The Importance of Being Early: Presidential Primary Front-Loading and the Impact of the Proposed Western Regional Primary

Every state wants to be “the” state that selects the next president. Every state wants the attention of the presidential candidates and wants its voters to have a say in the presidential nomination process. But since the early 1980s, presidential nomination events in more and more states have essentially been meaningless as the parties' nominations have effectively been wrapped up before citizens have cast their primary ballots or attended their local caucuses.