ABSTRACT
The presidential nomination process is far from perfect. It is an odd combination of primary elections, local caucuses, and national conventions. Democrats use one set of rules, while the Republican Party uses a variety of other rules. In addition, processes and rules vary across the 50 states and by election year. Today’s nomination system includes a number of biases, as well. Some biases are connected to the election calendar; others are linked to party rules on delegate distribution and allocation. Some biases advantage a few states over the others; others appear to advantage specific candidates. Meanwhile, the strengths of the current system are its flexibility and the opportunity for a variety of voices from within the party to be heard. When most elements of the party rally around a single candidate, the process produces a nominee in a short period of time. In other years, nomination contests are prolonged as no one candidate appeals to all components of the party.
