Jan. 3: Iowa caucus results shine a light on two underdogs. Mike Huckabee wins on the Republican side. Barack Obama carries the state on the Democratic side; Hillary Clinton places third behind John Edwards.

Jan. 8: Clinton pulls off a narrow but critical victory in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. Victory comes after she appears to get choked up before an audience, when she tells them her campaign is “personal,” not just political. John McCain wins on the GOP side, re-launching his ailing campaign.

Jan. 19: McCain follows up New Hampshire with a win in the South Carolina GOP primary, narrowly beating Huckabee; Mitt Romney wins the Nevada GOP caucuses, though few candidates campaigned there.

Jan. 22: Fred Thompson, failing to win any early states, drops out of the GOP race.

Jan. 26: Obama wins the South Carolina Democratic primary by 28 points. Bill Clinton draws fire from Democrats for equating the victory to Jesse Jackson’s win in the state 20 years ago.

Jan. 28: Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy endorses Obama, an early sign of support from the Democratic establishment.

Jan. 29: McCain wins the Florida GOP contest.

Jan. 30: Rudy Giuliani, a one-time front-runner in the GOP race, drops out after finishing third in Florida. He endorses McCain. John Edwards also bows out of the Democratic race after placing third in the South Carolina contest. “It’s time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path,” Edwards says.

Feb. 5: Super Tuesday arrives, and 22 state contests are at stake. On the Republican side, McCain takes the most delegates by winning major states like California, New Jersey and New York. On the Democratic side, Clinton takes nine states and Obama takes 13.

Feb. 7: Romney drops out of the GOP race in an address to a conservative group in Washington, D.C., surprising the audience.

Feb. 9-19: Obama scores 11 straight victories, carving out a net gain of more than 200 delegates, a lead from which Clinton never recovers.

Feb. 10: Clinton replaces campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with aide Maggie Williams.

Feb. 21: The New York Times runs a story suggesting McCain once had a romantic relationship with a female lobbyist. McCain denies the charge, denounces the story.

March 4: Clinton wins the Texas and Ohio primaries, recovering temporarily from her losing streak. McCain sweeps all four contests held, clinches the GOP nomination.

March 5: President Bush endorses McCain as the Republicans’ presumptive nominee.

March 17: Clinton recounts how she braved sniper fire during a visit to Bosnia as first lady, but accounts and video from the event do not support her story. She later admits she made a mistake.

March 18: Obama delivers a major speech on race, triggered after controversy over his ties to longtime pastor Jeremiah Wright Jr.

April 6: Clinton fires strategist Mark Penn after it is reported that Penn met with Colombian government representatives to help promote a trade agreement Clinton opposes.

April 11: Comments surface of Obama telling San Francisco donors that rural voters “cling” to guns and religion out of bitterness over lost jobs. Clinton and McCain hammer him for the remarks.

April 22: Clinton again keeps her campaign alive, with a big victory in the Pennsylvania primary.

April 29: Obama denounces Wright’s sermons and remarks as “divisive and destructive,” after Wright makes a series of public appearances and elevates his criticism of the U.S. government.

May 6: Obama wins the North Carolina primary and Clinton wins the Indiana primary, but Obama holds her to a narrow lead.

May 23: Clinton cites the1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy while defending her decision to stay in the race despite long odds. She apologizes, and says she was only referring to the lengths of both campaigns.

May 31: Obama resigns his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago after another video surfaces of a pastor mocking Clinton before his congregation. The same day, a panel of the Democratic National Committee decides to seat part of the disputed Michigan and Florida delegates. Clinton, who won those states, gains some delegates but not enough to close in on Obama.

June 3: Obama clinches the nomination, after an avalanche of superdelegates fall to his side. He also wins the final Montana primary, securing the delegates to be the first black presidential candidate for a major party.

June 7: Clinton suspends her campaign and endorses Obama at an event in Washington, D.C., saying she will “join forces” with Obama and “make history.”