Path to the Presidency: Election Center 2008

Hot Topics » Election Center 2008 • Commentary • Hillary Clinton • Barack Obama • John McCain • more topics »

International Edition

VIEW RESULTS BY:

Elections 101: Path to the Presidency

Intro

Primaries and Caucuses

Party Conventions

Election Day and Beyond

Introduction
The road to the White House, as the Beatles might have said, is long and winding -- and the 2008 contest is no exception. Campaigning started earlier than ever, with candidates running at a breakneck pace a year before any votes are cast. The road includes major stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, a semi-national primary on February 5, national party conventions in Denver, Colorado, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, a national		Election Day in November and a meeting of the Electoral College in December -- with dozens of filing deadlines and thousands of fundraisers, chicken dinners and campaign stops along the way. And it all leads to Inauguration Day in January 2009, when the new president and vice president take office on the steps of the Capitol in Washington.

January 3 - February 4

Super Tuesday

February (other dates)

March

April

May - July

May - July

If the nominations are still up in the air by the summer, a "brokered convention" -- which involves the trading of delegates during the convention process to settle on a nominee -- may be in the works. Voters in a handful of states, from North Carolina to South Dakota, would have the last chance to prevent such an unusual scenario.

May 3:	Guam caucuses
May 6:	Indiana primaries
	North Carolina primaries
May 13:	West Virginia primary
May 18:	Hawaii convention
May 20:	Kentucky primaries
	Oregon primaries
May 27:	Idaho primary

1 of 2

More Information

Delegates explained
Understand how the nominees are chosen and what role you play in the process

What is a caucus?
CNN explains the complex, confusing caucusing process

Meet the candidates
See who's running and who's winning, who's still in and who's out

Jargonbuster
CNN.com defines all those terms you've been hearing on the campaign trail but were afraid to ask about

The Money

Follow the money
See how much candidates have raised and spent, as well as how much cash they have on hand
The Money | Map

The Issues

Abortion • Economic Stimulus
Energy • Housing • Iran • Iraq
Same-sex marriage • Taxes

All Campaign Issues

From the Blogs: Controversy, commentary, and debate

Calling All First-Time Voters

Are you a first-time voter? What has inspired you to get to the polls? Is it a candidate? Is it an issue? Tell us your story and share your thoughts via e-mail or turn on a Web cam and send us a video.

Send an i-Report

more I-Reports »

Campaign News and Analysis

Latest Headlines

more Politics news »

CNNPolitics Video

From the Blogs: Controversy, commentary, and debate

Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff