WASHINGTON, D.C.—Recently, the impeachment inquiry hearings into President Donald Trump have taken over U.S. political news. But they aren’t the only big televised U.S. political events this week. Wednesday evening at 9 p.m., the major candidates for the Democratic nomination for president will share a stage for a debate.For anyone tuning in hoping for a break from the Trump news with some news from those hoping to replace him, here’s a primer on the state of the primary race. When is the vote? The U.S. general presidential election is in just under a year, on Nov. 3, 2020, when voters will choose between the Republican nominee — presumably Donald Trump — and the Democratic nominee. There will be many votes before then, however, to select the Democratic nominee through a process of primaries or caucuses held in each state. The first of these, the Iowa caucus where people gather in meetings to choose which candidate to support, will be held on Feb. 3, 2020. The first primary election is in New Hampshire, on Feb. 11, 2020. The primaries then proceed for months until early June, with the largest single-day voting taking place March 3, when 14 states, plus American Samoa and Democrats abroad, all hold primaries.The party will officially choose its candidate at its convention in Milwaukee July 13-16.Who’s running?Even though 10 candidates have dropped out of the race, there are still a whole lot of hopefuls left in the race:Former vice-president Joe Biden; Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet; New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker; Montana Gov. Steve Bullock; South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former housing secretary Julian Castro; former Maryland representative John Delaney; Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; California Sen. Kamala Harris; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne Messam; former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick; Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders; former Pennsylvania representative Joe Sestak; hedge fund billionaire T ...
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