It is hard to imagine a more timely and useful reference source than this. . . This would be valuable in collections of all sizes, public, school, and academic.
Booklist
Recommended. All readers.
Choice
Provides an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and political observers who want a comprehensive picture of the past and present of the U.S. presidential nominating system across every state.
In 2020, the parties will again nominate their candidates for president. Those nominations will play out in a complicated system of federal law, state law, national party rules, state party rules, and informal norms that have developed over decades. This resource provides a roadmap for understanding the rules of the game and the ways in which they impact elections and politics across the United States.
This reference work is organized in two parts. Part I consists of a series of short thematic essays discussing topics such as what primaries and caucuses are, what the difference between open and closed primaries is, varying methods used by the parties for delegate selection, and how campaign finance works in the primaries. Part II consists of a state-by-state description of recent primary/caucus history and the methods currently used for delegate selection by Democrats and Republicans in each state.
Introduction
Part One Foundations of the Presidential Nominating System
Chapter 1 Historical Overview
Chapter 2 How Caucuses Work
Chapter 3 How Primaries Work
Chapter 4 Open vs. Closed Primaries
Chapter 5 The Nomination Calendar
Chapter 6 The Importance of Iowa, New Hampshire, and Other Early Contests
Chapter 7 Candidate Debates During the Primary Season
Chapter 8 Campaign Finance
Chapter 9 Voting Behavior
Chapter 10 Methods of Awarding Delegates
Chapter 11 Delegate Selection, Rights, and Responsibilities
Chapter 12 The Party Conventions
Chapter 13 National Primaries and Other Proposed Reforms
Chapter 14 Third-Party Presidential Nominations
Part Two State-by-State Guide
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
U.S. Territories and Americans Abroad
American Samoa
Democrats Abroad
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Appendix: 2020 Primary, Caucus, and National Convention Calendar
Index