The express purpose of primary elections is to select party candidates for general elections. Voter turnout in primaries tends to be light.
Conventional political wisdom holds that those who vote in primary elections are those who care most about their parties and about the issues. They tend to be the more ideologically committed voters. Translation: more extreme left or right.
Gerald Seib's writes the Capital Journal column for The Wall Street Journal. In his latest column, he does a very nice job of laying out the unintended consequences of the primary election system.
If you are frustrated with Washington's inability to compromise to get things done, Seib says the primary system and gerrymandered House districts are the culprits. Then he shows why this is so and gives recent examples. If politics interest you, his article is worth your time.
