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United States presidential nominating convention is a
political convention held every four years in the
United States by most of the
political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming
U.S. presidential election. The formal purpose of such a convention is to select the party's nominee for
President, as well as to adopt a statement of party principles and goals known as the
platform and adopt the rules for the party's activities, including the presidential nominating process for the next election cycle. Due to changes in
election laws, the
primary and caucus calendar, and the manner in which
political campaigns are run, conventions since the later half of the 20th century have virtually abdicated their original roles, and are today rarely more than ceremonial affairs.