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Detroit free press endorsements 20162/3/2024 ![]() Without clear partisan differences between the candidates, there is potential for less stability of vote choice throughout the campaign, not to mention across elections. Primary campaigns remove a key heuristic of general elections from the voter’s calculus, partisan- ship. Since the other major candidates had dropped out, Michigan was effectively a two-candidate race. Entering the primary, Biden was leading in the delegate counts after a string of victories following South Carolina, but Sanders was still within striking distance. In addition, the race for the nomination was still competitive at this point. While other states had their primaries that day, Michigan was the largest state with the greatest number of delegates. In 2020, Michigan was fortuitously positioned (for our purposes) in the middle of the primary calendar, but also right before the necessary rescheduling and disruptions brought about by coronavirus. Moreover, there were a number of reasons to expect the nomination process to last longer than usual, including the last- minute backloading of primaries due to the pandemic, the potential for delegates to be dispersed among a crowded field, as well as the aforementioned reduction of control by party elites. While these reforms were meant to encourage participation, complications stemming from the coronavirus worked in the opposite direction. ![]() Accordingly, nine states switched from forms of caucuses to primaries, leaving only three states and four territories with caucuses in 2020. In addition, the DNC encouraged states to use primaries and make same-day or automatic registration available. Most notably, following the uproar from Sanders supporters in 2016, the DNC reduced the role of unpledged delegates, also known as “superdelegates.” The DNC did not eliminate the role of these party leaders unpledged to a candidate, but it prevented them from casting decisive votes on the first ballot in the event of a contested nomination. Second, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reformed some of the primary process rules to enhance transparency and participation-not an uncommon practice since the McGovern- Fraser reforms (see, e.g., Polsby et al. The crowded field suggested that Democrats were confident in their ability to challenge Donald Trump in the general election -or at least in the importance of doing so. First and foremost, a record 29 major candidates sought the nomination, eclipsing previous highs of 16 Democratic candidates in 1972 (similarly motivated by another unpopular Republican incumbent, Richard Nixon) as well as the Republican Party’s 17 for the open seat in 2016. Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic that early in the season severely disrupted both the schedule and format of campaign events, the field of candidates and the voting rules were also unique. ![]() Yet even by these standards, the 2020 Democratic primary is a particularly interesting and challenging campaign to study for its novelty. All campaigns vary in terms of context and candidates. In many ways an unprecedented campaign is a redundant phrase.
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