Primaries are only to decide which candidate will be nominated by which party. Typically there is no real contest for a sitting president to be renominated, so not voting for Biden in the primary will not affect anything.
Basically Trump and Biden are not competing in the primary because they are competing for different things—the nominations of their respective parties.
Once the general election rolls around you can make the argument that failing to vote for the best candidate to beat Trump would be helping him indirectly. But in the primary you could actually make the argument that voting for Nikki Haley would be more effective in stopping Trump than voting for Biden, since she is completing directly for the Republican nomination. However her candidacy is all but dead at this point.
As an actual point. I will probably vote for Nikki Haley and I can because I am in am open primary state. Each state has different rules. Some you have to belong to her party, some you just have to not belong to any other party, others party affiliation does not matter. Some states do not have primaries but use the caucus process. It is all over the map.
Edit: If Haley makes it to the general election and Biden is the other candidate, I may well vote for Haley. It would be a hard choice but I am fine with both but for different reasons. My view … the best thing a voter can do at the moment is vote on the republican ticket for Haley even if you have to change party to do it. Most people will not though… either to lazy, to uninformed, to unengaged, or too sickened by the prospect.
Ya, I live in a state with a closed primary and where the general regrettably tends to be a forgone conclusion, so like every Dem and Socialist I know here I’m a registered Republican when primary season rolls around, because that’s the only way you’re vote for the moderate counts.
These are just the primaries, not the general election. Primaries are for each party, to choose which candidate from that party will run in the general election in November.
So who do you vote for in the primaries? If you don’t vote for Biden, does that not help Trump?
Asking as a confused British person.
Primaries are only to decide which candidate will be nominated by which party. Typically there is no real contest for a sitting president to be renominated, so not voting for Biden in the primary will not affect anything.
Basically Trump and Biden are not competing in the primary because they are competing for different things—the nominations of their respective parties.
Once the general election rolls around you can make the argument that failing to vote for the best candidate to beat Trump would be helping him indirectly. But in the primary you could actually make the argument that voting for Nikki Haley would be more effective in stopping Trump than voting for Biden, since she is completing directly for the Republican nomination. However her candidacy is all but dead at this point.
Got it. Thanks.
As an actual point. I will probably vote for Nikki Haley and I can because I am in am open primary state. Each state has different rules. Some you have to belong to her party, some you just have to not belong to any other party, others party affiliation does not matter. Some states do not have primaries but use the caucus process. It is all over the map.
Edit: If Haley makes it to the general election and Biden is the other candidate, I may well vote for Haley. It would be a hard choice but I am fine with both but for different reasons. My view … the best thing a voter can do at the moment is vote on the republican ticket for Haley even if you have to change party to do it. Most people will not though… either to lazy, to uninformed, to unengaged, or too sickened by the prospect.
Ya, I live in a state with a closed primary and where the general regrettably tends to be a forgone conclusion, so like every Dem and Socialist I know here I’m a registered Republican when primary season rolls around, because that’s the only way you’re vote for the moderate counts.
Depends. In some states it doesn’t matter at all.
The most important thing to know is our voting system is broken far beyond its original design and won’t get fixed any time soon.
These are just the primaries, not the general election. Primaries are for each party, to choose which candidate from that party will run in the general election in November.