Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election (November 2020–January 2021)
Open-knowledge reference entry
The following is a timeline of major events before, during, and after the 2020 United States presidential election, the 59th quadrennial United States presidential election, from November 2020 to January 2021. For prior events, see Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election (2017–2019) and Timeline of the 2020 United States presidential election (January–October 2020).
President Donald Trump of the Republican Party, who was elected in 2016, was seeking reelection to a second term, against former vice president Joe Biden of the Democratic Party. The general election was held on November 3, with voters directly selecting their state's members to the U.S. Electoral College. On November 7, most national media organizations projected that Biden had clinched enough electoral votes to be named the U.S. president-elect. The formal voting by the Electoral College took place on December 14. The U.S. Congress then certified the electoral result on January 7, 2021, and Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
The invisible primary and debate period
The "invisible primary" is the first phase of any presidential contest, when hopefuls "test the waters" by forming PACS and "exploratory committees" in order to see if such an endeavor is worthwhile. This is followed by the formal announcement of candidacies, and a period of televised debates and other events prior to the beginning of delegate selection.
The primary and general election campaigns
There are three main parts to every election year.
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