Myth or fact? Presidential primary

Fact: Think of a primary election as the first round of auditions for a school play and the general Presidential election as the ultimate “callback.” At first, anyone can try out, but eventually only a couple of people will compete for the starring role.

Fifteen Presidential candidates—eight Democrats and seven Republicans—were in the running when the nation’s first primary kicked off in New Hampshire on January 8. Now, two remaining Democrats, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, are in a neck-and-neck race to be the Democratic Presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Senator John McCain will most likely be the Republican Presidential candidate. Because the Democratic and Republican parties only allow for one Presidential candidate each, citizens nationwide must vote in their state’s primary election to voice their choice for the candidate who will represent their political party in the general election in November.  

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Myth: Not so fast, would-be Presidents! A Presidential candidate is not officially chosen on behalf of their party until the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, which take place during the summer before the general election. At the conventions, people who represent each state  within the political party, called “delegates,” will gather together to give speeches, hold debates, and eventually nominate (officially choose) their party’s Presidential candidate.

So, primary votes are actually used to determine whom the state’s delegates will support during one of the conventions. While citizens do actually see the Presidential candidates’ names when they enter the voting booth to cast their primary ballots, they’re really just telling the state’s delegates whom to nominate during the conventions. Think of a delegate as a messenger who takes his or her state’s vote to the national conventions. 

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Myth: Most states hold primaries but some others hold caucuses. Both involve a candidate, the voter, and the delegate (the messenger that takes your area’s vote to the national convention), but there are a few key differences between the two.

A caucus is like a special town meeting where a community or town’s citizens get together by party with the goal of deciding which delegates will be sent to their party national conventions to help appoint a chosen candidate. During a caucus, there are speeches and discussions to try to convince voters to choose a candidate. Then, each voter sits with the people who want the same candidate.

Be sure to ask an adult whether your state has a primary or a caucus.

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Fact: Unlike the general election when citizens from all 50 states will cast their vote for President on the same day (mark your calendars—Tuesday, November 4, 2008), all states’ primaries or caucuses do not occur on one day. Specific states have the distinction of holding the first caucus in the nation (Iowa) or the first primary in the nation (New Hampshire); then, many states hold their primaries and caucuses on a day called Super Tuesday, which is usually in February or March. As of April 2008, only six primaries or caucuses remain; the Idaho Republican primary will be the last in the nation on May 27.

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Myth: Although Democrat and Republican are the two parties that dominate American politics and legislature, there are smaller political parties called “third parties” that are sometimes represented in the race for President. In 1996 and 2000, Presidential candidate Ralph Nader ran on behalf of the Green Party, which promotes environmentalism and social justice as political priorities. Many candidates throughout history have run as “independents,” a.k.a. those who don’t claim membership to either of the two main parties.

It’s important to know, though, that primaries and caucuses are held only to elect candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties. Third party candidates do not have to run in primary elections or caucuses in order to enter the general Presidential election.

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Fact: Never underestimate the power of the female vote! In the 2008 South Carolina Presidential primary, almost one half of all Republican voters and more than 60% of Democratic voters were women. As of April 2008, only six primaries or caucuses remain; the last primaries in the nation will be held on June 3 in South Dakota, Montana, and New Mexico.

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