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Trivia answer
Which state was the first to pass a law calling for presidential primaries?
a. Michigan
b. Wyoming
c. Massachusetts
d. Florida
The first state to pass a law providing for a presidential primary was Florida in 1901.[1]
The process by which parties select their presidential candidates was not laid out in the Constitution. Starting with the 1796 presidential election, members of Congress from each party met to nominate a presidential candidate. This system lasted until the 1824 presidential election, when the Democratic-Republican Party could not settle on a single nominee. Four Democratic-Republican candidates ran in the general election, leading to a tie in the Electoral College and a vote by the U.S. House to determine the winner.[2] Starting with the 1832 election, political parties began holding nominating conventions in which party leaders selected a nominee.[3]
Around the turn of the 20th century, a movement calling for voter participation in the presidential nominating process began to take hold. Florida passed a law in 1901 providing for a primary election to be held to determine the state delegations' presidential selections. Florida did not hold a presidential primary until the 1912 election. Since the Republican Party had little presence in the state, only a Democratic primary was held. Champ Clark and Judson Harmon were both disqualified, setting the stage for a direct contest between Oscar Underwood and Woodrow Wilson. Underwood won the Florida primary, but Wilson eventually won the Democratic nomination and the presidency.[1]
By the 1916 election, more than half of all states held presidential primaries. After World War I, support for primaries decreased and by 1936 the number of states holding a primary was down to 12. Support for primaries grew once more following World War II.[2]
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