RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE,
PART II: FIRST IN THE
NATION
Decision: 2016
 Primaries and caucuses
choose delegates to the
national party conventions
 Delegates choose the party
candidates or nominee
 Caucuses: people assemble
in groups to support their
candidate
 They try to sway others to
join their group
 Primaries: people vote for
their favorite candidate
Primary Elections
 Two types of primaries:
 Open Primaries: EVERYONE CAN VOTE!!!
 Closed Primaries: ONLY party members vote
(registered Democrats vote in Democratic
primaries, while Republicans vote in
Republican primaries)
Why Parties Like Closed
Primaries
First in the Nation
 January: Iowa Caucuses and the New
Hampshire Primaries
 Iowa and New Hampshire are important for
building momentum
 They are the “first in the nation” primary and
caucus elections
 The problem with these states is that they
aren’t representative of America
 Other states HATE the fact that Iowa and New
Hampshire always go first
Frontloading and Compression
 States like Florida and Michigan try to
leapfrog Iowa and New Hampshire, who will
move their primary earlier and earlier to stay
first!
 Frontloading: the act of a state moving its
primary earlier and earlier in a calendar
year
 1976: Primaries STARTED in February
 2008: The Republican primaries were OVER by
March 2
Frontloading and Compression
 Compression: The act of states moving their
primaries closer and closer together!
 Compression means primaries are generally over very
fast!
 1976: Jimmy Carter won Iowa on January 27. New
Hampshire: February 24
 2000: Al Gore won Iowa on January 24. His second win
came on February 1, then February 5, and then February 29
 2004: John Kerry won Iowa on January 19. His second win
came on January 27, then February 3, then February 7, 8, 10,
14, 17, 24, 26 and March 2
 2008: 6 primaries in January and 23 by February 5!
Super Tuesday
 Super Tuesday: the date in which the most
number of states hold primary elections.
 This is the BEST opportunity to defeat your
primary election opponents
 Super Tuesday is the day where the most
convention delegates can be won
 Super Tuesday is MOST LIKELY the day Americans
find out who the two candidates for president will
be
Summarize
 In your interactive notebook, at the bottom
of your notes page, write a short paragraph
about today’s lesson. Write about:
 What the main idea of the lesson was
 AND what you learned today.
 Your summary should be able to explain
today’s lesson to someone who was not in
class today.