What is the filing deadline to run for president in 2024

The United States will hold its 60th quadrennial presidential election in 2024 and former president Donald Trump has dropped hints that he is once again interested in the top job. 

Several investigations focusing on the former president, following the January 6 Capitol Riots and his exit from the White House, have left doubt over whether he will or even can get back in office.

Here's what we know about a potential run for office in 2024. 

Is Trump eligible to run for president again? 

Yes, he is.

In the US, a president can serve two terms and they can be non-consecutive.

The 22nd amendment of the US constitution states, "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice". 

Mr Trump will be 78 years old in 2024. That's only a year older than Joe Biden was when he was elected in 2020.

What's Trump said about a 2024 presidential bid?

The former president has this year hinted on a few occasions that he was considering running for president.

He asked a crowd in Nashville, Tennessee in June if they would like him to run.

"We have a president who ran twice, won twice and may have to do it a third time. Can you believe it?" he declared in Nevada, the following month. 

And last month at a rally in Pennsylvania, he told the crowd, "in 2024, most importantly, we are going to take back our magnificent White House."

So, when can we expect Trump to officially declare his plans? 

Probably after the midterm elections, but he may take into consideration the consequences that could arise from the investigations and lawsuits he is entangled in.

In July, Mr Trump told New York magazine that he had "already made" a decision to run, and the real question was when he would make his official announcement.

"I would say my big decision will be whether I go before or after," he said, in reference to the midterm elections in November.

Political analysts say one reason Mr Trump may be interested in launching a presidential campaign before the midterms is to make it easier for him to portray any official investigation against him as politically motivated, as CNN reports.

What do the midterms have to do with his decision? 

Declaring a run for the presidency after the midterms would allow Mr Trump to capitalise on Republican candidates potentially performing well. 

And that's possible, with polling by the FiveThirtyEight website suggesting the Republicans might take the House but the Democrats could hold on to the Senate.

The Democratic Party has held the majority in both the House and the Senate while Mr Biden has been in office.

That's been helpful for Mr Biden to pass the laws he wanted.

But the party that holds the White House tends to lose seats and if the Republicans take control of either chamber, they will have more power to interfere with Mr Biden's plans on issues such as climate change and gun control. 

At the same time, if candidates backed by Mr Trump perform badly in the midterms, he's less likely to get backing from the Republican party to run for president again.

He might want to weigh up that risk. 

Could the investigations underway prevent Trump from becoming president? 

As Mr Trump faces mounting allegations, experts say even a prison sentence wouldn't necessarily stop him from becoming US president for a second time.

Mr Trump has been beset with legal troubles since leaving the White House and is the focus of several investigations, from his handling of top-secret documents to election interference. 

On Friday, he was subpoenaed to testify under oath by the January 6 committee which is investigating the Capitol riots and how to avoid a similar event recurring. 

New York's Attorney-General Letitia James has filed a civil lawsuit against Mr Trump and his company, alleging he "falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system".

However, former FBI counterintelligence agent and federal prosecutor Asha Rangappa said that, under the constitution, being a convicted felon doesn't automatically prohibit a person from being president, even if they're sitting in jail. 

Dr Rangappa, who is an assistant dean at Yale Law School, told the ABC News Daily podcast the requirements for becoming US president were minimal.

"You have to be 35 years old, you have to have been a natural-born citizen and lived in the United States for 14 years," she said.

"Even if he's indicted and even if he's convicted, that actually doesn't stop him from running for president again."

There are some potential charges, however, which could prevent a person from becoming president again if they are brought against them.

Dr Rangappa said the illegal removal, concealment and mutilation of government documents was one of those. 

She said one of the penalties in that statute was a prohibition from holding public office.

What's next? 

Announcing your bid for candidacy requires more than just a press release or a colourful rally.

And while there's no formal, national deadline to declare your intention, candidates have to meet several state-specific requirements to appear on each state's election ballot.

They also have to act in accordance with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules which state that a candidate must file certified personal financial disclosures at least 30 days before the election, which is set for Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

The rules also state an individual running for federal office must file financial reports when they raise or spend more than $5,000 in contributions or expenditures.

"If he starts to spend money pursuing a run for office, that could trigger candidacy," Ken Gross, former associate general counsel of the FEC, told Insider.

Mr Trump has hinted at a run, conducted campaign-style rallies and raised money for political committees such as his Save America group, but he hasn't yet declared the committees exist to serve his own campaign, and it hasn't quite been enough to trigger candidacy. 

Save America, which Mr Trump created after his presidential loss, has raised more than $US90 million ($142 million).

If Mr Trump declares a run for the presidency, he can't access that money to fund his personal 2024 campaign. 

He will start raising funds through his own campaign and begin touring the country to gather support for the general elections. 

If he declares a run, polling shows Mr Trump is so far the favourite to win one of his first hurdles, the primary election, meaning he is the preferred Republican candidate. 

Polling has shown Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis could be another front-runner. 

Some Republicans view him as more electable because he has a less turbulent past, and he has been endorsed by popular conservatives. 

In the aftermath of Tuesday's midterm elections, potential contenders for the 2024 presidential race are expected to announce in the coming weeks and months. 

Republicans underperformed in key Senate and House races and did not materialize an anticipated "red wave" during the Nov. 8 midterm elections. Several GOP candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump did not perform well, including Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, losing to Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential GOP presidential contender in 2024, won re-election in Florida by a landslide with nearly 60% of the electorate. The results have caused many within the party to question Trump's electability and ability to lead the GOP.

Regardless, Trump is still expected to announce his third presidential bid later this month. On the eve of the midterm elections, Trump told a crowd of thousands at an Ohio rally for then-Senate candidate JD Vance that he would make a "big announcement" on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

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FILE - Former President Donald J. Trump is expected to announce his third bid for the presidency on Nov. 15, 2022. (Brandon Bell)

"Two years ago, we were a great nation, and we will be a great nation again. Not to detract from tomorrow's very important, even critical, election … I'm going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach," Trump said near the end of his speech.

Many Republicans urged the former president to wait until after the midterms to announce his candidacy. Since leaving office in January 2021, Trump has hinted at multiple rallies and interviews that he intends to run again for the White House. In a November 2021 exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said he would "probably" wait until after Nov. 8 to formally announce whether he would launch another White House bid.

Moreover, an expected Republican blowout would have boosted Trump's presidential bid, but an underwhelming GOP performance is now leading party insiders and pundits to speculate that DeSantis may challenge Trump for the nomination.

DeSantis won Florida's longtime Democratic stronghold of Miami-Dade County by more than 20 points — the first Republican to do so in two decades. Trump, however, has insisted that if DeSantis decided to run for president, "he could hurt himself very badly."

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"I don’t know if he is running. I think if he runs, he could hurt himself very badly. I really believe he could hurt himself badly," Trump said. "I think he would be making a mistake, I think the base would not like it — I don’t think it would be good for the party."

FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

"Any of that stuff is not good — you have other people that possibly will run, I guess," he added. "I would tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering — I know more about him than anybody — other than, perhaps, his wife."

The pool of possible Republican primary challengers to Trump includes former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

Recently, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott hinted at throwing his hat into the race.

"My grandfather voted for the first man of color to be elected as president of the United States. I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected president of the United States," Scott said during his victory speech. "But this time, let it be a Republican and not just a Democrat. So, just know: All things are possible in America."

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On the Democratic side, the strong showing in states where Democrats were projected to underperform may help boost Biden's chances of remaining the nominee. Biden has stated publicly that he will run for a second term, but a formal announcement has not been made.