With the 2024 GOP presidential race heating up, states are gearing up for their respective protocols for voting. Some have some complicated rules for deciding winners.
Kickoff is Jan. 8, beginning with the Iowa caucuses. New Hampshire's GOP primary takes place on Jan. 16 and South Carolina's is on Jan. 27.
In February, three states will hold presidential primaries: Nevada and New York (Feb. 6) and Michigan (Feb. 27).
March 5 will be a true "Super Tuesday" with primaries scheduled in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.
On March 12, primaries will held in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state. Hawaii will hold its GOP caucuses to select national convention delegates.
Another "Super Tuesday" comes March 19 with primaries in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio. Louisiana will be up March 23. Colorado will hold its primary on one of the first three Tuesdays in March, with the date to be decided by Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, in September.
Wisconsin will hold a primary on April 2. On April 23, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island will hold primaries. Connecticut's will be April 30.
As it has been for decades, May will be the month of presidential primaries in Indiana (May 7), Nebraska, Maryland, and West Virginia (May 14), and Kentucky and Oregon (May 21).
The Republican nomination process ends June 4 with primaries in Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington, D.C.
States without a likely date for a primary so far are Idaho, Missouri and North Dakota. Some states have unique laws and regulations in selecting delegates to national party conventions.
New Hampshire runs its primaries — not either major political party. It also has the power to move its primary seven days before any similar contest anywhere. A state constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly ensures New Hampshire will always hold the nation's first presidential primary elections.
Tennessee is a proportional representation state, which means a candidate must pass the threshold of at least 20% of the vote to get any delegates.
Under this system, candidates do not necessarily need a majority to win. They only need the most votes. There has not, however, been a contested primary in Tennessee since 1976. when Gerald Ford narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan by 0.7% of the vote, while not
receiving a majority. The GOP is the only party in Tennessee to choose some of its delegates through popular vote.
While Democrats continue to embrace more proportional representation systems, Republican primaries in many states are still run with a winner-takes-all system.
States using proportional representation typically hold their primaries earlier, while winner-takes-all states hold theirs later in the election cycle.
These winner-takes-all states may keep their systems in hopes of having a home state candidate win, but are at a disadvantage with selection. By this point in the cycle, many candidates will be out of the race, and the front-runner virtually unbeatable.
Look for a Republican nomination process to be decided by May and no later.
Christopher Savino, a Newsmax intern in Washington, D.C., is a rising senior at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
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