William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

280

TAKE

A S TA N D

Should Parties Choose

Their Candidates?

One of the facts of life for the leaders of the Democratic

and Republican parties is that they cannot determine who

runs as their party’s candidate for political office. They

can encourage some candidates to run and attempt to

discourage others by endorsing their favorites and funneling

money, staff support, and other forms of assistance to

the candidates they prefer. But in the end, congressional

candidates get on the ballot by winning a primary or a vote at

a state party convention; presidential candidates compete in

a series of primaries and caucuses. Is this system a good one?

Let the party decide. Many scholars have argued that

letting parties choose their candidates increases the chances

of getting experienced, talented candidates on the ballot.a

After all, party leaders probably know more than the average

voter about who would make a good candidate or elected

official. Plus, party leaders have a strong incentive to find

good candidates and convince them to run: their party’s

influence over government policy increases with the number

of people they can elect to political office. And finally, in

states that have no party registration or day-of-election

registration, giving the nomination power to party leaders

would ensure that a group of outsiders could not hijack a

party primary to nominate a candidate who disagreed with a

party’s platform or who was unqualified to serve in office.

While cases of outright hijacking of party nominations

are fairly rare, political parties don’t always get the

nominees their leaders want and party leaders cannot

force candidates out of a race. In the 2016 election cycle,

for example, many Republican Party leaders believed that

Donald Trump was not the party’s strongest nominee.

Trump gained the nomination over their objections by

winning the party’s caucus and primary contests.

Let the people decide. One argument in favor of giving

the nomination power to the people is that party leaders have

not always shown good judgment in picking either electable

or qualified candidates. Many of the same Republican leaders

who opposed Trump had supported party nominees John

McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012, both of whom went

on to lose in the general-election contest. This track record

suggests that party leaders are far from infallible.

The second argument for letting the people decide

hinges on a judgment about whose wishes should prevail in

nomination contests: the people who make up the party in

the electorate or the people in the party organization. What

right does the party organization have to select nominees,

given that support for the party from the electorate (its

contributions and votes in elections) is essential for electoral

success? Moreover, shouldn’t voters have a say in determining

what their electoral choices look like? If party leaders choose,

voters may not like any of the options put before them.

Why, then, do voters in America get to pick party

nominees in primaries? Direct primaries were introduced in

American politics during the late 1800s and early 1900s.b The

goal was explicit: reform-minded party activists wanted to

take the choice of nominees out of the hands of party leaders

and give it to the electorate, with the assumption that voters

should be able to influence the choice of candidates for the

general election. Moreover, reformers believed that this goal

outweighed the expertise held by party leaders.

Here is the trade-off: If party leaders select nominees,

they will likely choose electable candidates who share

the policy goals held by party leaders. If voters choose

nominees, they can pick whomever they want, using

whatever criteria they like—but there is no guarantee

that these candidates will be skilled general-election

campaigners or effective in office.

In the end, some groups must be given control over the

selection of a party’s nominees. Should this power be given

to party leaders or to the people?

Both political parties organize a series of candidate debates

during their presidential nomination contests, giving candidates

a chance to present themselves before a national audience.

take a stand

1. One reform proposal would increase the importance of
   the parties as sources of campaign funds. Would this
   change have made much of a difference in the 2016
   Republican presidential contest?


2. What kind of nomination procedure would be favored
   by insurgent groups such as the various Tea Party
   organizations?

Chapter 8 | Political Parties

Full_09_APT_64431_ch08_262-295.indd 280 16/11/18 1:40 PM