Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forumIf Iowa had a regular primary, would Bernie be the winner?
I may misunderstand what is being said.
It seems Bernie was ahead the first round then when they had the second round of votes he wasn't.
In a regular primary, people would vote once. Period. No viable, etc. So, on that premise, Bernie would have won.
Am I wrong on this?
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
still_one
(92,366 posts)against people who have mobility issues, or cannot spend hours in a caucus hall
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Tiggeroshii
(11,088 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
still_one
(92,366 posts)electoral college
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
LisaM
(27,826 posts)It's impossible to say, but when you're not tied into a particular time window (and can vote absentee), it would pull in a massively different group of voters.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Tiggeroshii
(11,088 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,819 posts)My experience with caucuses has been that they bring in a lot of people like the guy who was the student body president in high school, wore a suit to class and majored in poli sci and won't let you forget it (he usually ends up in charge because he's memorized the rules and wants to be sure everybody obeys them), or old hippies who insist on introducing resolutions about peace and weed.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
LeftInTX
(25,515 posts)We have them at our senate district conventions. I can't imagine listening to them while caucusing for president!
Our last convention had resolutions about mental illness and eviction cuz this lady was mentally ill and for some reason had been evicted, so she proposed all these resolutions.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
lapucelle
(18,305 posts)is equivalent to the number of people who would show up to vote in a primary is problematic.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
unitedwethrive
(1,997 posts)then, if their preferred candidate is not "viable", they change to their second choice. In real life, many people do not vote for who they really want if they think it is a wasted vote. So, they guess at where their vote would be most valuable.
For instance, I like Klobuchar, and if I lived in Iowa, I would have voted for her on the first round. But, in California (where I live), I wouldn't consider voting for her unless she climbs substantially in the polls before our primary. So, I would then look to either my second choice or to vote against someone that I really don't want to get the nomination.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Tiggeroshii
(11,088 posts)still easily shuffle places.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Hav
(5,969 posts)Numbers in another thread suggester a higher participation of younger people. Caucuses help Bernie but he has this base and cannot expand on that. Supporters of candidates who aren't viable rather choose another candidate as their second option.
That's also why he lost half of his support.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TheRealNorth
(9,498 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)Sanders has fire-in-the-belly supporters and also no-party people or unregistered people who registered on site. That's part of his strategy.
A primary would attract more non-activists and more moderates.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
relayerbob
(6,551 posts)Is a self-selecting group of activists, not representative of the voting population at large. Sanders' activists are, well, very active and very loud, and tend to dominate events like this. I am strongly opposed to caucus selections.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
TwilightZone
(25,473 posts)Many more people can (and would) vote in a primary because polling locations are available all day, plus early voting, plus mail-in voting in some states. For caucuses, only those who can spend a few hours at a specific time at a specific location can participate.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
squirecam
(2,706 posts)People knew that could change in a second round.
People might vote differently in a primary if they know they cannot change.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
W_HAMILTON
(7,871 posts)...because, from the last go around, caucuses seemed to favor Sanders, whereas primaries favored Hillary.
If Iowa were a primary instead of a caucus, it would have opened up the entire process to many more voters that are not inclined to take part in the ridiculous caucus process, which means the Sanders caucus goers would be diluted.
Basically a popular vote at a caucus is a prime target demo for Sanders. It's not a surprise that he would win such a thing, which is probably why he pushed for its additional reporting to begin with, even though in the grand scheme of things, it means absolutely nothing.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
OneMoreCupOfCoffee
(314 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
W_HAMILTON
(7,871 posts)I was going to mention that, but I couldn't remember what state that happened in.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
OneMoreCupOfCoffee
(314 posts)primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)It's comparing apples to oranges.
CNN said 10% of eligible voters participated in the Iowa caucus.
I'd guess a higher percentage would vote in a primary.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
Rebl2
(13,541 posts)caucuses are in the evening-am I right? If so, people like me would not get out. I think there should be primaries only. I think they would be fairer because more people would participate. I also think Iowa should no longer be the first state. They should choose a more diverse state.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden