The following is a timeline of major events leading up to, during, and after the 2016 United States presidential election. The election was the 58th United States presidential election, held on November 8, 2016. The presidential primaries and caucuses were held between February 1 and June 14, 2016, staggered among the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories. The U.S. Congress certified the electoral result on January 6, 2017, and the new president and vice president were inaugurated on January 20, 2017.
2014
November 2014
December 2014
2015
January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
- August 3 â First presidential forum, featuring 14 Republican candidates, was broadcast on C-SPAN from the New Hampshire Institute of Politics in Goffstown, New Hampshire
- August 4 â Fox News announced which 10 candidates were invited to the first official Republican debate
- August 6 â First official presidential debate, featuring 10 Republican candidates, is held in Cleveland, Ohio Fox News includes the other seven Republican candidates in a separate debate held earlier on the same day
- August 11 â Lawrence Lessig forms an exploratory committee for a possible run for president, stating that if he raised $1 million by Labor Day he would run
- August 16 â Andy Martin formally announces his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party
- August 22 â Jimmy McMillan formally announces his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party
September 2015
- September 6 â Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University law professor, formally announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination
- September 8 â John McAfee, antivirus software developer, formally announces his candidacy for president under the banner of the newly formed Cyber Party
- September 11 â Rick Perry formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- September 16 â Second Republican debate is held in Simi Valley, California
- September 21 â Scott Walker formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- September 30 â South Carolina finalizes ballot for primary; 15 Republican candidates qualify
October 2015
- October 13 â First Democratic debate is held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Wynn Casino
- October 16 â Lawrence Lessig announces he is dropping his much-derided promise to resign after passing his signature legislation. He stated he would to serve a full term as president and would flesh out his policy agenda accordingly
- October 20 â Jim Webb formally withdraws his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination
- October 21 â Vice President Joe Biden announces that he will not run for president in 2016
- October 23 â Lincoln Chafee formally withdraws his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination
- October 28 â Third Republican debate is held in Boulder, Colorado at the University of Colorado
November 2015
- November 2 â Lawrence Lessig formally withdraws his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination
- November 4âÂÂ20 â Candidate registration for New Hampshire primary
- November 5 â Mark Everson formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- November 6
- Deadline for filing for the Alabama primary
- First in the South Democratic Forum featuring Martin O'Malley, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton is broadcast on MSNBC from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina
- November 9 â Deadline for filing for the Arkansas primary
- November 10 â Fourth Republican debate is held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- November 13âÂÂ14 â Republican Party of Florida's Sunshine Summit event is held in Orlando, Florida
- November 14 â Second Democratic debate is held in Des Moines, Iowa
- November 17 â Bobby Jindal formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- November 20 â The Presidential Family Forum is held in Des Moines, Iowa
- November 24 â MoveOn.org Democratic forum featuring Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders
December 2015
- December 3 â The Republican Jewish Coalition Presidential Candidates Forum is held in Washington, D.C.
- December 9 â Jimmy McMillan formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- December 15 â Fifth Republican debate is held in Las Vegas, Nevada
- December 19 â Third Democratic debate is held in Manchester, New Hampshire
- December 21 â Lindsey Graham formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- December 24 â John McAfee, antivirus software developer, formally announces his candidacy for the Libertarian presidential nomination
- December 29 â George Pataki formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
2016
January 2016
February 2016
- February 1
- The Iowa Democratic caucus is won by Hillary Clinton
- The Iowa Republican caucus is won by Ted Cruz
- Martin O'Malley formally withdraws his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination
- Mike Huckabee formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- February 3
- Rand Paul formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- Rick Santorum formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- A Democratic Town Hall forum event is held in Derry, New Hampshire
- February 4 â Fifth Democratic debate is held in Durham, New Hampshire
- February 6 â Eighth Republican debate is held in Manchester, New Hampshire
- February 9
- The New Hampshire Republican primary is won by Donald Trump
- The New Hampshire Democratic primary is won by Bernie Sanders
- February 10
- Chris Christie formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- Carly Fiorina formally withdraws her candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- February 11 â Sixth Democratic debate is held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- February 12 â Jim Gilmore formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- February 13 â Ninth Republican debate is held in Charleston, South Carolina
- February 17âÂÂ18 â CNN Republican town halls are held in Greenville, South Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina
- February 18 â Democratic Town Hall forum event is held in Las Vegas, Nevada
- February 20
- Nevada Democratic caucuses are won by Hillary Clinton
- South Carolina Republican primary is won by Donald Trump
- Jeb Bush formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- February 23
- Nevada Republican caucuses are won by Donald Trump
- CNN Democratic town hall is held in Columbia, South Carolina
- February 24 â Republican town hall is held in Houston, Texas
- February 25 â 10th Republican debate is held in Houston, Texas
- February 27 â South Carolina Democratic primary is won by Hillary Clinton
March 2016
April 2016
- April 1 â First ever nationally televised Libertarian presidential debate hosted by John Stossel airs on Fox Business Network (Part 1)
- April 2 â Delegate count at the North Dakota Republican State Convention is won by Ted Cruz
- April 5
- Wisconsin Democratic primary won by Bernie Sanders
- Wisconsin Republican primary won by Ted Cruz
- April 8 â Part 2 of first ever nationally televised Libertarian presidential debate hosted by John Stossel airs on Fox Business Network
- April 9 â Delegate count of the Colorado Republican convention is won by Ted Cruz
- April 9 â Wyoming Democratic caucus won by Bernie Sanders
- April 14 â Ninth Democratic debate is held in Brooklyn, New York
- April 19
- New York Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- New York Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- April 26
- Democratic primaries/caucuses:
- Connecticut Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Delaware Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Maryland Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Pennsylvania Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Rhode Island Democratic primary won by Bernie Sanders
- Republican primaries/caucuses:
- Connecticut Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Delaware Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Maryland Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Pennsylvania Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Rhode Island Republican primary won by Donald Trump
May 2016
- May 3
- Indiana Democratic primary won by Bernie Sanders
- Indiana Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Ted Cruz formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- May 4 â John Kasich formally withdraws his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination
- May 7 â Guam Democratic caucuses won by Hillary Clinton
- May 10
- Democratic primaries/caucuses:
- West Virginia Democratic primary won by Bernie Sanders
- Republican primaries/caucuses:
- West Virginia Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Nebraska Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- May 12 â Second nationally televised Libertarian presidential debate airs on RT America.
- May 17
- Democratic primaries/caucuses:
- Kentucky Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Oregon Democratic primary won by Bernie Sanders
- Republican primaries/caucuses:
- Oregon Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Gary Johnson announces he has chosen former Massachusetts governor William Weld as his vice presidential running mate
- May 20 â Third nationally televised Libertarian presidential debate airs on TheBlaze.
- May 24 â Washington Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- May 26âÂÂ30 â The Libertarian National Convention is held in Orlando, Florida. Gary Johnson is chosen as the party's presidential nominee and William Weld is chosen as the party's vice presidential nominee
- May 26 â Donald Trump officially passes 1,237 pledged delegates, the minimum amount of delegates required to secure the 2016 Republican presidential nomination
June 2016
- June 4 â Virgin Islands Democratic caucuses won by Hillary Clinton
- June 5 â Puerto Rico Democratic caucuses won by Hillary Clinton
- June 6 â Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton officially passes 2,383 pledged delegates, the minimum amount of delegates required to secure the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.
- June 7
- Democratic primaries/caucuses
- California Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Montana Democratic primary won by Bernie Sanders
- New Jersey Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- New Mexico Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- North Dakota Democratic caucus won by Bernie Sanders
- South Dakota Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- Republican primaries/caucuses
- California Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- Montana Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- New Jersey Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- New Mexico Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- South Dakota Republican primary won by Donald Trump
- June 9
- President Barack Obama officially endorses Hillary Clinton
- At Trump Tower, Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner meet with a Russian lawyer who has promised to provide material embarrassing to Hillary Clinton.
- June 14 â Washington, D.C. Democratic primary won by Hillary Clinton
- June 15 â Jill Stein reaches the necessary number of delegates for the Green nomination and becomes presumptive nominee
- June 22 â Libertarian presidential town hall hosted and aired by CNN
July 2016
- July 12 â Bernie Sanders endorses Hillary Clinton
- July 15 â Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump announces Indiana governor Mike Pence as his vice presidential running mate
- July 18âÂÂ21 â Republican National Convention is held in Cleveland, Ohio. Donald Trump and Mike Pence are formally nominated for President and Vice President, respectively, by the party's state delegations
- July 21 â Donald Trump formally accepts the nomination from the Republican Party
- July 22 â Democratic presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announces United States Senator and former Virginian governor Tim Kaine as her vice presidential running mate
- July 23 â Wikileaks leaks 20,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee, revealing a systematic bias against Bernie Sanders from the Democratic Party leadership, leading to the resignation of DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz
- July 25âÂÂ28 â Democratic National Convention is held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are formally nominated for President and Vice President, respectively, by the party's state delegations
- July 28 â Hillary Clinton formally accepts the nomination from the Democratic Party, becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major party in U.S. history.
August 2016
September 2016
- September 7 â Arrest warrants are issued for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka for trespass and vandalism during a North Dakota protest.
- September 26 â First presidential general election debate between the two major candidates was held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (The first debate was originally going to be held at Wright State University, but the location was changed due to rising security costs that were being incurred by the school.) Hillary Clinton ends up taking the majority support after the debate.
October 2016
November 2016
- November 6 â James Comey tells Congress there is no evidence in the recently discovered emails that Clinton should face charges over handling of classified information
- November 8 â US Election Day.
- A shooting at a residential area near a polling place in Azusa, California, leaves one dead and three injured and some polling places in the city locked down.
- Pre-6 p.m
- 12:30 a.m: Polls close in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The vote is 4 for Clinton, 2 for Trump.
- Approximately 1:30a.m: In the Guam straw poll, which has historically predicted the election winner, Clinton defeats Trump by approximately three to one.
- 6 a.m. to 12p.m: Polls open throughout the country, with the last being Hawaii, which opens up 12p.m. EST (7a.m. AHST).
- 8 a.m: Hillary Clinton votes in Chappaqua, New York.
- 11 a.m: Donald Trump votes in New York City.
- 6 p.m
- The Eastern Time zone sections of Indiana and Kentucky close their polls.
- 7 p.m
- The Eastern Time zone of Florida close their polls.
- Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, and most places in New Hampshire close their polls.
- 7:30 p.m
- Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina close their polls.
- 8 p.m
- The latest time to close the polls in New Hampshire.
- The Eastern Time zone of Michigan close their polls.
- The Central Time zone of Florida, Texas, Kansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota close their polls.
- Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine close their polls.
- 8:30 p.m
- Arkansas closes their polls.
- 9 p.m
- The Central Time zone of Michigan close their polls.
- The Mountain Time zones of Texas, Kansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota close their polls.
- Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, and Wyoming close their polls.
- 10 p.m
- The Mountain Time zones of Oregon and Idaho close their polls.
- Nevada, Utah, Montana, Iowa close their polls.
- 11 p.m
- The Pacific Time zones of Oregon and Idaho close their polls.
- California, Hawaii, and Washington close their polls.
- November 9
- 12 a.m
- Alaska closes its polls.
- 2:45 a.m. Eastern time
- Donald Trump is the projected winner of the election, becoming president-elect.
- Morningtime
- The 2016 Portland, Oregon riots begin
- The 2016 Oakland riots begin
- Protests begin in numerous other cities
- November 23 â Jill Stein starts fundraising for a recount effort in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
December 2016
- December 19 â The electors of the Electoral College meet in their respective capitals and formally cast their ballots. Trump receives 304 electoral votes, Clinton receives 227. Seven faithless electors cast their votes for other candidates.
2017
January 2017
Election results by state
<div style="overflow:auto">
</div>
<sup>âÂÂ
</sup>Two states (Maine and Nebraska) allow for their electoral votes to be split between candidates. The winner within each congressional district gets one electoral vote for the district. The winner of the statewide vote gets two additional electoral votes. Results are from the Associated Press.
Election campaign 2016 candidate participation timeline
Candidate announcement and, if applicable, withdrawal dates are as follows:
See also
References
External links