Mr Gingrich could not manage even a single top-two placing outside of Georgia, and his campaign - which looked so good after his shock early win in South Carolina in January - is now seriously flagging.

Mr Santorum has already replaced former House Speaker Mr Gingrich as the favoured candidate of the conservative right after a hat-trick of wins in February.

However, Mr Romney had responded to that threat with a string of victories in Maine, Arizona, Michigan, Wyoming, and Washington.

Super Tuesday will also be painted in a positive light by the Romney campaign after his vital win in Ohio.

And the remaining races now effectively look to be a head-to-head between Mr Romney and Mr Santorum while Ron Paul hangs around in the background, making his unique stance heard.

Libertarian Dr Paul has a genuine grassroots following, including the support of many younger voters, for his call for smaller government interference and an isolationist foreign policy. 

However, the 76-year-old has yet to convert this support into a single victory, and his latest hopes - in Alaska and Idaho - were dashed by Mr Romney.

Then again, none of the candidates have exactly stormed this nomination process on a wave of popular appeal.

Indeed, Barbara Bush - wife of 41st President George Bush and mother of 43rd President George W Bush - slammed the ongoing primary battles this week, stating it was "the worst campaign I've ever seen in my life".

It does not help, perhaps, that there is a front-runner as unconvincing as Mr Romney.

He may be candidate-elect to some but, as well as suspicion over his Mormon beliefs, doubts remain over whether the multi-millionaire can connect in a general election, or indeed if he is a true conservative.

By contrast, there can be no doubts about the conservatism of the current darling of the evangelical Christian right, Mr Santorum.

Instead, despite actively courting Democrat votes, he has struggled to connect with liberals and moderates after spouting constantly that there should be closer links between church and state.

There have been no fewer than 26 Republican debates now, each one less decisive than the last. Indeed, all that seemed to result from the debates was a further bloodying of all of the candidates as they tore into each other's records.

Incredibly, that led to speculation that a complete outsider to the contest could yet secure the Republican nomination by ending the unseemly four-way spat and unifying the Grand Old Party.

Jeb Bush and even Sarah Palin were considered options but it appears instead as if these wildcards will hold off until 2016 when incumbent President Barack Obama cannot seek re-election.

Indeed, there is a growing acceptance among a minority of Republicans that a second term for Mr Obama is inevitable, and that their party should already be looking four years ahead.

Certainly, Mr Obama was in a relaxed mood as he chose to coincide his first press conference of the year with Super Tuesday.

Asked what he thought about Mr Romney - who had dubbed him as the "most feckless president since Jimmy Carter" - Mr Obama wished his counterpart "good luck" for the night, before adding with a smirk: "No, really."

In the latest opinion polls, Mr Obama holds a clear lead over all of the Republican candidates. His margin over Mr Romney is usually between six and 10 points.

So, while Mr Romney cannot even be sure of his candidacy yet, only complacency looks like denying Mr Obama four more years.


SUPER TUESDAY RESULTS:

7pm ET (midnight GMT)

Georgia
1 Newt Gingrich 47.4% (46), 2 Mitt Romney 25.7% (13), 3 Rick Santorum 19.6% (2), 4 Ron Paul 6.5% (0). 15 delegated unpledged.
Vermont
1 Mitt Romney 39.8% (9), 2 Ron Paul 25.4% (4), 3 Rick Santorum 23.7% (4), 4 Newt Gingrich 8.1% (0)
Virginia
1 Mitt Romney 59.5% (43), 2 Ron Paul 40.5% (3). 3 delegates unpledged.

7.30pm ET (12.30am GMT)

Ohio
1 Mitt Romney 38.0% (35), 2 Rick Santorum 37.0% (21), 3 Newt Gingrich 14.6% (0), 4 Ron Paul 9.3% (0). 10 delegates unpledged.

8pm ET (1am GMT)

Massachusetts
1 Mitt Romney 72.1% (41), 2 Rick Santorum 12.1% (0), 3 Ron Paul 9.6% (0), 4 Newt Gingrich 4.6% (0)
Oklahoma
1 Rick Santorum 33.8% (14), 2 Mitt Romney 28.0% (13), 3 Newt Gingrich 27.5% (13), 4 Ron Paul 9.6% (1). 2 delegates unpledged.
Tennessee
1 Rick Santorum 37.3% (25), 2 Mitt Romney 28.0% (10), 3 Newt Gingrich 24.0% (8), 4 Ron Paul 9.0% (0). 15 delegates unpledged.

9pm ET (2am GMT)

Idaho
1 Mitt Romney 61.6% (32), 2 Rick Santorum 18.2% (0), 3 Ron Paul 18.1% (0), 4 Newt Gingrich 2.1% (0)

10pm ET (3am GMT)

North Dakota
1 Rick Santorum 39.7% (11), 2 Ron Paul 28.1% (8), 3 Mitt Romney 23.7% (7), 4 Newt Gingrich 8.5% (2)
11.30pm ET (4.30am GMT)
Alaska
1 Mitt Romney 32.6% (8), 2 Rick Santorum 29.0% (7), 3 Ron Paul 24.0% (6), 4 Newt Gingrich 14.2% (3). 3 delegates unpledged.

2012 PRIMARY/CAUCUS SCHEDULE
KEY DATES
3 January Iowa (caucus) - Rick Santorum 

10 January New Hampshire (primary) - Mitt Romney

21 January South Carolina (primary) - Newt Gingrich
31 January Florida (primary) - MR

4 February Nevada (caucus) - MR
7 February Colorado (caucus) - RS, Minnesota (caucus) - RS
11 February Maine (caucus) - MR

28 February Arizona (primary) - MR, Michigan (primary) - MR
29 February Wyoming (caucus) - MR

3 March Washington (caucus) - MR
6 March: Super Tuesday Alaska (caucus) - MR, Georgia (primary) - NG, Idaho (caucus) - MR, Massachusetts (primary) - MR, North Dakota (caucus) - RS, Ohio (primary) - MR, Oklahoma (primary) - RS, Tennessee (primary) - RS, Vermont (primary) - MR, Virginia (primary) - MR

10 March Kansas (caucus) - RS, US Virgin Islands (caucus) - MR

13 March Alabama (primary) - RS, Hawaii (caucus) - MR, Mississippi (primary) - RS

20 March Illinois (primary) - MR

24 March Louisiana (primary) - RS, Missouri (caucus) - RS

3 April District of Columbia (primary) - MR, Maryland (primary) - MR, Wisconsin (primary) - MR

24 April Connecticut (primary), Delaware (primary), New York (primary), Pennsylvania (primary), Rhode Island (primary)

8 May Indiana (primary), North Carolina (primary), West Virginia (primary)
15 May Nebraska (primary), Oregon (primary)
22 May Arkansas (primary), Kentucky (primary)
29 May Texas (primary)

5 June California (primary), Montana (primary), New Jersey (primary), New Mexico (primary), South Dakota (primary)
26 June Utah (primary)

27-30 August REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION Tampa, Florida
3-6 September DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION Charlotte, North Carolina

Hammer blow for Gingrich as Romney takes Florida, Nevada... and Trump

Associated Press delegate count (after seven states)
1 Mitt Romney 107
2 Rick Santorum 45
3 Newt Gingrich 32
4 Ron Paul 9 

Nevada caucuses (Sat 4 Feb)
1 Mitt Romney 16,486 (50.1%)
2 Newt Gingrich 6,956 (21.1%)
3 Ron Paul 6,175 (18.8%)
4 Rick Santorum 3,277 (10%)

Florida primary (Wed 31 Jan)
1 Mitt Romney 775,014 (46.4%)
2 Newt Gingrich 533,117 (31.9%)
3 Rick Santorum 222,799 (13.3%)
4 Ron Paul 117,104 (7%)

PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Mitt Romney wrestled back the advantage in the Republican nomination process after it took yet another twist in Florida and Nevada.

The former Massachusetts governor headed into the Florida contest under pressure after his main rival Newt Gingrich had enjoyed a convincing win in the South Carolina primary.

But Mr Romney has turned the tables once more with two big wins of his own.

First, in the Sunshine State, he beat Mr Gingrich by 46.4% to 31.9%, with the other remaining candidates - Rick Santorum and Ron Paul - trailing back in third and fourth place.

And, at the weekend in Nevada, the final result puts Mr Romney on 50.1%, a massive 29% ahead of Mr Gingrich (21.1%). This time, Mr Paul (18.8%) beat Mr Santorum (10%) in the battle of the backmarkers.

It was not just at the ballot box, though, that Mr Romney has embarrassed the Gingrich team over the past week.

Much political capital was being made by the former House Speaker's campaigners of an expected endorsement from property mogul and Apprentice presenter Donald Trump.

So, imagine their surprise when Mr Trump instead turned up alongside Mr Romney in the run-up to the Nevada vote.

It really was a bitter blow for Mr Gingrich whose media relations are already at a low ebb after coverage of his extra-marital affairs left him exposed to criticism over his astounding hypocrisy.

Meanwhile, this latest episode meant he had a whole lot of explaining to do to the likes of Associated Press, CNN and the New York Times who had all reported with misplaced confidence that Mr Trump would back Mr Gingrich.

Nevertheless, it is hard to tell just how big a factor the Trump endorsement will be for Mr Romney in the long run.

After all, Mr Trump is the American equivalent of Marmite. In fact, he is probably more hated than loved - and, indeed, he is a rather strange bed-fellow for a presidential candidate considering his catchphrase is 'You're fired!'

In the short term, though, the Trump endorsement was mightily symbolic for the way that it showed this contest swinging back in the favour of Mr Romney. It also neatly distracted attention from yet another gaffe from the well-backed front-runner.

Mr Romney, who has previously come under fire for the amount of tax which he pays, is seen by many voters as aloof and out-of-touch with the average American, and this is the case even among Republicans.

In light of this, it was probably not the best idea then for the multi-millionaire Mr Romney to state he was "not concerned about the very poor".

Worse still, he made the comments on the day that incumbent president Barack Obama could bask in the glow of the improving unemployment figures which have followed hard on the back of better-than-expected growth.

It is perhaps not a surprise, then, that support is slowly ebbing back towards the Democrat with a poll putting him on an approval rating of more than 50% for the first time since Osama bin Laden was killed last May.

By contrast, even Republicans are struggling to warm to Mr Romney - although the next three caucuses from 7-11 February look set to provide him with yet more momentum.

For, moving on from Nevada, this contest heads to Minnesota, Colorado and Maine, before two primaries in Arizona and Michigan at the end of the month.

Mr Santorum is expected to challenge Mr Romney in Minnesota but the best that Mr Gingrich can hope for is to emerge from February relatively unscathed.

Achieving that would take Mr Gingrich into Super Tuesday on 6 March when no fewer than 10 states will make their nomination.

But it might be that 6 March will not just have to be super for Mr Gingrich. By then, it may need to be extraordinary.

2012 PRIMARY/CAUCUS SCHEDULE
KEY DATES
3 January Iowa (caucus) - Rick Santorum 

10 January New Hampshire (primary) - Mitt Romney

21 January South Carolina (primary) - Newt Gingrich
31 January Florida (primary) - MR

4 February Nevada (caucus) - MR
7 February Colorado (caucus) - RS, Minnesota (caucus) - RS
11 February Maine (caucus) - MR

28 February Arizona (primary) - MR, Michigan (primary) - MR

3 March Washington (caucus)
6 March: Super Tuesday Alaska (caucus), Georgia (primary), Idaho (caucus), Massachusetts (primary), North Dakota (caucus), Ohio (primary), Oklahoma (primary), Tennessee (primary), Vermont (primary), Virginia (primary)
6-10 March Wyoming (caucus)
10 March Kansas (caucus), US Virgin Islands (caucus)
13 March Alabama (primary), Hawaii (caucus), Mississippi (primary)
17 March Missouri (caucus)
20 March Illinois (primary)
24 March Louisiana (primary)

3 April District of Columbia (primary), Maryland (primary), Wisconsin (primary), Texas (primary)
24 April Connecticut (primary), Delaware (primary), New York (primary), Pennsylvania (primary), Rhode Island (primary)

8 May Indiana (primary), North Carolina (primary), West Virginia (primary)
15 May Nebraska (primary), Oregon (primary)
22 May Arkansas (primary), Kentucky (primary)

5 June Californa (primary), Montana (primary), New Jersey (primary), New Mexico (primary), South Dakota (primary)
26 June Utah (primary)

27-30 August REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION Tampa, Florida
3-6 September DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION Charlotte, North Carolina

It's all gone wrong for Romney

South Carolina primary
1 Newt Gingrich 243,323 (40.4%)
2 Mitt Romney 167,417 (27.8%)
3 Rick Santorum 102,113 (17%)
4 Ron Paul 78,036 (13%)

THE RACE to be nominated as the Republican candidate for the presidential election in November took yet another twist at the weekend as Newt Gingrich stormed to victory in the South Carolina primary.

Mr Gingrich won 243,323 votes (40.4%) to finish well clear of previous front-runner Mitt Romney who tallied 167,417 votes (27.8%).

Rick Santorum was in third place with 102,113 votes (17%), and Ron Paul trailed in last place with 78,036 votes (13%). Both of the latter two names can now be pretty much discounted even if that has been a dangerous thing to do so far.

It seems safe to do it in these cases, though, as Mr Santorum is desperately short on funds and will not be able to compete for much longer at a national level.

Meanwhile, the call for an isolationist foreign policy from 72-year-old outsider Mr Paul means he will gain little support outside of the small base which he has already built up.

And so, it now looks like a two-horse race with the conservative Right having finally settled on an Anyone But Romney ticket by backing Mr Gingrich.

That had not looked likely previously with a whole raft of conservatives - from Michele Bachmann to Herman Cain via Rick Perry - all doing well in the polls at some point before fading away.

The moderate former Massachusetts governor Mr Romney had benefited most from all of the uncertainty as some Republicans scrambled frantically for a safe pair of hands.

Mr Romney had looked to have made a lightning-fast start in the process to be nominated by becoming the first ever Republican candidate to carry both Iowa and New Hampshire at the start of an election year.

But that all changed in the run up to the South Carolina poll last week.

First, Iowan GOP officials stripped Mr Romney of his victory in the state, declaring instead that it had no official winner because not all the votes from all of the districts could be verified.

Then, later that same day, Mr Perry belatedly brought his shambolic campaign to an end.

It had all started rather brightly for the Texan governor, despite his late entry into the race, but he quickly faltered following an almighty gaffe when he could not name his key policy during one of the debates.

The bad news for Mr Romney was that, in his concession speech, Mr Perry gave his unequivocal backing to Mr Gingrich, pointing conservatives towards a unity candidate.

Subsequently, former House speaker Mr Gingrich surged from 10 points behind Mr Romney in the South Carolina opinion polls to end up with a lead greater than that himself.

Mr Gingrich had also been helped inadvertently by Mr Romney who struggled, just like those before him, under the pressure of suddenly being favourite.

Certainly, when asked in one of the debates if he would release his tax accounts, a nervy and non-committal "probably" was not the response which the query had demanded.

It was an unconvincing display of political naivety as Mr Romney could hardly have hoped to avoid the question after days of speculation.

But, while Mr Romney has suffered a taxing time in recent days, Mr Gingrich has found that his adulterous past has returned to haunt him.

That matter came to a head after ABC News ran an interview with Marianne Gingrich, the second of the candidate's three wives, with whom Mr Gingrich wanted an "open marriage" after a six-year affair.

And what makes it worse, for those with long enough memories, is that they will remember Mr Gingrich was at the forefront of those who condemned President Bill Clinton for his lack of moral leadership

In his endorsement of Mr Gingrich, Mr Perry said: "Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?"

But, while Mr Perry is right to warn those who wish to cast the first stone, it is difficult to see Mr Gingrich's incredible hypocrisy playing well across America as a whole.

What does seem likely is that this race will continue for some time yet - and at least until Super Tuesday on 6 March when no fewer than 10 states will make their nominations.

Of course, an elongated campaign only serves to reduce the funds available to the winning Republican candidate for the general election in November.

Already, it has been reported that incumbent Democrat president Barack Obama has an election war-chest of more than $240m.

For now, in political terms at least, he can just kick his feet back and enjoy the show.


2012 PRIMARY/CAUCUS SCHEDULE
KEY DATES
3 January Iowa (caucus) - no official winner

10 January New Hampshire (primary) - Mitt Romney

21 January South Carolina (primary) - Newt Gingrich
31 January Florida (primary) - MR

4 February Nevada (caucus)
4-11 February Maine (caucus)
7 February Colorado (caucus), Minnesota (caucus)
28 February Arizona (primary), Michigan (primary)

3 March Washington (caucus)
6 March: Super Tuesday Alaska (caucus), Georgia (primary), Idaho (caucus), Massachusetts (primary), North Dakota (caucus), Ohio (primary), Oklahoma (primary), Tennessee (primary), Vermont (primary), Virginia (primary)
6-10 March Wyoming (caucus)
10 March Kansas (caucus), US Virgin Islands (caucus)
13 March Alabama (primary), Hawaii (caucus), Mississippi (primary)
17 March Missouri (caucus)
20 March Illinois (primary)
24 March Louisiana (primary)

3 April District of Columbia (primary), Maryland (primary), Wisconsin (primary), Texas (primary)
24 April Connecticut (primary), Delaware (primary), New York (primary), Pennsylvania (primary), Rhode Island (primary)

8 May Indiana (primary), North Carolina (primary), West Virginia (primary)
15 May Nebraska (primary), Oregon (primary)
22 May Arkansas (primary), Kentucky (primary)

5 June California (primary), Montana (primary), New Jersey (primary), New Mexico (primary), South Dakota (primary)
26 June Utah (primary)

27-30 August REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION Tampa, Florida
3-6 September DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION Charlotte, North Carolina