Introduction

The traditional presidential primary schedule that had long existed by custom was successively battered down in the 1990s as more states began scheduling their presidential primaries earlier in the year in an attempt to exert greater influence over the presidential campaign process. The presidential primary schedule has now become so front-loaded that the anointed “front-runner” in each of the major parties, i.e. he who has the most money, is the de facto nominee. The primaries are becoming mere pageantry, as the national conventions have been for several decades.

The Graduated Random Presidential Primary System, or American Plan, is designed to begin with contests in small-population states, where candidates do not need tens of millions of dollars in order to compete. A wide field of presidential hopefuls will be competitive in the early going. A “minor candidate’s” surprise successes in the early rounds, based more on the merit of the message than on massive amounts of money, will tend to attract money from larger numbers of small contributors for the campaign to spend in later rounds of primaries. Thus there should be more longevity of candidacy, and more credible challengers to the “front-runners.” However, as the campaign proceeds, the aggregate value of contested states becomes successively larger, requiring the expenditure of larger amounts of money in order to campaign effectively. A gradual weeding-out process occurs, as less-successful candidates drop out of the race. The goal is for the process to produce a clear winner in the end, but only after all voices have had a chance to be heard.

Within the proposed system’s static structure of escalating stakes, the scheduling of presidential primary elections in specific states is random and dynamic from one quadrennial cycle to the next. Thus Iowa and New Hampshire are not always first. The presidential campaign might instead kick off in Alaska, Colorado, South Carolina, or other small-population states. No state would receive preferential treatment as Iowa and New Hampshire do at present.