What are the presidential primaries?

Answer 1

US primaries are preliminary elections for the purpose of choosing the candidates for the general election. Presidential primaries are the election held in several of the states for the purpose of choosing the candidates for US president. If a sitting US President or other office holder wishes to run again for election, the primaries are usually held for the the party candidates not in office. Thus, as in the last Presidential election, President Obama wished to run for a second 4 year term and there were no other candidates in the Democrat Party that had any inclination to run against him. The primaries are held on different days, starting in January of election years and generate a lot of interest among followers of politics. The primaries are very important and thus each candidate may spend a good amount of money for campaigning purposes. The result of these elections generate delegates from each States party. As an example, and can only be an example, lets assume that in the State of Kentucky holds a primary election to determine how many State delegates are won by candidates for the Republican nomination. These delegates are pledged to the candidates usually on a winner take all basis or divided by percentages of the vote. In most states a voter must be a registered member of the party that they are voting for. Thus in the primaries for the Republican presidential election, Democrat party members cannot vote on whom shall be the Republican presidential nominee. Each State may have different ways to divide the number of delegate's it will send to the Republican national party convention. The primaries for the selection of candidates will or may have a strong result as to whom will appear as a candidate for a particular party in the general elections in November. Each party designates how many delegate votes are required for someone to win the nomination. It is only when one candidate has early on in the primary campaigns won an overwhelming amount of State delegates, and in fact reaches or surpasses the party's stated number of delegates votes required to win are the primary elections that follow often have a meaningless primary election. Thus, primary elections are extremely important in the US's election process.