2016 United States presidential election (Our Democracy timeline)

The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Democratic ticket of former Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold and United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro defeated the Republican ticket of senator Ted Cruz and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, in what was widely regarded as an upset. Feingold took office as the 45th president, and Castro as the 48th vice president, on January 20, 2017.

Per the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, then-incumbent president Barack Obama was ineligible to seek a third term. Feingold secured the nomination over a crowded field of candidates in the Democratic primary. Cruz emerged from a similarly crowded field of Republican candidates. The Libertarian Party nominated former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, and the Green Party nominated Jill Stein.

Primaries
Eighteen major candidates actively ran for the Republican nomination, making the field the larger than any primary campaign before. Since then-president Barack Obama had negative approval ratings, many Republican politicians believed that the winner of the primary contest would likely become president. Cruz was the first entrant into the field, announcing his candidacy on March 16, 2015. Other early entrants included New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Several candidates withdrew due to poor poll performance before the Iowa caucus on February 1, 2016. Twelve candidates remained at this point, including Cruz, Bush, Christie, Palin, former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, senator Kelly Ayotte, senator Rand Paul, former U.S. representative Allen West, former senator Jim DeMint, and neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Following a poor performance in Iowa, McDonnell, Christie, and DeMint withdrew. Ayotte also withdrew following her poor performance in her home state of New Hampshire. Of the early states, Cruz performed best in Iowa (at 35.5%), South Carolina (at 30.5%), and Nevada (at 41.8%); Palin won New Hampshire, with 42.9% of the vote.

After the four early states, six candidates remained: Cruz, Bush, Palin, Paul, West, and Carson. While Cruz had momentum going into Super Tuesday, he ultimately underperformed expectations, losing several states he was expected to win. Still, Cruz netted the most delegates that night, with Palin netting the second most and Carson netting the third most. In the weeks following Super Tuesday, Paul, West, and Bush suspended their campaigns.

In contests following Super Tuesday, Cruz and Palin traded wins, with Carson often coming in a distant third. Carson eventually withdrew following the primaries on March 15, 2016. His endorsement of Cruz, which occurred during his campaign suspension speech, is widely credited for improving Cruz's performance in latter primaries. Palin suspended her campaign following the New York primary, when she was mathematically eliminated from overtaking Cruz.

Democratic Party
Former secretary of state, senator, and First Lady Hillary Clinton was the first candidate to declare her candidacy, with an announcement on April 12, 2015, via a video message. She initially received little competition, with former governors Martin O'Malley and Lincoln Chaffee announcing in the same month. On May 19, 2024, Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton suffered a debilitating stroke. This ultimately led to the suspension of the Clinton campaign on May 23, 2024, in a speech in Washington, D.C.

Following Clinton's withdrawal from the race, several more major candidates prepared announcements for the summer. Former senator Russ Feingold led the pack, announcing on June 3. Other summer entrants including governor Jim Webb, governor Jerry Brown, senator Cory Booker, and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. In the fall of 2015, several more announced their candidacy, including former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and senator Elizabeth Warren. Though heavily rumored as a candidate, vice president Joe Biden chose not to run due to the death of his son Beau Biden.

Going into the Iowa caucus, there was no consistent front runner in the primaries. Bloomberg, Warren, and Booker were seen as potential winners of the Iowa caucus, based on polls in January 2016. In Ann Seltzer's final poll of the race, however, former senator Russ Feingold was shown with a lead within the margin of error. These results bared out, despite pundit skepticism - Feingold received 23% of final round votes, followed by Booker (21%), Bloomberg (19%), Warren (17%), Brown (9%), and Emanuel (6%). Following this upset, Feingold went on to win the New Hampshire and Nevada primaries, although Booker ultimately won the South Carolina primary.

Following Super Tuesday, Warren and Brown dropped out due to poor performances in early contests. Both endorsed Feingold, who engaged in a close race with Bloomberg and Booker. Feingold continued to improve his performances in later contents, causing Emanuel to withdrawal and endorse him after the Illinois primary. Bloomberg and Booker both dropped out on the same day, April 19, 2016, after Feingold's easy victory in the New York primary.