A primary is a preliminary election in which a political party selects its candidate(s) who will appear on the ballot in the general election. It’s typically held within a party rather than across all voters, though there are variations by state and party. Key points:
- Purpose: to determine which candidate will represent a party in the general election for a given office. This means no one wins the office in a primary itself; the winner advances to the general election.
- Types of primaries:
- Partisan primary: voters select the party’s nominee; the race is limited to registered members of that party in many states, though some places have open primaries where unaffiliated voters can participate.
* Closed primary: only registered party members can vote in that party’s primary.
* Open primary: any registered voter can participate in a party’s primary, regardless of their own party registration.
* Nonpartisan primary: all candidates run, and party affiliation isn’t the central factor; the top finishers advance to the general election.
- Process: candidates typically file petitions or meet eligibility requirements, campaigns to win the party’s nomination, and then the nominated candidate faces opponents from other parties in the general election. The exact rules (timing, who can vote, how the nomination is decided) vary by state and party.
- When it happens: in most U.S. states, party primaries occur several months before the general election; presidential primaries/caucuses occur in the lead-up to a presidential election year, with timing varying by state.
If you want, I can tailor this to a specific office or state and explain the exact primary rules that apply there (including who can vote, how party registration works, and the nomination threshold).
