How to Follow Presidential Primaries

The Presidential primaries and caucuses begin the process of electing the President of the USA by giving political parties a way to measure popular support for their slate of candidates. The process takes place each year of a presidential election, begins about 12 months before the November election date and end at national party conventions held in the summer.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Campaigning for president begins about a year before the first of the primaries and caucuses, which take place in January, about 10 months before the November election.
2. The Democratic and Republican parties nominate their candidate for president at their national convention held during the summer before the presidential election.
3. Delegates from each state select the presidential candidates at the convention.
4. The candidate who receives a majority of delegate votes becomes the presidential candidate.
5. There are 2 methods by which the states choose their delegates to the national conventions: the caucus and the primary.
6. There are 2 types of primary election, open and closed. Most states hold closed primaries.
7. In a closed primary, only voters registered to a particular party can vote for the candidate of their choice in that party’s election.
8. In an open primary, registered voters can vote in the primary of either party. States with open primaries include Alabama, Hawaii, Michigan and Minnesota.
9. Caucuses are conventions, open to all registered voters of a party, at which delegates are assigned to support a candidate after a vote.
10. The New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucus are held in January.
11. The Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary are important because they typically get over half the national and international media attention paid to the entire primary process.
12. Winning New Hampshire and Iowa gives a candidate a better chance of winning overall since the publicity generated with a win early in the season influences subsequent state elections. In 1952 for instance, Harry S. Truman ended his re-election bid after losing the New Hampshire primary and in 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson dropped out of the race after performing badly in the state’s primary.
13. New Hampshire has long guarded its status as being the first state to stage a primary because of its importance in setting the tone for the primary season.
14. Other states holding early caucuses and primaries are Nevada, South Carolina and California.
15. The day in March when most states hold their primary elections is known as Super Tuesday. Since it’s the day when the most state delegates can be won, a presidential hopeful must do well that day if they want to win their party's nomination.
16. If no candidate wins a majority of delegates during the primary season, the nominee is chosen by the convention.

Tips & Warnings

• Traditionally the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary give a good idea of who will emerge as the presidential nominees.
• Because Iowa and New Hampshire are small states, and campaigning is intense and personal, sometimes little known and underfunded candidates can perform better than expected and upset their more established rivals. Look to the results in these states for upsets and long shot bets.