direct primary

noun U.S. Politics.

a primary in which members of a party nominate its candidates by direct vote.

Compare indirect primary.

Origin of direct primary

First recorded in 1895–1900

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for direct primary

Historical Examples of direct primary

We had in California on the 16th day of August (less than a month ago) a direct-primary election.
Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress
Various

British Dictionary definitions for direct primary

direct primary

noun

US government a primary in which voters directly select the candidates who will run for office

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

direct primary in Culture

direct primary

An election in which voters choose candidates to run on a party's ticket in a subsequent election for public office.