hung parliament
An election held to choose candidates for the main election is called a Primary Election.
These are called primaries or primary elections. Not all states have them.
Primary Election
An election in which delegates select and nominate candidates is called a caucus.
Primary elections or primaries is what these elections are called.
open primary.
runoff primary
Party Nominee - Gov NovaNet
The winner of the primary is the party nominee.
These preliminary elections are called primary electionsor primaries. Open primaries allow any registered voter to vote in whatever primary they choose to vote in. Closed primaries attempt to restrict the voters to supporters of the party primary they want to vote in.
Run-off primary
Without California's 55 votes, in either 2008 or 2012, Barack Obama and Joe Biden would still have the required absolute majority of electoral votes. The removal of California's votes would not have changed the outcome of the 2004 election, the first election in which California had 55 votes, either.