Who Pays for the Primary Election?

Primary elections are organized by political parties to find a single candidate to support. Losers of primaries are expected to support the winner in the general election, though they sometimes end up running as independents or without a party affiliation.

Political parties benefit by avoiding being forced to spread their resources in supporting multiple candidates. The public is given fewer candidates in the general election and is thus able to get to know the position of each nominee more deeply.

Primaries occur for local, state and national positions. These may involve local political parties or those that extend nationwide, such as the Republicans and Democrats.

It is usually up to the local authorities, such as city or county officials, as to how to fund primary elections. Political parties may be asked to provide financial assistance, though this is not the norm.

Often, primary elections are partially or fully funded by public entities such as county or city governments. Different jurisdictions have various methods of funding, ranging from filing fees to drawing from the general fund. Some areas of Texas, for example, allow up to 60 percent of the costs of a primary to be paid for from the general fund of the county.

Holding a primary may cause the general election to be less expensive because less public funding must be made available for a smaller selection of candidates. This provides a great incentive for public funding for primaries.