Reply #69: Official Announcement Qualifies You for Matching Funds

[tsipple]

You can raise money with an "exploratory committee" prior to the announcement. And, in some cases, you can raise money ostensibly for another office and roll it into your presidential campaign. (Some of the Democrats did that this year.)

The official announcement doesn't mean a whole lot, actually, and may be totally separate from the official filing (to qualify for federal matching funds). And some candidates, thus far on the Republican side, don't even bother with matching funds. There are also certain filing deadlines to appear on the ballots in primary and caucus states, but those are late enough that most well-known candidates can qualify.