The Long Term Influence of Primary Elections

 Voting in a two party system has become fruitless to Americans who continue to face a ballot with conventional candidates who differ from their own views. Third party candidates are disregarded by the people, media and politicians alike. Having to choose between only two, all encompassing, parties feels archaic and uninspiring if one’s options continually disappoint. Until a solution to problems with the current system is resolved,  voters who feel rightfully unheard must take advantage of primary elections to share their voice. 

The influence of a successful campaign, regardless of winning, is far reaching. Voting results in the primaries can be used as a tool to gage support and direction for the party as a whole. The information that results from these votes can be used by politicians to guide the government in a direction that has support for those same values and needs. Candidates who are moderate now, would have been regarded as too progessive even just two elections ago. By voicing opinions via voting in party primaries, we can highlight the changing priorities of a modern day American. 

The future direction of a party can become predictable when a less prominent candidate who strays from the political status quo gains momentum and popularity, especially with young voters. Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign is an example of this. While Sanders, an independent with narrow odds of winning the nomination, was able to introduce progressive policies and ideas that pushed future democrat candidates to align with his popular views. The unexpectedly close race between Sanders, a deomcratic socialist, and Hillary Clinton, a moderate democrat with more notoriety, altered the cookie cutter idea of what it meant to be a democrat. Sanders was able to bring democratic socialism to the democractic party. 

While many values are shared under the Democratic umbrella, defining sub-groups within one’s political party became mainstream. As more Americans have begun defining the type of democrat or republican they are, the idea of introducing more political parties becomes more palpable.  Unfortunately the two party system has become so ingrained in US politics that a complete dismantling of our current system will have to take place.  Until a new concept of political parties and voting in America is put into place, defensive voting against a popular opposing candidate rather than voting for the perfect candidate has become the norm. 

Our country was designed to be governed by the people and for the people, who one decides to vote for, if at all, is up to them.  Third party voting as of now can act only as a rebellion against the limits of our two party system. It can allow voters to express political ideals that are not being prioritized by either major party, but at the risk of an administration that is even further away from their own beliefs. It is up to the voter to decide if voting in protest is worth the consequences of a government with ideals even further from their own. 

Rejecting the safe or familiar choice nominee for a major party in the primaries and prioritizing campaigning for party candidates who are most comparable to the third party or progessive candidate one supports is a way to combat the political norm while adhering to the restrictive two-party system. While this may not be the most inspiring approach for third party voters, it will be most effective in electing government officials that they can be happy with. Political strategists are hired to understand the needs of the public, the primary elections act as hard evidence for this. 

There is currently a lot of division within the republican and deomcratic parties today. As these two parties have become increasingly polarizing the needs of each American continue to differ more from one another. Voting in the primaries is the best way to show support for the government you wish to see. Progessive politics thrive off of unsuccessful nominee runs that  successfully bring new ideas to the party with the voter support to back it. Change is rarely immediate in American politics, but it always starts on a ballot.