POLSCI 242 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Eric Cantor, Information Asymmetry, Path Dependence
8 May 2018
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POLISCI 10.21 Lecture Notes
Primaries
Guest Speaker – Ryan Williamson – Primaries
House Primary Elections and their Institutional Influences
Tom Latham didn’t run for reelection for congress in Iowa
6 candidates campaigned for the seat
In some states, the top two votes go in another round of voting and the candidate with more votes
wins
In Iowa, there is no top two votes system, so neither of the top two won, the fifth place candidate
(David Young) won (WTF?)
States determine timing and manner of elections
o According to Iowa – if no candidate receives at least 35% of the district’s vote, then the
voting goes to caucus style
▪ 5 rounds of votes, the last place candidate is removed after each round
▪ Young won
Different rules for choosing primary election winners
o 33 states – candidate receiving most votes appears in general election
o AL, AR, GA, MS, OK, SC, TX – top two runoff if no candidate receives a majority
o NC – top two runoff if no candidate receives 40% plus 1 of votes
o SD – top two runoff if no candidates receives at least 35% votes
o CA, WA – (not separated by office) top two vote getters advance to the general election
▪ You can have 2 Dem or 2 Republicans, etc.
o IA – candidates proceed to a caucus-style runoff is threshold not met
o VT – a runoff will occur only in the event of a tie
o CT, UT, VA – primary election held if party convention does not yield winner
▪ Delegates determine who will appear on ballot
▪ Voters only participate if delegates do not decide on one option
o LA – no primary election held, runoff occurs after general election if no majority
Institutions that matter
o Rule governing voter participating
▪ Open – all registered voters can choose which primary to vote in
• Seem to elicit more competition
▪ Closed – registered voters must declare an affiliation prior to voting
• Not very competitive
▪ Semi-Open – voters must declare an affiliation but can change easily
▪ Top-two – all registered voters are eligible to vote for any candidate
o Rules not only vary across the state, but can vary across time and party
▪ Refer to Constitution, which allows states to determine elections
Why primary elections?
o Whoever wins the primary will win the general election
▪ In safe districts, we know that party will win
o Primaries were designed to inject more competition to the electoral process
▪ Competition is important
• Primary elections are the foci of competition in a number of congressional
districts
• Increases accountability and responsiveness
Additional theoretical consideration components:
o Members as single-minded seekers of reelection
o Most politicians possess ambition – try to run for a higher position
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Tom latham didn"t run for reelection for congress in iowa. In some states, the top two votes go in another round of voting and the candidate with more votes wins. In iowa, there is no top two votes system, so neither of the top two won, the fifth place candidate (david young) won (wtf?) States determine timing and manner of elections. Why primary elections: whoever wins the primary will win the general election. In safe districts, we know that party will win: primaries were designed to inject more competition to the electoral process, competition is important, primary elections are the foci of competition in a number of congressional districts. Additional theoretical consideration components: members as (cid:498)single-minded seekers of reelection(cid:499, most politicians possess ambition try to run for a higher position. Institutional design has a significant influence on the type of candidate that runs as well as who wins an election.
