also called primaries, these contests allow voters to pick which candidate will represent a party in the general election.
An election in which voters nominate or express a preference for a particular candidate or group of candidates for political office, choose party officials, or select delegates for a party convention.
A preliminary election in which only the registered voters of a political party nominate candidates for office. A political party may allow registered independents to vote in a primary election.
a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen
a device whereby the political parties can have an election for the members to exercise their control over the party and select the candidates they wish to represent them
an election at which only enrolled members of a party may vote
an election held for a political party for the purpose of allowing members of that party to select a nominee or nominees to appear on the General Election Ballot
an election in which registered voters in a jurisdiction select a candidate from a political party who will enter a subsequent election ( nominating primary )
an election in which registered voters in a jurisdiction select a political party 's candidate for a later election ( nominating primary )
an election in which voters select the candidate (s) who will enter a subsequent election
an election that selects a candidate(s) that will represent the party in a general election
a nominating election in which a candidate is chosen by a political party
a nominating election in which each political party decides who will represent it in the general election
a preliminary election between two or more individuals in one political party
a preliminary (or nominating election)
a statewide election that is held on the second Tuesday in June of every general election year
An electoral contest held to choose a political party's candidate for a particular public office. Primaries may be held at all levels of government, including local contests for mayor, district races for the U.S. House of Representatives, statewide elections for governor or U.S. senator, and president of the United States. In "closed" primaries, only registered members of a party may vote. In "open" primaries, voters of one party (called "cross-over" voters) may vote in another party's primary. Primaries for presidential candidates are held at the state level to indicate who the people of that state prefer to be the parties' candidates. Depending on state law, voters cast ballots directly for the presidential candidate they prefer or for delegates who are "pledged" to support that presidential candidate at convention time. State primary elections, if early enough in the political season, can occasionally stop leading presidential candidates in their tracks and create a surge of support for a lesser-known candidate. Note that primaries are an alternative to the "caucus" system of candidate selection.
an election that chooses a political party's candidate for office. The winning candidates from each party will later go up against each other in the general election.
election in which voters choose their party's candidates for the general election
A primary election is an election in which voters in a jurisdiction select candidates for a subsequent election (nominating primary). Primaries are common in the United States, but are generally rare elsewhere in the world. Primary elections are generally traced to the U.S. progressive movement.