U.S. Primaries

The Primary Primer

All but four U.S. states and districts hold primaries or caucuses for the Republican and Democratic presidential races.

The system allows either the voting population at large (in open primaries), or party members only (in closed primaries or caucuses) to help narrow down the field of candidates.

The normal election machinery of the state runs the primaries. Voting is done in public facilities.
In an open primary, anyone is free to vote for either Republican or Democratic candidates. In a closed primary, only registered party members can vote in a particular party race.
Caucuses are run by the political parties themselves, and involve lots of grassroots organizational activity.

Up until the 1960s the primaries involved 10 or 12 states, and served as a test for party leadership, to see which way the political winds were blowing across the country. It still remained up to delegates to choose the presidential candidates at summertime conventions - and there used to be some real nail biters.

In recent years, more and more states have joined the primary bandwagon. Many have changed the dates of their primaries - moving them up in the calendar year to have greater influence on the results.

Thus, it has become increasingly important for candidates to win big in early primaries.

Here are some of the key dates in the U.S. primary system. The process carries on until early June, but most political analysts expect it to be pretty much over by Super Tuesday on March 2. That's when 10 heavily populated states including California and New York weigh in on the matter.

January 13th, 2004	District of Columbia Presidential Primary (Closed)
January 19th, 2004	Iowa Democratic Caucuses Iowa Republican Caucuses
January 27th, 2004	New Hampshire Presidential Primary (Closed)
February 3rd, 2004	Arizona Presidential Preference Election (Closed) Delaware Democratic Presidential Primary (Closed) Missouri Presidential Primary (Open) New Mexico Democratic Caucuses North Dakota Democratic Caucuses North Dakota Republican Caucuses Oklahoma Presidential Primary (Closed) South Carolina Democratic Presidential Preference Primary
February 7th, 2004	Michigan Democratic Presidential Caucuses Washington Presidential Caucuses
February 8th, 2004	Maine Democratic Caucuses
February 10th, 2004	Tennessee Presidential Primary Virginia Presidential Primary
February 14th, 2004	District of Columbia Democratic Caucuses Nevada Democratic Caucuses
February 17th, 2004	Wisconsin Presidential Primary (Open)
February 24th, 2004	Hawaii Democratic Caucuses Idaho Democratic Caucuses Utah Democratic Presidential Primary
March 2nd, 2004	California Presidential Primary (Modified Closed) Connecticut Presidential Primary (Closed) Georgia Presidential Preference Primary (Open) Maryland Presidential Primary (Closed) Massachusetts Presidential Primary Minnesota Democratic Caucuses Minnesota Republican Caucuses New York Presidential Primary (Closed) Ohio Presidential Primary (Open) Rhode Island Presidential Preference Primary Vermont Presidential Primary (Open)
March 9th, 2004	Florida Presidential Primary (Closed) Louisiana Presidential Preference Election (Open) Mississippi Presidential Primary (Open) Texas Presidential Primary (Open) Washington Republican Caucuses

Full list of Primaries at: VoteSmart.org