Election Day 2024 is about 16 months away. But the next couple of months will be big ones in the race for the White House. In early primary and caucus states, candidates are already on the ground, shaking hands and holding rallies.
"Iowa is the place that we shaped principled conservative leadership. Iowa's the place that's shaped the standard bearer of this party," said former Vice President Mike Pence during the Iowa Roast and Ride weekend.
Americans living in states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina are already getting inundated with ads and campaign stops. And with a dozen major GOP candidates in the race, could the field get any bigger? Yes, but time is running out.
"You've really got to be in by the summer. We're kind of, maybe another month or so. But, you've got to get in there pretty early," said Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Florida Sen. Rick Scott are both being talked about as potential late entrants to the race.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden does have a few long-shot challengers. Author and 2020 candidate Marianne Williamson is running again, and Robert Kennedy Jr. has also declared his candidacy.
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One big summer date to look for: Aug. 23. That's when Republican presidential candidates are meeting in Milwaukee for their first debate. To be eligible, candidates must meet polling and fundraising minimums, as well as a pledge to support whoever ends up being the party's nominee. And that last part could mean the frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, does not participate.
"There is some piece of the Republican party looking for a non-Trump candidate … and so I think a debate without Trump will still be significant," said Kamarck.
Despite the declared challengers to the sitting president, the Democratic National Committee says it has no plans to host any primary debates.
And finally, after the 2020 election broke campaign spending records, will we see sky-high spending again this time around? It's certainly possible. Early data shows 2024 presidential hopefuls are out-spending candidates from four years ago.
"Every four years [candidates] do whatever is new, and they do whatever they've done before. So you never lose stuff, right? You never stop doing television and only do social media. You never stop doing radio. You never stop doing a rally. You do all the stuff that you possibly can."
The good news for people who don't live in an early primary state, you'll probably be spared the political ads until next year. But even if you're not in a battleground state, experts think there will be a lot of political spending in key Senate and congressional races across the country.
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