Press: Yes, the campaign is underway — but way too soon  

It’s a rite of passage. As almost every political reporter has noted, now that Labor Day’s behind us (barely), the next presidential campaign can finally shift into high gear.  

Wait a minute! Yes, Labor Day’s come and gone, but — what most political reporters and pundits fail to point out is — the next presidential election is not in November 2023. It’s not until Nov. 5, 2024 — still 15 months away! This campaign is underway much, much too early. And it started too early.  

In fact, this isn’t the beginning of the 2024 presidential campaign. It started almost 10 months ago on Nov. 15, 2022, when former President Donald Trump officially announced he was running.  

On Feb. 15, 2023, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley officially became the first GOP challenger to Trump, followed closely behind by, in order: entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.  

But, of course, by the time each of them “officially” announced, they’d been “unofficially” running around the country for months, lining up support.  

In other words, by the time Nov. 5, 2024, rolls around, this presidential campaign will have been underway for two whole years. And Donald Trump will have been campaigning for 720 days, which is ridiculous. No wonder the American people are sick of politics and politicians.  

It doesn’t have to be this way. Under Canada’s Elections Act, federal elections last a minimum of 36 days and a maximum of 50 days. By January 2024, we’ll all be tempted to move to Canada, if we’re not already. Things are even tighter in the United Kingdom, where the official campaign period is 25 working days, or roughly five weeks.  

In Mexico, by law, general election campaigns last only 90 days — and must stop three days before Election Day. That’s preceded by a 60-day “pre-campaign” season. Argentina bans any election ads until 60 days before Election Day, and the official campaign can begin 25 days after that. Presidential elections in France last about two weeks.  

Not so long ago, presidential elections were a lot shorter in this country, too. John F. Kennedy announced for president on Jan. 2, 1960. He was president-elect of the United States 10 months later. His brother Robert F. Kennedy didn’t announce until March 16, 1968. But that all changed with Jimmy Carter. As a relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Carter believed he needed a head start on his 1976 opponents, so he announced for president a year earlier, in 1975 — thereby breaking with one tradition and starting an intractable and interminable new one. Today there’s no limit on how early a presidential campaign can begin nor how long it can drag on.  

There are several reasons for that. First and foremost, unlike in many other countries, there is no law setting the length of a presidential campaign. Second, the absence of limits on how much money can be spent on campaigns. Third, there’s the crazy scrambling among states to move their primary or caucuses earlier and earlier to be first in the nation.  

Whatever the reasons, the result is very damaging. Not only are campaigns increasingly insufferable. By campaigning full time, politicians no longer take time out between campaigns for governing, meaning Congress gets little done.  

As a result, people have less faith in politics and government, which undermines our democracy.  

There are many steps we can take to restore trust in our political system. But first we need an overhaul of our election system itself, starting with shorter campaigns.  

Press hosts “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”