What Is the Difference Between the Presidential, Primary and General Elections?
The political system in place in the U.S. consists of a two-party format where the winner takes all. The two major political parties are the Democrats and Republicans, with the various types of elections constituting the most direct manifestation of competition between them.
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Elections Compared
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The presidential election serves as one form of a general election but the terms are also used interchangeably. In fact, primary elections constitute part of the general/presidential election process. The main difference lies in the fact that primary elections act as competitions between members of the same party and general/presidential elections act as competitions between members of different parties.
Primary Elections Info
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Primary elections take place prior to general elections between members of the same party. They decide who will represent the party in the general election. Regarding presidential elections, each state has its own primary election for each party's candidates; the term "primaries" also refers to primary elections.
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General/Presidential Elections Info
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Presidential elections serve as a specific form of general elections and occur every four years between the candidates of each party who won the necessary amount of primary elections. General elections also take place for other offices and at levels of government other than the national/federal level.
Independent Parties Caveat
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The U.S. also has a number of independent parties. They fit into the previously explained election processes the same way as Republicans and Democrats, except that independent parties usually exhibit far less influence than the Republicans and Democrats.
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