Presidential primary

The long process of choosing the president of the U.S. involves a series of individual state primaries, in which voters in each party express their preference among a series of candidates. The winner of the most delegates from state primaries eventually becomes the party nominee in the general election.

The best-known of the American presidential primaries is the one in New Hampshire, because it is the first in each quadrennial cycle. Although established in 1914, this primary drew little attention until 1952, when a change in proceedings allowed more candidates to be listed on the ballot. That created a "beauty contest" that drew notice from then-new television coverage, and its importance was cemented when Jimmy Carter took a surprise win in 1976 and rode it to the presidency.

In the late 1970s, the New Hampshire Legislature passed laws designed to guarantee that their primary would always come first - a status it has successfully defended from other states who envy the attention. The main competition comes from Iowa, which holds a less-binding caucus vote a week or two before the New Hampshire primary.

Both major parties have toyed with attempts to streamline and shorten the primary season, but so far without success.