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The caucuses of that era had little in common with today's. They were closed-door affairs to run by party bosses and local power players, who met to select delegates. Voters didn't attend or participate.
The caucuses of that era had little in common with today's. They were closed-door affairs to run by party bosses and local power players, who met to select delegates. Voters didn't attend or participate.
Which does not rebut my statement that Humphrey won several caucuses.
And voters should understand that in the primary/caucus phase of the election process, candidates are running for their party's nomination. Voters aren't voting for Trump, or Kasich, or Sanders, they are voting for delegates to attend the party conventions. The rules governing how those delegates vote when they reach the convention depend on the state and the laws the states have passed governing how delegates vote. That's why you have to pick a party when you vote in a caucus or primary. Because this is about the party nominating someone. The political parties are not part of our government, they are private organizations who perform a public function.
Is it possible for somebody to win most of the primaries but not be the nominee? Something might happen at a convention if the party bigwigs don't like the guy who won the primaries, true? Of course I'm thinking of Trump.
I thought it may have happened with the Democrats in 1972 but that was wrong.
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Actually the year you were looking for was 1968 and the Democratic Race for President. An antiwar war Democrat Eugene McCarthy challenged siting President LBJ and nearly beat him in the New Hampshire Primary gaining about 40% of the vote. The Tet Offensive happened in Vietnam greatly increasing the bloodshed in Nam for a month or so and LBJ withdrew his candidacy for re-election in March 1968. With the void VP Humphrey (HHH) and NY Senator Robert Kennedy (RFK) jumped in and RFK actually entered and won a few important Primaries against McCarthy. HHH did not enter the few Primaries (back then only 9 states used primaries most used state conventions or caucuses). HHH worked the rubber chicken circuit and smoke filled rooms instead. In June RFK was killed by Sirhan B Sirhan after winning the CA Primary against McCarthy. When the Democrats had their Convention in Chicago in August. The Delegates ignored the McCarthites who had a majority of the delegates elected by the voters in primaries and gave the nomination to HHH who won no primaries at all instead. This split the party meaning a lot of progressives walked in Nov. George Wallace also split the traditional Democratic base in the South by running a 3rd party (Wallace carried Ar,La, Ms, Al, Sc and Ga) . The result was the election of Richard Nixon by a slim 0.2% popular Vote (electoral College HHH 191, RMN 283) margin over HHH.
The upshot was a major reform in the rules for delegate selection and a huge increase in the number of primaries and caucuses (our present system). It paved the way for the disaster of 1972 when Democrats elected a progressive radical named George McGovern for their candidate in 1972. Funny thing is much of what McGovern campaigned on has come to pass in the last 40 years like reducing our nuclear arsenal to roughly 20% of its 1972 level. banning the ABM, ending the Draft, pardoning Draft evaders, getting out of Vietnam, the earned income tax credit, EPA, welfare reform and low interest student loans, gay rights, freedom of choice for abortions, etc.
It's possible, but then Hillary becomes President. The GOP either quits talkin smack and unites or gives the election to Hillary. I'm not convinced they have a preference.
But if Trump can get to 1273, he is the nominee, no questions asked. He's over half way there. >
So here’s how Trump could still lose according to a variety of election law experts with whom we spoke. The delegates could vote to change the convention rules even BEFORE the first round of balloting takes place. That’s right, in the days leading up to the convention, the RNC Rules Committee could recommend rules changes to the Convention Rules Committee. That committee could tweak the recommendations but they they would ultimately have to send the new rules to the floor of the convention for a vote by the delegates. If the delegates vote to change the rules so as to ‘unbind’ themselves, then they could vote for whoever they wanted even in that first round.
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