Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Presidential Election process	USstudent244	11/11/03
Hello Mr. Haddock, I have a question for you regarding the presidential election process. I may have asked this question already, but please forgive me. I have misplaced my files. I do appreciate your assistance very much. Okay, now for my question. What are the differences and similarities of the Caucus process (specifically the legislative caucus process) and the Direct Primaries?
Answered By		Answered On
stevehaddock		11/12/03
The two processes are so different that, for the most part, the legislative caucus doesn't decide who gets the nomination until they meet, whereas with the Direct Primary system, so far, the winner of the nomination is a foregone conclusion long before the convention. It also changes the participation of the candidates. Back in the days of the legislative caucus, potential nominees had to worm their way into the hearts of sitting legislators. However, this led to an inevitable consequence - legislators could not make their intentions public too early for fear of being identified with a losing candidate, so for the most part the members of the legislative caucus had to figure out what their fellow members were going to do and head in the same direction. The British Conservative Party still uses a legislative caucus method, and winners are still terribly vindictive against those who did not support them - friends tend to get cabinet posts and enemies go to the back bench. Under the current U.S. primary system, it is vitally important to get off to a good start. In 2000, George W. Bush was given a good fright in New Hampshire when John McClain won the primary, but came back strong in following weeks to take away McClain's momentum. However, as Maine Senator Edmund Muskie learned in 1972, trying to win the primaries by targeting big states (or all the states) usually results in disaster if you don't win, or at least do well, in early but small states. As such, unlike legislative caucuses which generally reflect the population distribution of the party as a whole, the primary system gives a lot more power to small states that don't always reflect where the party has support. For example, most Democratic nominees have won New Hampshire, but New Hampshire is traditionally a Republican state. Iowa, on the other hand, is traditionally more Democrat, but Republicans who do well in the straw polls there get off to a good start. Because of the small size of a legislative caucus, it is especially vulnerable to abuse, especially by party insiders. This is less likely with primaries, where even in small states you need a lot of voters to win - that's generally resulted in less corruption.

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