| In the United States, political parties choose their candidate for presidential elections during the so-called primaries - primary elections. America abandoned the system of selecting candidates at meetings of party bosses or at party conventions at the beginning of the 20th century. According to the Washington ProFile website, the primary system was used in presidential elections after a scandal that broke out in the Republican Party in 1912. Former President Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent President William Taft competed for the title of the party's main candidate. Taft's supporters controlled the party apparatus and, through fraudulent methods, ensured that Taft again became the Republican candidate. Insulted, Roosevelt created his own party and ran for the presidency on his own. And in the end, both Roosevelt and Taft lost to Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson. After this scandal, primaries began to be held in the United States.
During the primaries, state residents vote for their favorite party candidate for president. But in reality they choose a delegate who undertakes to vote for a specific candidate at the party conference. Primaries are held in each state on different dates (sometimes the day of the primary election - often Tuesday - coincides in several states, and it is called “Super Tuesday”). So, by the beginning of the party conference, the number of delegates obligated to vote for one or another candidate for the presidency from a given party is already known.
Therefore, the party conference itself (now it will be held by the Democrats at the end of July, and by the Republicans at the end of August) takes place without intrigue and behind-the-scenes struggle, only approving decisions made at the state level. America is confident: this is a democratic election system as close as possible to the masses. Critics believe that the six-month internal party marathon tires the attention of voters, and forces candidates to focus not on substantive discussions, but on establishing connections in party lobbies and endless handshakes of fellow party members.
Andrey ZLOBIN
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