Why do some states have different dates for different parties’ presidential primaries?
States that use taxpayer money to finance party primary elections almost always hold the contests for both major parties’ nominations on the same day, for the convenience of voters and also to save money. But in a few states, the parties pay to conduct their own primaries and are at liberty to schedule them whenever they want. For example, South Carolina Republicans have their presidential primary on Jan. 19, while the Democrats go to the polls on Jan. 26. 5. How do delegates factor into the actual nomination? Delegates at the parties’ national convention long played a significant role in determining their party’s nominee, since only a small portion of the delegate votes were apportioned on the basis of primaries. But the proliferation of primaries since 1972 has made them the dominant means of meting out delegates – with the result that the front-running Democratic and Republican candidates have been able to garner majorities of the convention delegates and clinch their nominations du
