What is the significance of the distinction between primary and Caucus?

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Javeria Masud

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What Is The Significance Of The Distinction Between Primary And Caucus?

A Caucus is a series of meetings held by party members rather than open elections. They are also used to select a party’s candidate for the presidency. States that usually use caucuses to select their candidates include Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Hawaii and Nevada.

A primary is an election held within a political party to decide which of a number of competing individuals should be the official candidate of that party in a public election. It is most commonly used in the USA by political parties to select their preference for a presidential candidate. Most states use the ‘primary’ to nominate their President. New Hampshire is usually the first state to hold the primary season in February or March and the rest follow over the next three or four months. There are several different types of primaries. These include closed primaries, open primaries, blanket primaries, winner-take-all primaries, proportional representation primary, advisory primary and mandatory primary.

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A closed primary offers a greater degree of participation than caucuses. A disadvantage of such primary is that only party members can vote. Hence, voting can be biased as some candidates might be given priority over the others. However, an advantage is that the party members would know who is the suitable candidate to run for presidency. Voters who have declared an affiliation to the party are allowed to participate in that party’s primary. States holding closed primaries include North Hampshire and California.

In an open primary, unlike closed primaries, the voters of a state regardless of their party affiliation ...

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