The race before the race: How US primary elections choose candidates

Before the ballots are sealed in the United States on November 3, another set of contests will have decided many of the names appearing in the very ballots.

These are the primary elections where political parties choose the candidates who will represent them in the general election.

Simply put, these are intra party elections. If several Democrats want to contest the same House seat, they first compete against each other in a Democratic primary. Republicans do the same on their side. The winners then move on to the general election.


But as with most things in the US electoral system, there is no single way of doing this. States set many of their own primary rules, while political parties also have a say in how candidates are chosen.

That makes the road to the November ballot quite different depending on where a candidate is running.

The battle before the war

Primaries are often described as the race before the race. They decide which candidate gets to carry a party's name into the general election.

In many places, the winner of the primary simply advances to November 3rd. This can make primaries especially important in areas where one party is much stronger than the other. In such seats, the primary can become a more competitive contest because the eventual nominee may already have a strong advantage going into the general election.

Primary elections have also changed the way parties choose candidates.

In the past, party leaders and conventions had a much bigger role in deciding who would run. Today, voters themselves play a far more direct role in most nomination contests.

Open, closed and everything in between

One of the most confusing parts of US primaries is that not all voters follow the same rules.

In a closed primary, only voters registered with a particular political party can usually take part in that party's contest. This implies that a registered Democrat votes in the Democratic primary votes, while a registered Republican votes in the Republican one.

States such as New York, Pennsylvania and Florida follow closed primary systems for many elections.

An open primary is fundamentally opposite. Voters do not always have to be formally registered with a party to participate. They can generally choose which party's primary they want to vote in, though they cannot normally vote in both.

States such as Texas, Georgia and Virginia use versions of open primaries.

Interestingly, there are also systems that sit somewhere in between. Some states allow independent or unaffiliated voters to choose a party primary, while still preventing registered members of one party from voting in another party's contest. So even though two voters may both be taking part in a US primary election, the rules they face can be very different.

Some states put everyone on the same ballot

A few states have gone even further and moved away from the traditional Democrat-versus-Republican primary model.

California and Washington, for example, use a top-two primary for many offices. Candidates from different parties appear together on the same ballot, and the two people who receive the most votes move on to the general election.

That means the final election does not always produce a Democrat-versus-Republican contest. In some cases, two Democrats or two Republicans can end up facing each other. Alaska uses a similar system, but sends the top four candidates through to the general election.

These systems show just how varied the US primary process can be.

First step is for candidates to get on the ballot

Before candidates can ask voters for their support, they first need to qualify for the primary ballot. The rules vary from state to state.

Candidates may have to file paperwork, meet deadlines, pay a fee or collect a certain number of voter signatures. The requirements can also depend on the office they are contesting for.

Once they qualify, the campaign begins. Candidates raise money, hold rallies, appear in debates, seek endorsements and try to convince voters that they should be the party's nominee.

It has been witnessed that primary campaigns can be politically awkward. Candidates from the same party may spend months criticising one another, only for the eventual winner to later ask supporters of those rivals to unite behind them in final elections.

Sometimes one election is not enough

Winning by simple majority in a primary does not always guarantee the nomination.Some states require candidates to cross a particular threshold, often 50%. If no one reaches that mark, the top candidates can be sent into a runoff election. That means voters may have to return to the polls again before a party finally settles on its nominee.

Runoffs are another reason the US election calendar can stretch over several months. Primary dates and runoff rules are largely determined by individual states, so different parts of the country can be at very different stages of the election at the same time.

Primaries are not the only way candidates are chosen

Although primaries are now the most common method, political parties still use other systems in some places. These include caucuses and party conventions.

A caucus is generally a party-organised meeting in which members take part in choosing candidates or delegates. Unlike a standard primary, it does not always look like a normal election with people simply walking into a polling station and casting a ballot.

Party conventions can also be used to choose nominees. In some states, parties hold conventions before a primary. In others, certain parties can use conventions instead of a primary for particular races.

So the route from "I want to run" to "my name is on the November ballot" is not always straightforward.

Why primaries matter

Primaries do more than narrow a crowded field. They can shape the kind of candidates voters eventually see on the general-election ballot.

They decide whether an incumbent survives a challenge, whether a newcomer breaks through, and which wing of a party gains greater influence. They can also produce candidates who appeal strongly to primary voters but then have to adjust their message for a much broader electorate in the final elections.

That gives candidates two different political tasks of initially winning over their own side, then winning over everyone else.

The road to November starts much earlier

By the time Americans vote on November 3, the field has already been shaped by months of contests within the parties themselves.

Primaries decide which candidates survive, which political voices gain ground and, ultimately, what choices voters will have in the general election. In some races, especially in areas dominated by one party, that internal contest can be nearly as important as the November vote itself.

So while Election Day decides who takes office, the primary season often decides who gets the chance to compete for it.