ABSTRACT
The goal of the election is to decide a policy to be implemented. The election is modeled as a three-stage game between voters, parties and candidates. This chapter explores a median-voter theorem with nominations which included the following three of the conditions: parties with extreme ideal points; parties that care about influencing policy rather than winning the election; and primary platforms that are binding in the general election. It details a model to investigate the effect that we should expect from primary elections on policy polarization. The model is purposely simple to the well-known linear model developed by Anthony Downs. The model extends the analysis by adding the two conditions: candidates who value obtaining the nomination independently of winning the election; and parties who are risk loving. Given that the result remains unchanged, the theorem can be considered a robustness check.
