2a. Primaries Vocabulary Dominos

Nomination

system used in some Republican primaries whereby the candidate to receive the most votes in a state receives all of that state’s delegate

National Party Convention

the official endorsement of a candidate by a party

Primary

held in the summer before the general election, where the candidate is chosen by the delegates selected during the primaries and caucuses and the party platform is adopted

Open Primary

a preliminary election, in this case of delegates that are usually pledged to vote for particular candidates at party nominating conventions, first held in 1912, now over 40 states will hold them with about 75% of delegates being chosen this way, state laws determine when they are held, parties establish rules for how delegates are allocated; New Hampshire Primary – traditionally the first primary, receives a great deal of media attention

Closed Primary

open to all, regardless of party affiliation

Caucus

open only to those registered as party members

Frontloading

the original method by which most delegates to the nominating conventions were selected, now much less popular, formerly run by party bosses, now consists of meetings open to voters registered with each party where candidates are discussed and delegates are selected to go to larger caucuses and ultimately to the national conventions; Iowa Caucus – traditionally the first caucus and first event in the primary season, thus much media attention is given to it

Super Tuesday

states holding their primaries and caucuses earlier and earlier to capitalise on disproportionate attention paid to early primaries and caucuses

Delegate

the Tuesday in early March when a number of Southern states have held their primaries together in order to balance the importance of earlier events in Northern states, this year there will be several “super Tuesdays”

Superdelegate

voting representative to party nominating convention where the candidate for president is chosen, usually pledged to a particular candidate

Proportional System

party leaders, such as elected officials, who are given seats at a nominating Convention

Winner-take-all system

system used in Democratic primaries and some Republican primaries whereby candidates are allocated the same proportion of a state’s delegates as they received votes