ABSTRACT
The organizing idea of the formal rules, is really a combination of two principles: the first one is federalism; the second is national choice. The United States of course is a federal nation in which the 50 states and a couple of territories are viewed as independent political units for some purposes; the nominating system and delegate selection system recognize that federal quality. The Republican party leans more toward the federal system, allocating delegates first on the basis of how many congressmen exist in the states, and then adding a certain number of extra or bonus votes to each state. Twenty-five percent of the delegates are now chosen through the caucus method. The other three-quarters are chosen through state primaries, and that is a major change. As recently as 1968 only about 25 percent were chosen through state primaries, the rest were chosen through caucuses and party methods.
