2008 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE SELECTION PROCESS
THE REPUBLICANS
THE BASICS
The Republican National Convention will be in Minneapolis at the beginning of
September; this is when the delegates selected at the caucuses and primaries
will get together and vote to see who will be the Republican Party nominee for
President. (Well, they "elect" the nominee for Vice-President as well, but
it's always "whoever the Presidential nominee wants it to be.")
Each state, including DC and some of the territories, get delegates to the
convention based on a number of factors, starting with a "base" of 3 delegates
for each Congressional district 9referred to as "district" delegates) and 10
"statewide" delegates. States can also receive "bonus" delegates, for
things such as voting for Bush in 2004, holding their primaries later in the
year, having most of that state's members of the House of Representatives be
Republican, for having one or two Republican Senators, and for having a
Republican Governor.
Most states assign their delegates to candidates through either a primary or a caucus.
CAUCUSES
Unlike the Democrats, the Republicans do not have any "universal" rules for
holding caucuses. The methods of selecting delegates to higher level
caucuses, which in turn select the district and statewide delegates to the
national convention, are different in each state.
PRIMARIES
While each primary works the same way - people go to the polls and vote - the
way the votes turn into delegates are different in each state.
Here are some examples:
California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, and South Carolina count the
votes in each Congressional district separately, as well as having a statewide
total. Whoever gets the most votes in a district gets all three of that
district's delegates, and whoever gets the most votes statewide gets all of
California's statewide delegates.
(Kansas has a special rule; if the statewide winner does not also win at least
two of the Congressional districts, the statewide delegates can vote for
whomever they want.)
Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, and Utah ignore "district" counts; whoever gets the most votes in a state gets all of that state's (district and statewide combined) delegates.
New York has a winner take all count in each district, but its statewide delegates are assigned at the state's convention.
New Hampshire assigns its delegates in proportion to the number of votes each candidate gets statewide, among those who get at least 10%.
Michigan combines the two methods; winner take all is used in districts, and proportional result (with a 5% minimum) is used for the statewide delegates.
Alabama has separate district and statewide counts; in each district, if any
candidate gets a majority of the votes, the candidate gets all three delegates -
otherwise, the winner gets two and the runner-up (if that candidate got at least
15%) one; statewide uses proportional result (with a 15% minimum).
(Texas is like Alabama, except that the minimum is 20%, and if no candidate gets
at least 20% in a district, the top three in that district get one delegate
each.)
OTHER
Wyoming does not have either a caucus or a primary; instead, it has county and
state conventions to select its delegates.
WHAT HAPPENS IN MINNEAPOLIS IF NOBODY HAS A MAJORITY OF THE DELEGATES?
They take another vote - and keep voting until somebody does. Note that
each state has its own rules as to how many times a pledged delegate has to vote
for their candidate; also, if there is a second vote, any candidates who realize
they have no chance of winning will "release" their delegates, and they then
become superdelegates.
(Between you and me, if a second vote is needed, what will happen is, the two or
three candidates who are in the lead will get together and work out some sort of
deal. If too many votes are needed, it sends a sign that the Republicans
can't control themselves, so how can they run the country properly?)