Tentative 2012 Presidential Primary Schedule: The Presidential Campaign Season is Getting Close

KANSAS CITY, MO. -- The Republican National Committee adopted a new schedule for the 2012 presidential primaries Friday, agreeing to a plan worked out in concert with Democrats and designed to delay the start of the campaign season.

The proposal, drafted by a special RNC panel, gained approval from more than the necessary two-thirds of the committee's 168 members.

Party leaders hailed the vote as a historic change in the presidential selection process, one that would avoid the development of a single national primary in which states choose to hold their nominating contests on the same day.

The new schedule is designed to make it difficult for a candidate to rack up an insurmountable number of delegates early in the process, forcing candidates to campaign across the country.

Disclaimer: These pages contain a combination of preliminary, unofficial, and estimated data. The information posted here is subject to change. The delegate selection processes herein, along with any and all dates associated therewith, are unofficial and based on either (1) information obtained from either Major Party, (2) Presidential Primary dates established by currently-effective State statute, or- where the foregoing information could not be obtained- (3) the state's 2008 delegate selection process and associated dates adjusted to the corresponding dates in 2012. Democrats Democratic pledged delegate counts are determined by the jurisdiction's Presidential vote in 2000, 2004, and 2008; along with the jurisdiction's electoral vote allocation based on 2010 census. Our estimate for the number of electors in 2012 is here. Democratic unpledged delegate counts are determined by the number of DNC Members, Democratic Governors, Democratic U.S. House members, and Democratic U.S. Senators serving at the time of the convention. The count for DNC Members, Distinguished Party Leaders, and Add-ons are from the 2008 Convention. The tallies of Governors, Democratic U.S. House members, and Democratic U.S. Senators are the current officeholders. The 30 December 2009 recommendations of the Democratic Change Commission and Democratic "Late Primary/Caucus" Bonus Delegates are not included in these delegate tallies. Republicans Republican delegate counts are based on the number of Republicans elected to the State Legislatures, Governors chairs, U.S. House seats, and U.S. Senators seats through 31 December 2011. Republican unpledged delegate counts are determined by state (or equivalent) party rules. We have assumed that the policies of 2008 will apply in 2012. The Republican district delegate count is number of U.S. House members each state will receive from the 2010 census. Our estimate is here. Recommendations of the Temporary Delegate Selection Committee, elected during the 2009 Republican National Committee Winter Meeting and whose decisions are to be voted on during the 2010 Republican National Committee Summer Meeting, are not included in these delegate tallies. The Republican Temporary Delegate Selection Committee's Recommendations for the 2012 Presidential Nominating Process were Approved by the Republican National Committeeon Friday 6 August 2010.

	Democratic Convention Thursday 1 March 2012 (tentative date): Automatic selection of unpledged delegates *Monday 3 September - Thursday 6 September 2012: 46th Democratic National Convention	Republican Convention *Monday 27 August - Thursday 30 August 2012: 40th Republican National Convention
Sunday 1 January - Saturday 14 January 2012		West Virginia State Presidential Convention Delegates Selected (tentative date)
Saturday 7 January 2012		*Wyoming County Conventions (tentative date)
Monday 16 January 2012	*Iowa Caucus (tentative date)1	*Iowa Caucus (tentative date)
Saturday 21 January 2012	*Nevada Precinct Caucuses (tentative date)1	*Nevada Precinct Caucuses (tentative date) *South Carolina Primary (tentative date)
Tuesday 24 January 2012	*New Hampshire Primary (tentative date)1	Louisiana District Caucuses (tentative date) *New Hampshire Primary (tentative date)
Tuesday 31 January 2012	*Florida Primary (tentative date)1 *South Carolina Party-run Primary (tentative date)1	*Florida Primary (tentative date)
Friday 3 February - Sunday 5 February 2012		*Maine Municipal Caucuses (tentative date)
Tuesday 7 February - Saturday 11 February 2012		*Alaska District Conventions (tentative date) Northern Marianas Precinct Caucuses (tentative date)
Tuesday 7 February - Tuesday 14 February 2012	*Democrats Abroad Local Caucuses / Primary (tentative date)1
Tuesday 7 February 2012	*Alaska Precinct / House District Caucuses (tentative date)1 *Alabama Primary (tentative date)1 *American Samoa Territorial Caucus (tentative date)1 *California Primary (tentative date)1 *Colorado Precinct Caucus (tentative date)1 *Connecticut Primary (tentative date)1 *Delaware Primary (tentative date)1 *Georgia Primary (tentative date)1 *Idaho County Caucus (tentative date)1 *Kansas Local Unit Conventions (tentative date)1 *Minnesota Precinct Caucuses (tentative date)1 *Missouri Primary (tentative date)1 *North Dakota Precinct Caucuses (tentative date)1 *New Jersey Primary (tentative date)1 *New Mexico Party-run Primary (tentative date)1 *New York Primary (tentative date)1 *Oklahoma Primary (tentative date)1 *Tennessee Primary (tentative date)1 *Utah Primary (tentative date)1	*Alabama Primary (tentative date) *California Primary (tentative date) *Colorado Precinct Caucuses (tentative date) *Connecticut Primary (tentative date) *Delaware Primary (tentative date) *Georgia Primary (tentative date) *Minnesota Precinct Caucuses / non-binding straw poll (tentative date) *Missouri Primary (tentative date) Montana Caucus (cancelled) (tentative date) *North Dakota Caucus (tentative date) *New Jersey Primary (tentative date) *New York Primary (tentative date) *Oklahoma Primary (tentative date) *Tennessee Primary (tentative date) *Utah Primary (tentative date) *West Virginia State Presidential Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 11 February 2012	*Louisiana Primary (tentative date)1 *Nebraska Precinct Caucus (tentative date)1 *Virgin Islands Territorial Convention (tentative date)1 *Washington Precinct Caucuses (tentative date)1	*Kansas Caucuses (tentative date) *Louisiana Primary (tentative date) *Washington Precinct Caucuses (tentative date)
Sunday 12 February 2012	*Maine Municipal Caucuses (tentative date)1
Tuesday 14 February 2012	*District of Columbia Primary (tentative date)1 *Maryland Primary (tentative date)1 *Virginia Primary (tentative date)1	*District of Columbia Primary (tentative date) *Maryland Primary (tentative date) *Virginia Primary (tentative date)
Saturday 18 February 2012		Georgia Precinct Mass Meetings (tentative date) Louisiana State Convention (tentative date)
Tuesday 21 February 2012	*Hawaii Precinct Caucus (tentative date)1 Washington Non-binding primary (tentative date) *Wisconsin Primary (tentative date)1	Hawaii Caucuses *Washington Primary (tentative date) *Wisconsin Primary (tentative date)
Tuesday 21 February - Friday 9 March 2012	North Dakota Legislative District Conventions (tentative date)
Wednesday 22 February - Monday 19 March 2012	Colorado County Assemblies and Conventions (tentative date)
Friday 24 February - Saturday 17 March 2012		Minnesota BPOU Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 25 February 2012	Mississippi Precinct Meetings (tentative date) Nevada County Conventions (tentative date) Oklahoma State Convention (tentative date) South Carolina Precinct Meetings (tentative date)	*American Samoa Territorial Caucus (tentative date) *Northern Marianas Commonwealth Convention (tentative date)
Sunday 26 February 2012		*Puerto Rico Territorial Caucus (tentative date)
Tuesday 28 February 2012	*Arizona Primary (tentative date)1 *Michigan Primary (tentative date)1	*Arizona Primary (tentative date) *Michigan Primary (tentative date)
March - April 2012		Virginia Local Mass Meetings, Party Canvasses, Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 3 March 2012	Alabama State Democratic Executive Committee Meeting (tentative date)	*Tennessee State Executive Committee (tentative date)
Tuesday 6 March 2012	*Massachusetts Primary (tentative date)1 *Ohio Primary (tentative date)1 *Rhode Island Primary (tentative date)1 *Texas Primary (tentative date)1 *Vermont Primary (tentative date)1	*Massachusetts Primary (tentative date) *Ohio Primary (tentative date) *Rhode Island Primary (tentative date) *Texas Primary (tentative date) *Vermont Primary (tentative date)
Saturday 10 March 2012	Arizona Regional Caucuses (tentative date) *Wyoming County Caucuses (tentative date)1	*Guam Territorial Caucus (tentative date) Iowa County Conventions (tentative date) Puerto Rico Territorial Convention (tentative date)
Monday 12 March - Monday 9 April 2012		Delaware Delegate Selection Meetings (tentative date)
Tuesday 13 March 2012	*Mississippi Primary (tentative date)1	*Mississippi Primary (tentative date)
Thursday 15 March - Saturday 17 March 2012		*Alaska Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 17 March - Friday 13 April 2012	*Democrats Abroad Regional Caucuses (tentative date)
Saturday 17 March 2012	Iowa County Conventions (tentative date) Mississippi County Conventions (tentative date) Tennessee State Executive Committee (tentative date)	Georgia County Conventions / Precinct Mass Meetings (tentative date) Nevada County Conventions (tentative date)
Tuesday 20 March 2012	*Illinois Primary (tentative date)1	*Illinois Primary (tentative date)
Wednesday 21 March 2012	Connecticut Post Primary Caucus (tentative date)
Saturday 24 March - Saturday 5 May 2012		Washington County Conventions (tentative date)
Wednesday 28 March 2012	Connecticut State Central Committee (tentative date)
Friday 30 March - Sunday 1 April 2012		North Dakota State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 31 March - Saturday 21 April 2012		*Minnesota District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 31 March 2012	Texas County and Senate District Conventions (tentative date)
Sunday 1 April 2012	Wisconsin County Caucuses (tentative date)
Thursday 5 April 2012	*District of Columbia State Party Committee (tentative date)
Friday 6 April - Sunday 8 April 2012	North Dakota State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 7 April - Saturday 21 April 2012		Arizona District and Country Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 7 April - Saturday 28 April 2012		North Carolina District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 7 April - Saturday 5 May 2012	Mississippi Congressional District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 7 April 2012	Delaware State Convention (tentative date) Florida Florida Democratic Party State Executive Committee (tentative date) *Missouri State Committee (tentative date) Washington Legislative District Caucuses (tentative date)	*Virgin Islands Territorial Caucus (tentative date)
Saturday 14 April 2012	*Democrats Abroad Global Convention (tentative date) Kansas District Conventions (tentative date)
Thursday 19 April 2012	New Jersey State Committee (tentative date)
Saturday 21 April 2012	Arizona State Convention (tentative date) Michigan District Conventions (tentative date) New Mexico District Conventions (tentative date) Washington County Conventions and Legislative District Caucuses (tentative date)	Georgia District Conventions (tentative date) Iowa District Statutory Caucus (tentative date)
Tuesday 24 April 2012	*Pennsylvania Primary (tentative date)1	*Pennsylvania Primary (tentative date)
Friday 27 April - Saturday 19 May 2012		Colorado County Assemblies (tentative date)
Saturday 28 April 2012	*Iowa District Conventions (tentative date) New Hampshire Caucus / National Convention Delegation Meeting (tentative date) New Mexico State Central Committee (tentative date)	*Nevada District Meetings and State Convention (tentative date)
Thursday 3 May 2012	*Maryland State Democratic Central Committee Meeting (tentative date) New York State Committee (tentative date)
Friday 4 May - Saturday 5 May 2012		Delaware State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 5 May - Friday 18 May 2012	*Colorado District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 5 May 2012	*Guam Territorial Caucus (Party run primary) (tentative date)1 Louisiana State Convention (tentative date) South Carolina State Convention (tentative date)	*Maine District Caucuses and State Convention (tentative date)
Sunday 6 May 2012	Wisconsin Congressional District Caucuses (tentative date)
Monday 7 May 2012	Illinois National Convention delegation meeting (tentative date)
Tuesday 8 May 2012	*Indiana Primary (tentative date)1 *North Carolina Primary (tentative date)1 *West Virginia Primary (tentative date)1	*Indiana Primary (tentative date) *North Carolina Primary (tentative date) *West Virginia Primary (tentative date)
Friday 11 May - Saturday 12 May 2012	Utah State Convention (tentative date)	Mississippi State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 11 May - Saturday 26 May 2012		Virginia District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 12 May 2012	Massachusetts State Committee and National Convention Delegate Meeting (tentative date) Missouri State Convention (tentative date) Ohio State Executive Committee (tentative date)	Arizona District Caucus and State Convention (tentative date) Utah State Convention (tentative date)
Tuesday 15 May 2012	Nebraska Advisory Primary (tentative date) *Oregon Primary (tentative date)1	Nebraska Primary (tentative date) *Oregon Primary (tentative date)
Friday 18 May - Saturday 19 May 2012		Georgia State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 18 May - Sunday 20 May 2012		*Hawaii State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 19 May - Sunday 20 May 2012	*Nevada State Convention (tentative date)	Michigan Congressional Caucuses / State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 19 May 2012	*Colorado State Convention (tentative date) *Kansas State Convention (tentative date) *Washington Congressional District Caucuses (tentative date)
Sunday 20 May 2012	*California Delegation Meeting (tentative date)
Tuesday 22 May - Wednesday 23 May 2012		*New York State Committee (tentative date)
Tuesday 22 May 2012	*Arkansas Primary (tentative date)1 Idaho Non-binding Primary (tentative date) *Kentucky Primary (tentative date)1	*Arkansas Primary (tentative date) *Idaho Primary (tentative date) *Kentucky Primary (tentative date)
Thursday 24 May - Saturday 26 May 2012		*Minnesota State Convention (tentative date) *Washington State Convention (tentative date)
Thursday 24 May 2012		*Kansas State Party Committee Meeting (tentative date)
Friday 25 May - Saturday 26 May 2012		*Wyoming Convention (tentative date)
Friday 25 May - Sunday 27 May 2012	Hawaii State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 26 May - Sunday 27 May 2012	*Maine State Convention. (tentative date)
Saturday 26 May - Saturday 9 June 2012		*Colorado District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 26 May 2012	*Alaska State Party Convention (tentative date) Georgia State Committee Meeting (tentative date) Vermont State Convention (tentative date) *Wyoming State Convention (tentative date)	Arkansas Special District Convention (tentative date) *Colorado State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 1 June - Saturday 2 June 2012	*Texas State Convention (tentative date)	North Carolina State Convention (tentative date) Virginia State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 1 June - Sunday 3 June 2012	Minnesota State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 1 June 2012		*Pennsylvania Summer Meeting (tentative date)
Saturday 2 June 2012	Kentucky State Convention (tentative date) Mississippi State Convention (tentative date) Pennsylvania State Committee (tentative date) Vermont National Convention Delegate Meeting (tentative date)	*Illinois Convention (tentative date)
Sunday 3 June - Monday 4 June 2012		*Indiana State Convention (tentative date)
Sunday 3 June - Tuesday 12 June 2012	Nebraska County Conventions (tentative date)
Sunday 3 June 2012	*Puerto Rico Primary (tentative date)1
Tuesday 5 June 2012	*Montana Primary (tentative date)1 *South Dakota Primary (tentative date)1	*Montana Primary (tentative date) New Jersey Election of Delegates (tentative date) *New Mexico Primary (tentative date) *South Dakota Primary (tentative date)
Thursday 7 June - Saturday 9 June 2012		Texas State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 8 June - Saturday 9 June 2012	West Virginia State Convention & Executive Committee (tentative date)	*Iowa State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 8 June - Sunday 10 June 2012	*Washington State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 8 June 2012	Wisconsin State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 9 June 2012	*Iowa State Convention (tentative date) *Michigan State Central Committee (tentative date) Virginia State Convention (tentative date)	Arkansas State Committee Meeting (tentative date) *New Mexico State Republican Convention (tentative date)
Sunday 10 June 2012	Montana State Convention (tentative date)
Thursday 14 June - Saturday 16 June 2012	*Idaho State Convention (tentative date)	Idaho State Convention (tentative date)
Friday 15 June - Sunday 17 June 2012	*Nebraska State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 16 June 2012	*Arkansas Special State Convention (tentative date) North Carolina State Convention (tentative date) Oregon State Convention (tentative date) Puerto Rico Democratic Assembly (tentative date)
Thursday 21 June 2012	Rhode Island State Executive Committee (tentative date)
Friday 22 June - Saturday 23 June 2012	Indiana State Convention (tentative date)
Saturday 30 June 2012	South Dakota State Party Central Committee (tentative date)
Saturday 14 July 2012		*Nebraska State Convention (tentative date) Oregon District Conventions (tentative date)
Saturday 28 July 2012		*Nevada State Convention (tentative date)
August 2012	Unassigned To be determined (tentative date)