Presidential Nominations
The Big Idea
Every four years, political parties officially
select their presidential candidates at national
conventions, following State primaries and
party caucuses
Remember Primaries
• What are primaries?
• Presidential Primaries may look a little different
• due to this being on a national level not just a state
• there are other pieces of information that must be
considered when the whole country is choosing.
• Remember the Constitution says NOTHING about
primaries and candidate selection
Delegates
• This nomination process falls into the hands of the National
Committees
• DNC: Democratic National Committee
• RNC: Republican National Committee
• Both parties will hold a National Convention at the end of the
primary season declaring who will be their candidate for
president.
• The candidate is chosen by delegates from each state
• each state has a certain number of delegates
• the delegates will officially vote for the candidate their state choses
during the National Convention
Presidential Primaries
• Each state will hold its primary to decide who the delegates
will vote for.
• Proportional representation
• any candidate who wins at least 15% of the votes cast in a primary gets
the number of that state’s delegates that corresponds to the share of
primary votes.
• SO there is a lot of math involved.
• First official primary is held in New Hampshire.
• Super Tuesday: is the one day most states hold their primaries.
National Convention
• This year they will be held:
• DNC: Philadelphia
• RNC: Cleveland
• This is usually a big multi night production with a lot of famous
people
• The delegates cast their votes for nominee
• we already know who it is
• this is just a formality
• Big speeches
• Keynote address
• Vice President also announced
Obama Speech
Palin Speech