presidential candidate election newbie questions
alien1:
Hi!
I arrived in the US recently from Germany and can't find answers to two simple questions:
1. Who elects the Democratic Presidential Candidate and what are the rules for this election?
2. Nobody talks about alternative Republican Candidates. Does George W Bush have a "free ticket"? What would need to happen to see an alternative (or additional) republican candidate?
Thanks alot in advance!
Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon:
Welcome to America! :)
1) Both Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates (and for that matter Libertarian and other third parties) are elected by delegates who attend the annual national conventions for their party. How these delegates are elected depend on the state's system as well as the rules of their party.
Each state has either a primary election or a caucus. The rules for each of these elections vary from state to state. In some states, independents (or even members of the opposite party) can vote in either party primary. In some of those states, those independent votes will count and in others the independent votes will be counted seperately from the partisan votes. Some states (Tennessee for example), there is no partisan registration so people can vote in any primary they choose.
Republican delegates are chosen almost entirely from the primary-caucus system while Democrats have a rather un-democratic system of super-delegates who pledge their votes to the candidates. These elite super-delegates constitute almost 40% of the votes necessary to get the nomination. In both parties, party leaders including national committee members and state chairmen are also entitled to delegate status - in the GOP this accounts for around 6% of the delegates.
States are allocated delegates based on their vote for the respective party in previous elections, number of partisan elected officials, and overall population. Both parties allow delegates for the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa; although the latter three cannot vote for President in the general election.
Whether the delegates have to pledge their support to a candidate beforehand or not depends on either the party rules or the election law in the state.
The Green Papers has some excellent in-depth information on the delegate selection process in both parties. http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P04
2) In a political sense, President Bush is unopposed for the Republican nomination as no elected official or major figure at any level is challenging him. However, in an official sense, the election process will be the same - there will still be Republican primaries and caucuses in most states just as if there were a competitive election.
In both parties, there are "no-name" candidates who will make it to the ballot in some states. The only two no-name Republicans who are mounting any sort of campaign is Blake Ashby, a millionaire moderate from Missouri, and Bill Wyatt, an anti-war screwball from California. Democrats have their own legion of no-names, headed up by Lyndon LaRouche - who is basically a fascist cult leader and conspiracy propagandist. It is highly unlikely that any of these candidates will recieve even one delegate at their respective party's conventions.
Ryan:
hmmm useful. Here's another question. What does it take to be considered "officially" running for the nomination.
I mean take the current democrat race. No one seriously expects either Kucinich, Sharpton or Braun to win either nomination or Presidency. Yet they are invited to all debates, used on all polls etc.
How come they are and LaRouche is not??? What qualifications could he possibly lack that say Sharpton has :P
DarthKosh:
Quote from: Ryan on December 01, 2003, 01:45:34 PM
hmmm useful. Here's another question. What does it take to be considered "officially" running for the nomination.
I mean take the current democrat race. No one seriously expects either Kucinich, Sharpton or Braun to win either nomination or Presidency. Yet they are invited to all debates, used on all polls etc.
How come they are and LaRouche is not??? What qualifications could he possibly lack that say Sharpton has :P
Money and being on the ballot.
Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon:
The DNC can keep him out of the process and they are absolutely right to do so when it comes to nuts... but you would think that Sharpton would qualify for "nut" status too.
According to Politics1.com, LaRouche has raised $5 million (which puts him in line with some of the other candidates) He has ran screwy radio commercials in the past and actually managed to get 22% in the Arkansas Dem Primary in 2000 but the DNC refused to award him the delegates. Normally I would oppose efforts to exclude people from the process and I would certainly jump on the DNC for doing so... but in this case, I think you have a valid exception.
Politics1.com has some great info on the also-running candidates below the spotlight:
Republicans: http://www.politics1.com/othergop04.htm
Democrats: http://www.politics1.com/dems04.htm
and a list of all the known 3rd party candidates:
http://www.politics1.com/p2004.htm
Quote from: Ryan on December 01, 2003, 01:45:34 PM
hmmm useful. Here's another question. What does it take to be considered "officially" running for the nomination.
I mean take the current democrat race. No one seriously expects either Kucinich, Sharpton or Braun to win either nomination or Presidency. Yet they are invited to all debates, used on all polls etc.
How come they are and LaRouche is not??? What qualifications could he possibly lack that say Sharpton has :P
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