Explanation of the Presidential Primary Election

The road to the White House goes through the presidential primary elections.

Every four years in November, U.S. voters go to the polls to choose their next president. The road to becoming president, however, begins early in the election year with aspiring candidates campaigning and competing for the nomination in a series of primary elections held in many states. These competitive contests help determine the nominees of each of the two major political parties in the U.S.

Function

During the primary elections, the Democratic and Republican parties select their presidential nominees. In most of the 50 states, the parties award delegates, based on the number of party voters in that state, who will formally choose the nominee at the party's national convention. A few states, such as Iowa, hold party caucuses instead of primaries. In states with primaries, the political parties hold elections that pit each party's candidates against each other. The primaries are indirect, meaning that voters in a state's primary are not voting directly for the candidate of their choice, but help determine the number of delegates to the nominating convention the candidate will receive from that state.

"Testing the Waters"

Politicians with presidential ambitions often signal their interest in seeking the office by visiting key primary states, such as New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first presidential primary. Political scientist Thomas R. Dye, author of the text, "Politics in America," calls this "testing the waters." A speech in New Hampshire, sometimes given two years before an election, can signal presidential aspirations.

Entering the Primaries

Once politicians declare their intention to seek the presidential nomination of their respective political parties, they begin the hard work of campaigning and organization. Candidates must hire campaign managers, form campaign organizations of professionals and volunteers, raise funds and travel to the states holding the earliest primaries.

Identification

New Hampshire traditionally holds the nation's first presidential primary, usually in January or February in a presidential election year. Although a small state, New Hampshire is strategically important, partly because of the intense media attention the state's primary receives. A victory in New Hampshire provides a campaign with momentum in the form of campaign contributions and media attention. A loss, however, can spell an early end to a candidate's presidential ambitions.

Time Frame

Because of the attention given to New Hampshire, many large states have scheduled their primaries earlier in the presidential election year. As a result, many states' primaries, including those in California, New York and other large, delegate-rich states, come only a few weeks after New Hampshire. Dye calls this phenomenon "front loading" and wrote that as a consequence, presidential primary elections are effectively over by early March in the election year. Usually by this time, a candidate from each party appears to have the largest number of delegates. Once a candidate reaches a certain number of delegates, he or she can claim the nomination.

Strategies

Dye identified two basic strategies for approaching the presidential primaries. The first, known as a front-end strategy, concentrates campaign resources in New Hampshire and other early primary states in hopes that victories there will attract more supporters and contributions. The second, which Dye calls the big-state strategy, concentrates on large states with the most delegates, such as California, Texas, Florida and New York. Dye points out that this strategy works best for candidates with strong support and heavy financial backing.

Conventions

The Democratic and Republican parties' national conventions formally choose their presidential nominees. The conventions also serve as media events that showcase each party's nominee and formally kick off the general election campaign. The conventions generally occur during the summer of a presidential election year, after the primaries have ended.

References

• "Politics in America (6th ed.)"; Thomas R. Dye:2005

Resources

• Democratic National Committee
• Republican National Committee
• 2012 Presidential Primary Calendar