William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

The role of political parties in American politics 279

his reputation (including running the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah) and Utah’s large

Mormon population. In addition, party leaders, many of whom opposed President

Trump in the 2016 election, wanted to discourage the election of a pro-Trump

candidate, such as State Auditor John Dougall.

Despite all of these efforts, however, parties and their leaders do not control who

runs in House, Senate, or presidential races (see the Take a Stand feature). In most

states, candidates for these offices are selected in a primary election or a caucus,

in which they compete for a particular party’s spot on the ballot. About two-thirds

of the states use some type of primary election, while the rest use caucuses to

select candidates (see Nuts & Bolts 8.1). Most notably, Donald Trump won the 2016

Republican presidential nomination by virtue of his victories in the party’s primaries

and caucuses over the objections of many party leaders. Trump’s victory demonstrates

that party endorsements, while significant, are not the only factor in shaping

nomination contests.

Running as a major party’s nominee, as opposed to running as an Independent,

is almost always the easiest way to get on the general-election ballot. Some states

give the Republican and Democratic nominees an automatic spot on the ballot. Even

in states that don’t automatically allocate ballot slots this way, the requirements

for the major parties to get a candidate on the ballot are much less onerous than

those for minor parties and Independents. For example, in California a party and

its candidates automatically qualify for a position on the ballot if any of the party’s

candidates for statewide office received more than 2 percent of the vote in the

previous election. In contrast, Independent candidates need to file petitions with

more than 150,000 signatures to get on the ballot without a major-party label—an

expensive, time-consuming task.^31 These advantages help explain why virtually

all prominent candidates for Congress and the presidency run as Democrats or

Republicans.

National parties also manage the nomination process for presidential candidates.

This process involves a series of primaries and caucuses held over a six-month period

primary election

A ballot vote in which citizens select

a party’s nominee for the general

election.

caucus (electoral)

A local meeting in which party

members select a party’s nominee for

the general election.

NUTS

& B O LT S

8.1

Primary Election An election in which voters choose the major-party nominees for political office, who subsequently compete in a

general election.

Closed primary A primary election system in which only registered party members can vote in their party’s primary.

Nonpartisan primary A primary election system in which candidates from both parties are listed on the same primary ballot. Following a

nonpartisan primary, the two candidates who receive the most votes in the primary compete in the general election,

even if they are from the same party.

Open primary A primary election system in which any registered voter can participate in either party’s primary, regardless of the

voter’s party affiliation.

Semi-closed primary A primary election system in which voters registered as party members must vote in their party’s primary, but

registered Independents can vote in either party’s primary.

Caucus Election A series of local meetings at which registered voters select a particular candidate’s supporters as delegates who will

vote for the candidate in a later, state-level convention. (In national elections, the state-convention delegates select

delegates to the national convention.) Caucuses are used in some states to select delegates to the major parties’

presidential nominating conventions. Some states’ caucuses are open to members of any party, while others are closed.

Types of Primaries and Caucuses

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