Republican and Democratic Primary Information
DOWN: Cruz, Kasich
Presidential Primary Overview
|Democratic Delegate Tracker|
|Republican Delegate Tracker|
The presidential election season is upon us. On November 8, 2016, Americans will head to the polls and choose their new president. On the ballot will be one Democrat and one Republican – plus any number of other qualified candidates from different political parties. Why is there just one candidate from each of the major U.S. political parties? The answer is simple: presidential primaries. Yet, while the answer may be simple, the process isn’t simple at all.Through the primary election process, each party selects a nominee to move on to the general election in November. Essentially, selecting a party nominee involves dozens of state-level elections in which candidates attempt to claim super voters, called delegates, who attend the national conventions. Once a candidate has earned a majority of these delegates, he or she becomes the de-facto nominee – although nothing is official until each party convenes at their national convention and these delegates formally cast their votes.
What kinds of primaries are held?Each state holds its own brand of primary election. Most states feature normal elections where voters go to the polls and select their favorite party candidate. This is the traditional primary election. Other states hold caucus elections. These community-style elections consist of precinct-level gatherings where partisan voters take time to debate the merits of each prospective nominee before casting their ‘vote’ for their favorite. At the end of the night, the votes – which can be nothing more than a name on a piece of paper – are counted and tabulated.
2016 Democratic Nomination
Click on the links below for in depth Democratic nomination information
|Democratic Presidential Candidates|
|Democratic Delegate Count|
|Democratic Nomination Polls|
|Democratic Primary Schedule|
|Democratic Debate Schedule|
|Democratic National Convention|
2016 Republican Nomination
Click on the links below for in depth Republican nomination information
|Republican Presidential Candidates|
|Donald Trump – Presumed nominee|
|Republican Delegate Count|
|Republican Nomination Polls|
|Republican Primary Schedule|
|Republican Debate Schedule|
|Republican National Convention|
Presidential Primaries and ResultsJune Schedule
06/07: California | Montana | New Jersey | New Mexico | North Dakota (D) | South Dakota May Schedule and Results
05/24: Washington (R)
05/17: Kentucky (D) | Oregon
05/10: Nebraska (R) | West Virginia
05/03: Indiana April Results
04/26: Connecticut | Delaware | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island
04/19: New York
04/09: Wyoming (D)
04/05: Wisconsin March Results
03/26: Alaska (D) | Hawaii (D) | Washington (D)
03/22: Arizona | Idaho (D) | Utah
03/15: Florida | Illinois | Missouri | North Carolina | Ohio
03/12: Wyoming (R)
03/08: Hawaii (R) | Idaho (R) | Michigan | Mississippi
03/06: Maine (D)
03/05: Kansas | Kentucky (R) | Louisiana | Maine (R) | Nebraska (D)
03/01: Alabama | Alaska (R) | Arkansas | Colorado (D) | Georgia | Massachusetts | Minnesota | Oklahoma | Tennessee | Texas | Vermont | Virginia February Results
02/27: South Carolina (D)
02/23: Nevada (R)
02/20: Nevada (D) | South Carolina (R)
02/09: New Hampshire
What are delegates and how are they allocated?Delegates can be thought of as representatives. They represent the vote results of primary and caucus elections. Typically, these super voters make their way to their party’s national convention and cast their vote as it has been, with very few exceptions, pre-determined. Selection of these delegates varies greatly from state to state and party to party. The most common are listed below.
- Winner-take-all primary: The candidate who earns the most primary or caucus votes claims in the entire allotment of party delegates from the state.
- Winner-take-most primary: The candidate who earns the most primary or caucus votes claims a disproportionate number of delegates.
- Proportional primary: Delegates are awarded to proportionally to each candidate who eclipses a vote threshold .
- Caucus/Convention: Lower-tier delegates are selected based on caucus votes. These delegates, in turn, select national convention delegates through county, district, and finally, state-level conventions.