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Trivia answer

How many candidates have filed with the FEC to run for president?
a. 32
b. 67
c. 178
d. 972

As of December 2, 2019, 972 candidates have filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for president. This number includes 296 Democrats, 148 Republicans, 44 Libertarians, and 19 Green Party candidates. Click here for a full list.

Filing with the FEC is not the only step required to appear on the presidential election ballot. There are a number of state-specific requirements to appear on the presidential ballot. A candidate may run for president as a member of a political party, as an independent, or as a write-in candidate.

Political party candidates must file their candidacy in advance in most states that conduct primaries. The first such filing deadline was November 8, 2019, for candidates wishing to appear on the Alabama primary ballot. All 50 states require independent candidates to file petitions and/or pay a filing fee in order to appear on the ballot. Of the 41 states which permit voters to write in a candidate, 33 require that that candidate fill in paperwork ahead of the election in order for their votes to be counted.

In each election from 1980 through 2012, an average of 299 candidates filed with the FEC to run for president. The 2012 election had 438 candidates filed, the most during that period. The 2004 election had the fewest candidates filed at 222.

In the 2016 election, 1,762 candidates filed to run for president. As of December 2, 2015, there were 1,389 filed candidates, including 190 Democrats, 240 Republicans, 32 Libertarians, and nine Green Party candidates.