Ahead of the US election in November, the Democrats and Republicans are set to hold scores of primaries and caucuses to select their party's presidential nominee.

Among the most important of the upcoming dates in the US political diary is Super Tuesday, during which 17 caucuses or primaries will be held, with many seeing the day as a test of whether candidates can appeal broadly on national issues of importance, as opposed to tailoring their message in each state.

Currently in the running for the Democrat nomination are Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, while competing for GOP nomination are Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Jim Gilmore.

Keep on top of the US elections with this list of primary and caucus dates to watch out for:

Monday 1 February
Iowa caucus

Tuesday, 9 February
New Hampshire primary

Saturday, 20 February
Nevada caucus (Democrat)
South Carolina primary (Republican)

Tuesday, 23 February
Nevada caucus (Republican)

Saturday, 27 February
South Carolina (Democrat)

Super Tuesday – 1 March
Alabama primary
Alaska caucus (Republican)
American Samoa caucus (Democrat)
Arkansas primary
Colorado caucus
Georgia primary
Massachusetts primary
Minnesota caucus
North Dakota caucus (Republican)
Oklahoma primary
Tennessee primary
Texas primary
Vermont primary
Virginia primary
Wyoming caucus (Republican)

Saturday, 5 March
Kansas caucus
Kentucky caucus (Republican)
Louisiana primary
Maine caucus (Republican)
Nebraska caucus (Democrat)

Sunday, 6 March
Maine caucus (Democrat)
Puerto Rico primary (Republican)

Tuesday, 8 March
Hawaii caucus (Republican)
Idaho primary (Republican)
Michigan primary
Mississippi primary
Democrats Abroad global primary

Saturday, 12 March
Guam convention (Republican)
Northern Marianas caucus (Democrat)
District of Columbia caucus (Republican)

Tuesday, 15 March
Florida primary
Illinois primary
Missouri primary
North Carolina primary
Northern Mariana Islands caucus (Republican)
Ohio primary

Saturday, 19 March
Virgin Islands caucus (Republican)

Tuesday, 22 March
American Samoa convention (Republican)
Arizona primary
Idaho caucus (Democrat)
Utah primary

Saturday, 26 March
Alaska caucus (Democrat)
Hawaii caucus (Democrat)
Washington caucus (Democrat)

Tuesday, 5 April
Wisconsin primary

Saturday, 9 April
Wyoming caucus (Democrat)

Tuesday, 19 April
New York primary

Tuesday, 26 April
Connecticut primary
Delaware primary
Maryland primary
Pennsylvania primary
Rhode Island primary

Tuesday, 3 May
Indiana primary

Saturday, 7 May
Guam primary (Democrats)

Tuesday, 10 May
Nebraska primary (Republican)
West Virginia primary

Tuesday, 17 May
Kentucky primary (Democrat)
Oregon primary

Tuesday, 24 May
Washington primary (Republican)

Saturday, 4 June
Virgin Islands caucus (Democrat)

Saturday, 5 June
Puerto Rico caucus (Democrat)

Tuesday, 7 June
California primary
Montana primary
New Jersey primary
New Mexico primary
North Dakota caucus (Democrat)
South Dakota primary

Tuesday, 14 June
District of Columbia primary (Democrat)

18-21 July
Republican National Convention

25-28 July
Democratic National Convention

US election 2016
Tuesday, 8 November