Politics in the USA, Sixth Edition

76 Politics and elections

Presidential

primaries

The National Conventions

(nominate presidential

and vice-presidential

candidates)

The national campaign

The presidential election

The electoral college

State and

local party

meetings

County

conventions

Primary

elections

State and

district

conventions

(Nomination of candidates

for federal legislature,

state, and local

government offices)

State and local campaigns

Election of federal

legislators, state and local

government officers

Elect delegates

Choose delegates

Choose delegates

Choose delegates

Elect delegates

Figure 4.1 The electoral process

offices in this way. As political bosses then dominated the American parties,
this method of selection entrenched the power of party leaders and perpetu-
ated their control over the party. In the early years of the Republic, caucuses
of members of Congress selected candidates for the presidency. After 1840,
however, delegates from the several states selected presidential candidates
in national nominating conventions. Political bosses still played an important
role in the bargaining that went on between state delegations in order to find
a candidate acceptable to the various factions, and wheeling and dealing still
characterised the selection of presidential candidates well into the twentieth
century. Nominating conventions were intended to make the selection of can-