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A Win is a Win is not a Win...
Democratic and Republican candidates are essentially competing for their parties’ nominations on two different playing fields, where the rules of the game are strikingly different.
Nowhere is the difference more apparent than in the way the candidates in each party win delegates.
Democrats set aside nearly 20% of their delegate seats to high-ranking party and elected officials ("superdelegates"), who are free to support the candidate of their choice regardless of their state’s primary or caucus vote.
The rest of the Democratic delegates are divided proportionally, with any candidate receiving at least 15% of the vote in a state or district (usually a congressional district) qualifying for a proportionate share of the delegates at stake at that level.
Republicans operate quite differently. They do not have superdelegates, and they allow states to choose their own method of delegate allocation, with most favoring some variation of winner-take-all.
Here are the various ways of allocating delegates that can be found on the GOP side:
Winner-take-all (state) – all the delegates go to the winner of the statewide GOP primary vote. It is a dramatic, high-stakes system that has been employed by California Republicans for years and has been adopted by a number of other GOP state parties more recently.
Winner-take-all (state/CD) – all the at-large delegates go to the winner of the statewide vote. District-level delegates go to the top vote-getter in that particular district.
Winner-take-all or proportional – under this system, it is usually the case that if the top vote-getter in a state or district wins a majority of the vote, winner-take-all applies. Otherwise, delegates are divided proportionally.
Direct election – voters ballot directly for delegates. If there is a vote for candidates, it is a non-binding "beauty contest." In states such as New York and Pennsylvania, district-level delegates are elected by primary voters, while at-large delegates are chosen by state party leaders. While not a formal system of winner-take-all, direct election often produces winner-take-all or something close to it.
Proportional – delegates are divided to reflect the primary vote, with the percentage of the vote needed to win delegates determined by the state or the state GOP.
No formal system – delegates run as individuals and are not officially allocated to the candidates. This more informal system is employed in most Republican caucus states.
The caucus dates listed in the chart below are for first-round caucus votes, the only stage open to mass participation. Delegates, though, are often chosen weeks, or even months, later.
The Democratic count reflects only "pledged" delegates that are selected to reflect a primary or caucus vote. Superdelegates are formally uncommitted and are not included in this tally. An asterisk (*) indicates that the date is subject to change.
| Democratic Delegate Allocation | Democratic Delegates at Stake | Gore | Bradley | Uncom– mitted |
Republican Delegate Allocation | GOP Delegates at Stake | Bush | McCain | Keyes | Others | Uncom– mitted |
||
| Jan. 24 | |||||||||||||
| Iowa Caucus | Proportional | 47 | Chosen in May and June | 25 | Chosen in April and June | ||||||||
| Alaska Caucus | - | 23 | Chosen in May | ||||||||||
| Feb. 1 | |||||||||||||
| New Hampshire Primary | Proportional | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | Proportional | 17 | 5 | 10 | 2 | |||
| Feb. 7 | |||||||||||||
| Hawaii Caucus | - | No formal system | 14 | Chosen in May | |||||||||
| Feb. 8 | |||||||||||||
| Delaware Primary | - | Winner-take-all | 12 | 12 | |||||||||
| Feb. 19 | |||||||||||||
| South Carolina Primary | - | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 37 | 34 | 3 | ||||||||
| Feb. 22 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona Primary | - | Winner-take-all | 30 | 30 | |||||||||
| Michigan Primary | - | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 58 | 6 | 52 | ||||||||
| Feb. 26 | |||||||||||||
| American Samoa Caucus | - | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Guam Caucus | - | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Virgin Islands Caucus | - | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Feb. 27 | |||||||||||||
| Puerto Rico Primary | - | Winner-take-all | 14 | 14 | |||||||||
| Feb. 29 | |||||||||||||
| North Dakota Caucus | - | Proportional | 19 | 14 | 4 | 1 | |||||||
| Virginia Primary | - | Winner-take-all | 56 | 56 | |||||||||
| Washington Primary | - | Proportional | 12 | 7 | 5 | ||||||||
| Democratic Delegate Allocation | Democratic Delegates at Stake | Gore | Bradley | Uncom– mitted |
Republican Delegate Allocation | GOP Delegates at Stake | Bush | McCain | Keyes | Others | Uncom– mitted |
||
| March 7 | |||||||||||||
| California Primary | Proportional | 367 | Winner-take-all | 162 | |||||||||
| Connecticut Primary | Proportional | 54 | Winner-take-all | 25 | |||||||||
| Georgia Primary | Proportional | 77 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 54 | |||||||||
| Hawaii Caucus | Proportional | 22 | - | ||||||||||
| Idaho Caucus | Proportional | 18 | - | ||||||||||
| Maine Primary | Proportional | 23 | Winner-take-all or Proportional | 14 | |||||||||
| Maryland Primary | Proportional | 68 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 31 | |||||||||
| Massachusetts Primary | Proportional | 93 | Winner-take-all (state) | 37 | |||||||||
| Minnesota Caucus | Proportional | - | No formal system | 34 | |||||||||
| Missouri Primary | Proportional | 75 | Winner-take-all (state) | 35 | |||||||||
| New York Primary | Proportional | 243 | Direct election | 101 | |||||||||
| North Dakota Caucus | Proportional | 14 | - | ||||||||||
| Ohio Primary | Proportional | 146 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 69 | |||||||||
| Rhode Island Primary | Proportional | 22 | Winner-take-all (state) | 14 | |||||||||
| Vermont Primary | Proportional | 15 | Winner-take-all (state) | 12 | |||||||||
| Washington Caucus | Proportional | 75 | No formal system | 25 | |||||||||
| American Samoa Caucus | Proportional | 3 | - | ||||||||||
| Democratic Delegate Allocation | Democratic Delegates at Stake | Gore | Bradley | Uncom– mitted |
Republican Delegate Allocation | GOP Delegates at Stake | Bush | McCain | Keyes | Others | Uncom– mitted |
||
| March 9 | |||||||||||||
| South Carolina Caucus | Proportional | 43 | - | ||||||||||
| March 10 | |||||||||||||
| Colorado Primary | Proportional | 51 | Proportional | 40 | |||||||||
| Utah Primary | Proportional | 24 | Winner-take-all (state) | 29 | |||||||||
| Wyoming Caucus | - | No formal system | 22 | ||||||||||
| Democrats Abroad Caucus | Proportional | 7 | - | ||||||||||
| March 11 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona Primary | Proportional | 47 | - | ||||||||||
| Michigan Caucus | Proportional | 129 | - | ||||||||||
| Minnesota Caucus | Proportional | 74 | - | ||||||||||
| March 12 | |||||||||||||
| Nevada Caucus | Proportional | 20 | No formal system | 17 | |||||||||
| March 14 | |||||||||||||
| Florida Primary | Proportional | 161 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 80 | |||||||||
| Louisiana Primary | Proportional | 61 | Proportional | 29 | |||||||||
| Mississippi Primary | Proportional | 37 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 33 | |||||||||
| Oklahoma Primary | Proportional | 45 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 38 | |||||||||
| Tennessee Primary | Proportional | 68 | WTA or Proportional | 37 | |||||||||
| Texas Primary and Caucus (D) | Proportional | 194 | WTA or Proportional | 124 | |||||||||
| Democratic Delegate Allocation | Democratic Delegates at Stake | Gore | Bradley | Uncom– mitted |
Republican Delegate Allocation | GOP Delegates at Stake | Bush | McCain | Keyes | Others | Uncom– mitted |
||
| March 21 | |||||||||||||
| Illinois Primary | Proportional | 161 | Direct election | 74 | |||||||||
| March 25 | |||||||||||||
| Alaska Caucus | Proportional | 13 | - | ||||||||||
| Wyoming Caucus | Proportional | 13 | - | ||||||||||
| March 26 | |||||||||||||
| Puerto Rico Primary | Proportional | 51 | - | ||||||||||
| March 27 | |||||||||||||
| Delaware Caucus | Proportional | 15 | - | ||||||||||
| April 1 | |||||||||||||
| Virgin Islands Caucus | Proportional | 3 | - | ||||||||||
| April 4 | |||||||||||||
| Pennsylvania Primary | Proportional | 160 | Direct election | 78 | |||||||||
| Wisconsin Primary | Proportional | 77 | Winner-take-all (state/CD) | 37 | |||||||||
| April 15 | |||||||||||||
| Virginia Caucus | Proportional | 79 | - | ||||||||||
| April 22 | |||||||||||||
| Kansas Primary* | Proportional | 36 | - | ||||||||||
| May 2 | |||||||||||||
| District of Columbia Primary | Proportional | 17 | Winner-take-all (city) | 15 | |||||||||
| Indiana Primary | Proportional | 72 | Winner-take-all (CD) | 55 | |||||||||
| North Carolina Primary | Proportional | 86 | Proportional | 62 | |||||||||
| May 6 | |||||||||||||
| Guam Caucus | Proportional | 3 | - | ||||||||||
| Democratic Delegate Allocation | Democratic Delegates at Stake | Gore | Bradley | Uncom– mitted |
Republican Delegate Allocation | GOP Delegates at Stake | Bush | McCain | Keyes | Others | Uncom– mitted |
||
| May 9 | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska Primary | Proportional | 26 | Direct election | 30 | |||||||||
| West Virginia Primary | Proportional | 30 | Direct election | 18 | |||||||||
| May 16 | |||||||||||||
| Oregon Primary | Proportional | 47 | Proportional | 24 | |||||||||
| May 23 | |||||||||||||
| Arkansas Primary | Proportional | 37 | Proportional | 24 | |||||||||
| Idaho Primary | Proportional | - | Proportional | 28 | |||||||||
| Kentucky Primary | Proportional | 49 | Proportional | 31 | |||||||||
| May 25 | |||||||||||||
| Kansas State Committee | No formal system | 35 | |||||||||||
| June 6 | |||||||||||||
| Alabama Primary | Proportional | 54 | WTA or Proportional | 44 | |||||||||
| Montana Primary (D)/Caucus (R) | Proportional | 17 | No formal system | 23 | |||||||||
| New Jersey Primary | Proportional | 105 | Direct election | 54 | |||||||||
| New Mexico Primary | Proportional | 26 | Proportional | 21 | |||||||||
| South Dakota Primary | Proportional | 15 | Proportional | 22 | |||||||||
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© Rhodes Cook 2001.
Rhodes Cook
rhodescook@aol.com