Presidential_campaign_announcements_in_the_United_States
A campaign announcement is the formal public launch of a political campaign, often delivered in a speech by the candidate at a political rally.
Formal campaign announcements play an important role in United States presidential elections, particularly in shaping the start of a campaign season.[1][2][3] They became more significant with the introduction of presidential primaries (as opposed to state caucuses) in the early 20th century. The expression to "throw one's hat in the ring", describing a challenger in boxing, was popularized by the Theodore Roosevelt 1912 presidential campaign.[4] There has been a trend of announcements coming earlier, and even being preceded by an invisible primary phase[5] and often as a first public step by an exploratory committee.[6]
A pledge to not run, the opposite of a campaign announcement, is known as a Shermanesque statement.[7]