Becoming a candidate for presidency in a political party is not as easy as announcing you are going to run for president. Most candidates need to start fundraising at least a year before the election year to help gain support for themselves. In order to represent a political party, the candidate must be nominated by that party. The nomination process officially begins with the first state primaries and caucuses, which usually occur in February of the election year. In the spring of an election year, candidates vigorously campaign for primaries and caucuses across the nation. At the political parties' national convention, delegates from each state cast vote for who will represent the political party in the presidential election until a majority is reached. Then, the candidate must choose a running mate for vice president. Political parties need to be unified in their decision on who runs for the presidential election because otherwise, it could end up splitting voters and cause the party to become weaker.
Some people choose to run for president without being affiliated with a political party. These independent candidates do not need to concern themselves with getting nominated by a party, but still must meet other requirements. They are required to collect a large number of signatures to support their nominations, but before they do that, they must file a declaration of candidacy and a certification of the candidate's vice president with the secretary of state.
From here, candidates from the political parties campaign until Election Day. They travel throughout the