primaries

Cultural  

1. State elections of delegates to the nominating convention that chooses a major party's presidential candidate. In some states, delegates are elected by popular vote; in other states, party caucus es or miniconventions choose delegates.

---

Discover More

Primaries occur at different times during the presidential election year, a situation that drags out the process by which parties nominate candidates but allows wide public exposure to candidates and issues.

Example Sentences

The governor’s office said that consolidating the special and state primaries was meant to reduce the risk of voter confusion since there are multiple elections with different boundaries.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr. Youngkin’s comment about Mr. Vance more or less obliges him not to vituperate the vice president in the usual way of presidential primaries.

From The Wall Street Journal

New York uses this method in primaries for citywide offices.

From Salon

The school pool was previously used by local primaries for swimming lessons, but remains closed after first shutting in 2022 due to leaks and structural issues.

From BBC

There are still miles to go until the 2026 midterms, but the Texas primaries are scheduled for March 3, which will be here before voters know it, once they finish with the holiday gift wrap.

From The Wall Street Journal