How do primaries work?

mojomojo
in Politics & Government

I understand that the primary is nominating the person you want to run for president. However, that's about all I know. For my state, I can only find the results for Republicans; is there a separate vote for Democrats? Is caucus an interchangeable title or does it mean something different? If you're a Democrat (for example, since we have a Democratic president now), do you get to vote for the current president or is he automatically running?

Anything else important that you feel I left out feel free to comment on. However, I'm not asking this to start an argument. Any posts not directly related to the question (comments for or against anyone running) will be reported.

Thanks!

Comments

  • tehabwatehabwa

    The Dems are running Obama, so we don't need to nominate him in primaries.

    Caucuses are a bit different. Instead of voters filling out a ballot whenever during the day, in caucuses, people get together, in the evening. The exact method differs depending on state and party, but usually supporters of each candidate speak.

    Sometimes they do multiple rounds -- everyone stands by their candidate's name. Everyone is counted. Then those who are getting the least votes are dropped out, and their supporters can go stand for someone else. Repeat until there are no more candidates getting few supporters. (Some people make fun of that method, but it's the BEST for a truly democratic result.)

    The time to vote for Obama is in the general election. But now is when you might be asked which Dems you want for Congress, and local elections.

  • tsm767tsm767

    Obama is already President, so he is automatically included in the final election. Another Democrat could run, but that wouldn't be very smart because the Democratic voters would be divided.

    Anyone who wants to run as a GOP candidate can, and the primaries award "delegates" to the winners. Delegates are like points, and whichever candidate gets 1044 points first wins. That person will compete against Obama.

    EDIT: And a caucus is the same thing as a primary, but it is less organized and only a few states have them.

Sign In or Register to comment.