US 2020 election key dates: will Americans give Trump four more years?
- If you thought American politics moved at a frenetic pace in 2019, brace yourself for 2020
Over the course of the next 11 months, Donald Trump is poised to become the first US president in history to face a Senate impeachment trial and then seek re-election. Democrats will formally nominate one of the 15 candidates currently running to face off against Trump. And then a record number of Americans are expected to go to the polls in November to choose between the two.
Along the way, the Democratic nominee will select a running mate, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on cases with major political implications, including whether the president must turn over financial records to Congress and whether he is immune from criminal investigations, and security experts are warning there could be unprecedented foreign and domestic election meddling.
Here are the key dates and developments to watch for:
Impeachment
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to send the House-approved articles of impeachment over to the Republican-controlled Senate as Democrats seek leverage over the trial process. That has delayed an impeachment trial that was expected to take up much of January. It could now drag into February.
The delay could ultimately impact some of the Democratic White House hopefuls as much as Trump, who is expected to be acquitted by his fellow Republicans. Five sitting senators are running for president, and a weeks-long trial will keep them in Washington and away from the campaign trail in the critical weeks leading up to the first 2020 primary votes.
