January 2, 2012

Primaries and Caucuses in the U.S. Presidential Election

Jessica Hart

Director, Finance and Operations

Ms. Jessica Hart is a nonprofit management professional with more than eighteen years of experience leading finance, operations, and strategic communications at the American-German Institute, where she currently serves as Director of Finance and Operations. She is a key advisor to the President and guides organizational strategy, financial stewardship, and long-term sustainability.

Jessica oversees all financial operations, including budgeting, audits, and regulatory compliance, while managing a $2 million annual budget. She partners closely with the President and the Board of Trustees to align financial planning with institutional goals and drive effective fundraising strategies. Jessica also leads organizational operations, including human resources, internal systems, and cross-departmental coordination, ensuring efficiency and accountability across the Institute.

Prior to her current position, Jessica led communications at AGI, where she developed and implemented the organization’s first comprehensive content strategy. She oversaw publications, media relations, and digital engagement, including launching a successful podcast and executing major branding and website initiatives. She has held roles spanning editorial leadership, financial management, and program coordination, producing policy publications and managing international conferences across the United States and Europe.

Jessica holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which included a year of study in Berlin. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science and International Studies from The Ohio State University. She is proficient in German and brings a strong background in transatlantic relations to her work.

In addition to her professional responsibilities, Jessica is an active community leader, serving on the Executive Committee of Families for Safe Streets and the Steering Committee of DC Families for Safe Streets.

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jhart@aicgs.org

Before American voters take to the polls on November 6, they will first narrow the field of candidates in a series of primaries, caucuses, and elections held in each of the 50 states.

Primary

A primary election is an election organized by the main political parties of each state and is intended to select the candidate that the state’s delegates will choose at the party’s national convention. Generally, primary elections are closed, meaning that only registered members of that party may vote in the primary. Some states allow independents to cast a vote in their primaries.

Caucus

A caucus is a meeting of party members in which they decide which candidate to support. Unlike a primary, which is done by secret ballot, in a caucus undecided party members can be persuaded or encouraged by other party members to support a specific candidate. Caucuses allow for more discussion and debate within the party until, at the end of the meeting, organizers count the number of votes for each candidate and determine their number of delegates.

By tradition, Iowa holds the first caucus and New Hampshire holds the first primary. Although not always the case, the outcome of these two early contests can often determine the outcome of the party’s nomination, as winners in Iowa and New Hampshire can continue to gain momentum among voters and donors, while a poor showing in the early contests can cause a candidate to drop out of the race. This perceived prominence of early primaries and caucuses has encouraged states to try to “front load” the primary calendar and schedule their primaries early in the year, contradicting the parties’ intention that the primary system will “vet” candidates and not simply favor the most well-known or well-funded candidate.

The party’s candidate is officially nominated at the party convention in the summer before the general election, and the states’ delegates typically follow the outcome of the primary election or caucus when casting their votes for the nomination.

In 2012, only the Republican Party will have primaries and caucuses, followed by its convention in August in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Democratic Party’s candidate is incumbent Barack Obama, who will formally accept the nomination at the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September.

Selected upcoming primaries and caucuses:

January 3, 2012
Iowa (caucus)

January 10, 2012
New Hampshire (primary)

January 21, 2012
South Carolina (primary)

January 31, 2012
Florida (primary)

February 4, 2012
Nevada (caucus)

March 6, 2012 / Super Tuesday
Alaska (caucus)
Georgia (primary)
Idaho (caucus)
Massachusetts (primary)
North Dakota (caucus)
Ohio (primary)
Oklahoma (primary)
Tennessee (primary)
Vermont (primary)
Virginia (primary)

April 3, 2012
District of Columbia (primary)
Maryland (primary)
Wisconsin (primary)
Texas (primary)

April 24, 2012
Connecticut (primary)
Delaware (primary)
New York (primary)
Pennsylvania (primary)
Rhode Island (primary)

June 5, 2012
California (primary)
Montana (primary)
New Jersey (primary)
New Mexico (primary)
South Dakota (primary)

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The views expressed are those of the author(s) alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American-German Institute.