The Delaware Plan is a proposed system to reorganize the state presidential primary elections amongst the 50 states and the several territories of the United States. In brief, the Plan divides the states and territories into four groups, and has the territories and smallest states voting first and the largest states voting last.
The Delaware Plan is an attempt to provide states with meaningful input into the electoral process. The states and territories are divided into four groups, by population. [1] The smallest 12 states and all the territories by population would be the first group, or "pod". The smallest thirteen of the remaining states would be the second group, the next thirteen the third group, and the largest twelve states would form the final group. [2]
The first group, consisting of the smallest states, would vote on one day in March. Though small, they would clearly play a major role in providing momentum to successful candidates. And, as small states, a candidate with limited resources might well find it easier to run the type of door-to-door campaign traditionally run in New Hampshire. However, unlike the current system, it would be difficult for a campaign without large resources to run in all states, [3] as these small states are as widely spread (from Delaware to Alaska) as any in the nation.
The second and third groups would vote on a single day in April and May, respectively. The meaningfulness of their role in the process is secured by the fact that no candidate will be able to achieve a majority of delegates even by the end of the third group's vote in May. Every delegate won will be attached to a candidate that is guaranteed to still be "in the running".
The fourth group, that of the largest states, vote on a single day in June. These twelve states, though needing to wait to vote last, will nonetheless determine the winner, as between them they control more than 50% of the delegates to the national conventions. (Thus, even a last minute entry into the campaign could theoretically win the nomination even if they only ran at the end.) By voting together as a bloc, none of the large states is rendered irrelevant (as was the case for California from 1976 to 2000, after which California moved its voting up to an earlier date).
Since 1952, New Hampshire has held the first state primary election in the presidential process, and since 1972, Iowa has held the first caucuses in the presidential nominating process. Other states followed in nearly random order, as determined by the individual state legislatures. Originally, the New Hampshire primary was held in mid-March of the election year, and the Iowa caucuses a week or two earlier. The final primary elections would typically be held the first or second Tuesday in June, completing the initial stage of the election process about five weeks before the first presidential nominating convention.
For decades, this was considered a desirable system. Having two small states "lead off" the campaign made it easier for candidates—particularly those with limited resources—to get their campaigns started. It was common for candidates to spend many months in New Hampshire in the year prior to the primary, in the hopes of building momentum by winning the first primary.
But many states, particularly larger states, began to desire to play a bigger role in the nominating process, and states began to move their primaries earlier and earlier. By the time of the 2000 campaign, despite the wide open field involving many serious candidates, George W. Bush had secured the nomination by mid-March, many months before the convention. Worse yet, in the eyes of many observers, many voters in large states which would not vote until April (or later) would have no say in the nominating process. [4]
The plan was originally proposed by the Republican National Committee in the spring of 2000, to take effect in the 2004 campaign. However, it was voted down by the general convention that summer. [5] There was some opposition from Iowa delegates, as Iowa would not have been in the first group. More significantly, Republican leaders worried that, if they acted unilaterally, that they would be handing a huge advantage to the Democrats. If the Republicans did indeed use this plan, it would be almost impossible to know who the GOP nominee would be until early or mid-June. But if the Democrats maintained their primary schedule unchanged, then the identity of the Democratic nominee might well be clear in March. This, said some Republican strategists, would provide the Democrats with a three-month "head start" on the general election.
Also, there is criticism that the Delaware Plan may be biased against more liberal candidates from either party. Although the first round of the primaries is pretty evenly split between Blue States and Red States, the second round has 2 Blue States to 10 Red, and the third round has 4 Blue States to 9 Red. This could bias both parties toward more conservative candidates within their ranks. For this reason, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee rejected the plan in 2000.
Others do not so much oppose the Delaware Plan as support other alternatives to the status quo. For example, many favor a system of regional primaries [6] or a lottery system [7] that allows a mix of large and small population states while preserving the possibility of retail politicking in the early phases of the campaign.
The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United States Constitution has never specified the process; political parties have developed their own procedures over time. Some states hold only primary elections, some hold only caucuses, and others use a combination of both. These primaries and caucuses are staggered, generally beginning sometime in January or February, and ending about mid-June before the general election in November. State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves. A state's primary election or caucus is usually an indirect election: instead of voters directly selecting a particular person running for president, they determine the number of delegates each party's national convention will receive from their respective state. These delegates then in turn select their party's presidential nominee. The first state in the United States to hold its presidential primary was North Dakota in 1912, following on Oregon's successful implementation of its system in 1910.
The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections in most other U.S. states, where registered voters go to polling places to cast ballots, Iowans instead gather at local caucus meetings to discuss and vote on the candidates. During both the presidential and midterm election seasons, registered Iowan voters vote in a per-precinct caucus for the party of which they are registered as a member. The caucuses are also held to select delegates to county conventions and party committees, among other party activities.
The 2008 Iowa Democratic presidential caucus occurred on January 3, and was the state caucuses of the Iowa Democratic Party. It was the first election for the Democrats of the 2008 presidential election. Also referred to as "the First in the Nation Caucus," it was the first election of the primary season on both the Democratic and Republican sides. Of the eight major Democratic presidential candidates, then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois received the most votes and was ultimately declared the winner of the Iowa Democratic Caucus of 2008, making him the first African American to win the caucus and the first African American to win a primary state since Jesse Jackson in 1988. Former U.S. Senator John Edwards of North Carolina came in second place and then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York finished third, though Clinton received more delegates than Edwards. Campaigning had begun as early as two years before the event.
The 2008 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2008. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll. The Iowa caucuses mark the traditional formal start of the delegate selection process for the 2008 United States presidential election.
From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Republican Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator John McCain of Arizona was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 2008 Republican National Convention held from Monday, September 1, through Thursday, September 4, 2008, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. President George W. Bush was ineligible to be elected to a third term due to the term limits established by the 22nd Amendment.
Super Tuesday 2008, Super Duper Tuesday, Mega Tuesday, Giga Tuesday, Tsunami Tuesday, and The Tuesday of Destiny are names for February 5, 2008, the day on which the largest simultaneous number of state U.S. presidential primary elections in the history of U.S. primaries were held. Twenty-four states and American Samoa held either caucuses or primary elections for one or both parties on this date. Furthermore, the week-long Democrats Abroad Global Primary began on this day.
The Rotating Regional Primary System is a proposed system for reform of the United States presidential primary process, in which the country would be divided into four regions for primary elections. The plan has been promoted since 1999 by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
From January 29 to June 4, 1996, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1996 United States presidential election. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, the former Senate majority leader, was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1996 Republican National Convention held from August 12 to 15, 1996, in San Diego, California; Dole resigned from the Senate in June 1996 once he became the presumptive nominee to concentrate on his presidential campaign.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 4, 2008, as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose seven representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The Interregional Primary Plan is a proposed reform to the United States primary calendar supported by Representative Sandy Levin and Senator Bill Nelson, both Democrats. The plan would break the country into six regions. From those regions, one subregion - either a single state or a group of smaller states - would vote on each primary date with the entire country having held its primaries after the sixth set of primaries votes. Each state would vote first once every twenty-four years, with the first set of primaries determined by lottery and cycled thereafter.
The Nevada presidential caucuses were an electoral event in which citizens met in precinct caucuses to elect delegates to the corresponding county conventions. The 2020 Nevada caucuses were the last held in the state before the state legislature signed a law which abolished the Nevada Caucus and replaced it with a Primary. There are 17 counties in Nevada and so there are 17 conventions. The county conventions then select delegates to Nevada's State Convention, which then choose delegates for the presidential nominating conventions.
Voters of the Republican Party elected state delegations to the 2012 Republican National Convention in presidential primaries. The national convention then selected its nominee to run for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election. There were 2,286 delegates chosen, and a candidate needed to accumulate 1,144 delegate votes at the convention to win the nomination. The caucuses allocated delegates to the respective state delegations to the national convention, but the actual election of the delegates were, many times, at a later date. Delegates were elected in different ways that vary from state to state. They could be elected at local conventions, selected from slates submitted by the candidates, selected at committee meetings, or elected directly at the caucuses and primaries.
The 2000 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 24, 2000. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll. The Iowa caucuses marked the traditional formal start of the delegate selection process for the 2000 United States presidential election.
The 2012 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose six electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.
The 2012 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses took place on January 3, 2012.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were sent to the Republican National Convention. Businessman and reality television star Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
This article contains the results of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and caucuses, the processes by which the Republican Party selected delegates to attend the 2016 Republican National Convention from July 18–21. The series of primaries, caucuses, and state conventions culminated in the national convention, where the delegates cast their votes to formally select a candidate. A simple majority (1,237) of the total delegate votes (2,472) was required to become the party's nominee and was achieved by the nominee, businessman Donald Trump of New York.
Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place in many U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories from February 3 to August 11, 2020, to elect most of the 2,550 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention. Delegates to the national convention in other states were elected by the respective state party organizations. The delegates to the national convention voted on the first ballot to select Donald Trump as the Republican Party's presidential nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, and selected Mike Pence as the vice-presidential nominee.
The 2020 United States presidential election in Iowa was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris. Iowa has six electoral votes in the Electoral College.
This article contains the results of the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and caucuses, the processes by which the Democratic Party selected delegates to attend the 2020 Democratic National Convention from August 17–20, 2020. The series of primaries, caucuses, and state conventions culminated in the national convention, where the delegates cast their votes to formally select a candidate. A simple majority (1,990) of the total delegate votes (3,979) was required to become the nominee.
 | This article has an unclear citation style.(August 2010) |