On May 29, the 2012 general election campaign began when Mitt Romney won enough delegates to claim the Republican presidential nomination. But this event didn’t end the 2012 Republican primary — at least, not officially. There were still six states left to vote. The last one of those, Utah, held its primary yesterday, which finally, officially brought the 2012 Republican primary to a close.

It was certainly a long, strange trip.

What most people assumed would be a straightforward primary campaign — Romney announces, wins Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, is crowned the nominee by February — was anything but. A seemingly endless stream of debates. A different frontrunner every week. What felt like a revolving door of candidates (there were 10 major Republican candidates — can you name them all?).

All the while, the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps was on the campaign trail.

The Kid Reporters covered (most of) the 56 primaries and caucuses held across the U.S. and in the countries various territories. They talked to the candidates and a couple of the candidates’ kids. They were in the eye of the spin storm after debates. They were front and center for campaign stops across the nation. And today, Kid Reporter Andrew Liang contributes a story wrapping up the first leg of the 2012 election marathon.

While the candidates will campaign hard this summer — and the Kid Reporters will be there to report on their events — the next big moment of the election is the conventions. The Republicans will be in Tampa, Florida, from August 27-30, and the Democrats will be in Charlotte, North Carolina, from September 3-7. Follow the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps for the latest from the campaign trail between now and then.

In the meantime, though, the Scholastic News Election 2012 website is a great (and award-winning!) resource for kids and adults alike to get caught up on what has happened in the 2012 campaign thus far. And the summer is a great opportunity to spend some time going through it and prepping for the political whirlwind that will consume the country from the end of August until Election Day on November 6. The site offers articles, videos, games, maps, charts, FAQs, and more to prepare you and the kids for the conventions, debates, and finally election.