New Primary Format

[jimrtex]

Disatisfied with the date-jumping and front-loading and 10-ring circus atmosphere of the current primary schedule, the DNC and RNC announce that they are scrapping the current system, and instituting a new system where voters throughout the country can focus on just two candidates.  In addition, the candidates run only in a few select congressional districts so that they can concentrate on retail politics, rather than statewide or nationwide TV blitzes.

The first round consists of 5 regional primaries, 3 weeks apart.  Each region consists of 87 congressional districts, but only 45 of the CDs are used for this first round.

In each CD, two candidates from each party are paired up, and the voters of the CD choose between the two.  The candidates who fare best in these head to head matchups (ie have the best league record) will advance on to the second round. 

Within each region, a candidate will compete in only 9 CDs, facing a different opponent in each CD.

By the luck of the draw, the Southeast Region, stretching along the coast from Maryland to Mississippi, was selected for the first ever head-to-head primaries to be held on March 4, 2008.

The 45 CDs were arranged in 9 sub-regional groups of 5 CDs:

Maryland(4)-Northern Virginia(1)
Virginia(5)
North Carolina(5)
South Carolina(3)-SW North Carolina(2)
Georgia(5)
NE Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando,etc )(5)
S Florida (Miami, etc.)(5)
WC Florida (Tampa, etc.)(4)-South Alabama(1)
Alabama(3)-Mississippi(2)

Each candidate will compete in one CD within each group, with their opponent and CD drawn by lot.

Prior to the primary, each CD will host a head-to-head debate between its two candidates.  The debate schedule is arranged so that the candidates can travel across the region prior to election day, arranging additional campaign activities in the CDs that they are competing. 

The debate order of the sub-regions was chosen by lot as well, with the initial debates occuring on Feb 15 in 4 CDs in NE Florida and CD 2 in SE Georgia.  From there, they head northward through Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland.  They then jump to Alabama and Mississippi, followed by 4 CDs in the Tampa area plus CD 1 in SW Alabama, and finishing up on March 2 in South Florida.

Please check your CSPAN and local PBS listings for times in your area.  The sites of each debate are tentative.

The debate schedule and head-to-head matchups for the 1st Round Southeast regional primary:

Feb 15	Florida	CD 4	Jacksonville	Gore	Richardson	F Thompson	Giuliani
	Florida	CD 8	Orlando	Kucinich	Edwards	Hunter	T Thompson
	Florida	CD 15	Melbourne	Biden	Obama	Brownback	McCain
	Florida	CD 24	Port Orange	Dodd	Gravel	Gingrich	Romney
	Georgia	CD 2	Columbus	Clinton	Vilsack	Huckabee	Paul
Feb 17	Georgia	CD 5	Atlanta	Richardson	Clinton	Huckabee	Hunter
	Georgia	CD 6	Roswell	Vilsack	Edwards	McCain	Paul
	Georgia	CD 10	Athens	Gore	Biden	Gingrich	Giuliani
	Georgia	CD 11	Marietta	Obama	Gravel	Romney	T Thompson
	Georgia	CD 12	Savannah	Kucinich	Dodd	Brownback	F Thompson
Feb 19	North Carolina	CD 9	Charlotte	Vilsack	Gravel	Gingrich	Huckabee
	North Carolina	CD 11	Asheville	Dodd	Richardson	Brownback	Paul
	South Carolina	CD 1	Charleston	Clinton	Obama	Giuliani	Romney
	South Carolina	CD 2	Columbia	Kucinich	Gore	F Thompson	T Thompson
	South Carolina	CD 4	Greenville	Biden	Edwards	Hunter	McCain
Feb 21	North Carolina	CD 1	Rocky Mount	Dodd	Gore	Huckabee	T Thompson
	North Carolina	CD 2	Fayetteville	Kucinich	Richardson	F Thompson	Hunter
	North Carolina	CD 4	Durham	Biden	Gravel	Gingrich	McCain
	North Carolina	CD 5	Winston-Salem	Clinton	Edwards	Brownback	Giuliani
	North Carolina	CD 6	Greensboro	Vilsack	Obama	Paul	Romney
Feb 23	Virginia	CD 3	Norfolk	Edwards	Gravel	Huckabee	Romney
	Virginia	CD 4	Chesapeake	Dodd	Vilsack	Gingrich	T Thompson
	Virginia	CD 5	Danville	Biden	Richardson	Brownback	Hunter
	Virginia	CD 6	Roanoke	Gore	Clinton	F Thompson	Paul
	Virginia	CD 9	Blacksburg	Kucinich	Obama	Giuliani	McCain
Feb 25	Maryland	CD 2	Baltimore	Dodd	Biden	Brownback	T Thompson
	Maryland	CD 3	Baltimore	Clinton	Gravel	Huckabee	McCain
	Maryland	CD 7	Baltimore	Kucinich	Vilsack	Gingrich	Paul
	Maryland	CD 8	Bethesda	Gore	Obama	F Thompson	Romney
	Virginia	CD 8	Arlington	Richardson	Edwards	Giuliani	Hunter
Feb 27	Alabama	CD 3	Auburn	Richardson	Gravel	F Thompson	Gingrich
	Alabama	CD 4	Gadsden	Dodd	Clinton	Brownback	Huckabee
	Alabama	CD 7	Birmingham	Gore	Vilsack	Giuliani	T Thompson
	Mississippi	CD 1	Tupelo	Kucinich	Biden	Hunter	Paul
	Mississippi	CD 2	Jackson	Edwards	Obama	McCain	Romney
Feb 29	Alabama	CD 1	Mobile	Richardson	Obama	Paul	T Thompson
	Florida	CD 5	Spring Hill	Gore	Gravel	F Thompson	McCain
	Florida	CD 9	Clearwater	Kucinich	Clinton	Giuliani	Huckabee
	Florida	CD 10	St.Petersburg	Dodd	Edwards	Gingrich	Hunter
	Florida	CD 11	Tampa	Biden	Vilsack	Brownback	Romney
Mar 2	Florida	CD 16	Port Saint Lucie	Kucinich	Gravel	McCain	T Thompson
	Florida	CD 17	Miami	Richardson	Vilsack	F Thompson	Huckabee
	Florida	CD 21	Hialeah	Gore	Edwards	Hunter	Romney
	Florida	CD 23	Fort Lauderdale	Dodd	Obama	Brownback	Gingrich
	Florida	CD 25	Homestead	Biden	Clinton	Giuliani	Paul

The second regional primary will be the West Regional Primary on March 25, 2008.

[jimrtex]

The second regional primary will be held on March 25 in the West, including the Pacific, Great Basin, and Mountain states (Arizona and New Mexico are included in the South Central region).  61% of the CDs in this region are in California.

As in the Southeast, the 45 selected CD's are arranged in 9 groups of 5:

Colorado (3), Idaho (1), Montana (1)
Washington (5)
Alaska (1), Hawaii (1), Oregon (3)
Bay Area California (5)
Central California (5)
Los Angeles (5)
Los Angeles County (5)
Southern California (5)
Sierra California (2), Nevada (2), Utah (1)

By luck of the draw the last group consisting of two CDs in Nevada, one in Utah, and two in California (the two California CDs border Nevada) was selected to kick off the debate schedule which begins 3 days after the March 4 primary in the Southeast.

The candidates then proceed into the Mountain West (Wyoming was selected for the 3rd round), on to Washington state, then Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii, and then proceeding for 5 debates in California proceeding from north to south.

As for the Southeast primary, debate locations are tentative.  Please check your CSPAN and local PBS listings for times in your area. 

March 7	California	CD 4	Roseville	Kucinich	Gravel	F Thompson	Giuliani
	California	CD 25	Santa Clarita	Richardson	Vilsack	Hunter	T Thompson
	Nevada	CD 2	Reno	Gore	Edwards	Brownback	McCain
	Nevada	CD 3	Henderson	Dodd	Obama	Gingrich	Romney
	Utah	CD 2	Sandy	Biden	Clinton	Huckabee	Paul
March 9	Colorado	CD 1	Denver	Dodd	Biden	Gingrich	Huckabee
	Colorado	CD 4	Fort Collins	Clinton	Gravel	Brownback	Paul
	Colorado	CD 6	Centennial	Kucinich	Vilsack	Giuliani	Romney
	Idaho	CD 1	Boise	Gore	Obama	F Thompson	T Thompson
	Montana	CD 1	Great Falls	Richardson	Edwards	Hunter	McCain
March 11	Washington	CD 1	Edmonds	Dodd	Gore	Huckabee	T Thompson
	Washington	CD 5	Spokane	Kucinich	Richardson	F Thompson	Hunter
	Washington	CD 6	Tacoma	Biden	Gravel	Gingrich	McCain
	Washington	CD 8	Bellevue	Clinton	Edwards	Brownback	Giuliani
	Washington	CD 9	Federal Way	Vilsack	Obama	Paul	Romney
March 13	Alaska	CD 1	Anchorage	Gore	Richardson	McCain	T Thompson
	Hawaii	CD 2	Hilo	Kucinich	Edwards	F Thompson	Huckabee
	Oregon	CD 1	Beaverton	Biden	Obama	Hunter	Romney
	Oregon	CD 2	Medford	Dodd	Gravel	Brownback	Gingrich
	Oregon	CD 3	Portland	Clinton	Vilsack	Giuliani	Paul
March 15	California	CD 6	Santa Rosa	Richardson	Obama	Huckabee	Romney
	California	CD 7	Vallejo	Gore	Gravel	Gingrich	T Thompson
	California	CD 8	San Francisco	Kucinich	Clinton	Brownback	Hunter
	California	CD 9	Oakland	Dodd	Edwards	F Thompson	Paul
	California	CD 10	Antioch	Biden	Vilsack	Giuliani	McCain
March 17	California	CD 15	San Jose	Richardson	Gravel	F Thompson	Gingrich
	California	CD 17	Salinas	Dodd	Clinton	Brownback	Huckabee
	California	CD 18	Modesto	Gore	Vilsack	Giuliani	T Thompson
	California	CD 20	Fresno	Kucinich	Biden	Hunter	Paul
	California	CD 22	Bakersfield	Edwards	Obama	McCain	Romney
March 19	California	CD 23	Santa Barbara	Richardson	Clinton	Huckabee	Hunter
	California	CD 27	Los Angeles	Vilsack	Edwards	McCain	Paul
	California	CD 28	Los Angeles	Gore	Biden	Gingrich	Giuliani
	California	CD 31	Los Angeles	Obama	Gravel	Romney	T Thompson
	California	CD 35	Los Angeles	Kucinich	Dodd	Brownback	F Thompson
March 21	California	CD 34	Downey	Vilsack	Gravel	Paul	T Thompson
	California	CD 37	Long Beach	Dodd	Richardson	F Thompson	McCain
	California	CD 38	Pomona	Clinton	Obama	Giuliani	Huckabee
	California	CD 39	Lakewood	Kucinich	Gore	Gingrich	Hunter
	California	CD 40	Fullerton	Biden	Edwards	Brownback	Romney
March 23	California	CD 42	Yorba Linda	Edwards	Gravel	Brownback	T Thompson
	California	CD 43	Fontana	Dodd	Vilsack	Huckabee	McCain
	California	CD 48	Irvine	Biden	Richardson	Gingrich	Paul
	California	CD 49	Oceanside	Gore	Clinton	F Thompson	Romney
	California	CD 52	San Diego	Kucinich	Obama	Giuliani	Hunter

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Outlaw primaries.

[jimrtex]

The campaign moves on to the 3rd primary of the first round, on April 15 in the Northeast region that stretches from Maine southward to West Virginia and Delaware.

The 9 groups of 5 are:

Maine (1), New Hampshire (1), Eastern Upstate NY (3).  Vermont is skipped for the 1st round.
Massachusetts (5)
Connecticut (3), Rhode Island (1), Westchester NY (1)
Eastern NYC (3)
Western NYC (3), NE New Jersey (2)
New Jersey (4), Delaware (1)
Eastern Pennsylvania (5)
SW Pennsylvania (3), West Virginia (2)
Western NY (3), NW Pennsylvania

The debates start in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Westchester County, New York, and proceed in a clockwise circle, down into New York City, across the Hudson into New Jersey, the west across Pennsylvania, including 2 CDs in West Virginia.  The campaign then moves northward into Upstate New York, east across to Maine, and then finishing in Massachusetts.

March 28	Connecticut	CD 1	Hartford	Richardson	Obama	F Thompson	Gingrich
	Connecticut	CD 2	Norwich	Gore	Gravel	Brownback	Huckabee
	Connecticut	CD 3	New Haven	Kucinich	Clinton	Giuliani	T Thompson
	New York	CD 18	New Rochelle	Dodd	Edwards	Hunter	Paul
	Rhode Island	CD 2	Cranston	Biden	Vilsack	McCain	Romney
March 30	New York	CD 6	Queens	Dodd	Gore	Huckabee	T Thompson
	New York	CD 7	Bronx	Kucinich	Richardson	F Thompson	Hunter
	New York	CD 10	Brooklyn	Biden	Gravel	Gingrich	McCain
	New York	CD 16	Bronx	Clinton	Edwards	Brownback	Giuliani
	New York	CD 17	Yonkers	Vilsack	Obama	Paul	Romney
April 1	New Jersey	CD 8	Paterson	Richardson	Gravel	McCain	T Thompson
	New Jersey	CD 13	Newark	Dodd	Clinton	F Thompson	Huckabee
	New York	CD 12	Brooklyn	Gore	Vilsack	Hunter	Romney
	New York	CD 14	Manhattan	Kucinich	Biden	Brownback	Gingrich
	New York	CD 15	Manhattan	Edwards	Obama	Giuliani	Paul
April 3	Delaware	CD 1	Wilmington	Dodd	Biden	Brownback	T Thompson
	New Jersey	CD 1	Camden	Clinton	Gravel	Huckabee	McCain
	New Jersey	CD 4	Trenton	Kucinich	Vilsack	Gingrich	Paul
	New Jersey	CD 5	Paramus	Gore	Obama	F Thompson	Romney
	New Jersey	CD 7	Edison	Richardson	Edwards	Giuliani	Hunter
April 5	Pennsylvania	CD 1	Philadelphia	Vilsack	Gravel	F Thompson	Giuliani
	Pennsylvania	CD 2	Philadelphia	Dodd	Richardson	Hunter	T Thompson
	Pennsylvania	CD 5	State College	Clinton	Obama	Brownback	McCain
	Pennsylvania	CD 7	Drexel Hill	Kucinich	Gore	Gingrich	Romney
	Pennsylvania	CD 16	Lancaster	Biden	Edwards	Huckabee	Paul
April 7	Pennsylvania	CD 12	Johnstown	Edwards	Gravel	Paul	T Thompson
	Pennsylvania	CD 14	Pittsburgh	Dodd	Vilsack	F Thompson	McCain
	Pennsylvania	CD 18	Bethel Park	Biden	Richardson	Giuliani	Huckabee
	West Virginia	CD 1	Clarksburg	Gore	Clinton	Gingrich	Hunter
	West Virginia	CD 2	Charleston	Kucinich	Obama	Brownback	Romney
April 9	New York	CD 26	Lockport	Kucinich	Gravel	Gingrich	Huckabee
	New York	CD 27	Buffalo	Richardson	Vilsack	Brownback	Paul
	New York	CD 29	Elmira	Gore	Edwards	Giuliani	Romney
	Pennsylvania	CD 3	Erie	Dodd	Obama	F Thompson	T Thompson
	Pennsylvania	CD 4	Beaver Falls	Biden	Clinton	Hunter	McCain
April 11	Maine	CD 1	Portland	Richardson	Clinton	Huckabee	Hunter
	New Hampshire	CD 2	Concord	Vilsack	Edwards	McCain	Paul
	New York	CD 20	Saratoga Springs	Gore	Biden	Gingrich	Giuliani
	New York	CD 23	Watertown	Obama	Gravel	Romney	T Thompson
	New York	CD 25	Syracuse	Kucinich	Dodd	Brownback	F Thompson
April 13	Massachusetts	CD 1	Amherst	Gore	Richardson	Huckabee	Romney
	Massachusetts	CD 2	Springfield	Kucinich	Edwards	Gingrich	T Thompson
	Massachusetts	CD 6	Peabody	Biden	Obama	Brownback	Hunter
	Massachusetts	CD 8	Boston	Dodd	Gravel	F Thompson	Paul
	Massachusetts	CD 10	Barnstable	Clinton	Vilsack	Giuliani	McCain

[defe07]

You know, I must say that you have some great ideas. This primary format is a good idea but I don't know how many voters would get how it works. I get it and it's simple, fair and very entertaining. For example, having a low-tier candidate campaigning in your Congressional District and this could be interesting. Until the number of Representatives increases though, I think this idea should be proposed to your Representative. Good stuff, keep it up!

[Frodo]

It would also be a good idea to have some rotation of the regions every four years, just to avoid the jealousy of other regions when you have just one region always being the first to pick the nominee.   

[jimrtex]

You know, I must say that you have some great ideas. This primary format is a good idea but I don't know how many voters would get how it works. I get it and it's simple, fair and very entertaining. For example, having a low-tier candidate campaigning in your Congressional District and this could be interesting. Until the number of Representatives increases though, I think this idea should be proposed to your Representative. Good stuff, keep it up!

I think it would be hard to get people to understand why their CD got stuck with Kucinich vs. Gravel, while their neigjbors got Clinton v. Obama, or that they wouldn't vote until one of the later rounds after the field has been reduced, and they were actually more decisive.  There could be problems if a CD had a strong matchup for one party, and a weaker matchup for the other party, so maybe the two schedules could be totally independent (with the Democrats in the SE, while the Republicans were in the MW).

I think besides making possible more interesting debates,  there is less of a chance for an early knockout.  In the first 5 primaries over about 3 months, each candidate would only run in 45 CDs, and face another candidate in only 5 scattered around the country.

For example so far the matchups for Clinton v. Obama would be:

SC-1 (Charleston and coast)
CA-38 (Pomona, but stretches in blobs west as far as Montbello)
PA-5 (State College, but largely the rural northern part of the state).

Would the voters in each district be that swayed by the earlier results?   I think they would pretty much give it their own look.

The results would be presented just like standing for a sports league, showing wins and losses, and perhaps percentage of votes, so it would be easy for most to understand, if they were willing to accept the concept.

The schedule would probably be shown in a couple of different ways.  What I have shown is the debate schedule, but the elections would be held on the same date.  So you can imagine a map showing the region with the 45 CDs highlighted, and then a line drawn to a picture of the two candidates (perhaps with the two candidates appearing to be slightly turned towards each other).

Or you could show the 9 CDs that each candidate will contest, and their opponent in each.  The press could do profiles on each CD and how this will be the advantage to the candidates.

As the debates progress through the region, each set of 5 debates would get covered.  And of course the local press would do extensive coverage of "their" debate.

I'm not sure of the best way to draw up the schedule of CDs.  I kind of like choosing the CDs and matchups about a month before each primary, just a few days before the debates begin, but that probably isn't logistically feasible.   So maybe there would be a drawing perhaps 2 months in advance.

The congressman in each CD would host the debate for his party, and could choose the location; while the other party would choose their site.

I could have done a better job of selecting CDs within a state.  Each state received its fair share of CD.   45/87 is 51.7%, so a state with an even number of CDs, will have N/2 1st round matchups with some chance of an extra matchup.  But within a state, the CDs were picked randomly.

[jimrtex]

It would also be a good idea to have some rotation of the regions every four years, just to avoid the jealousy of other regions when you have just one region always being the first to pick the nominee.   

In my example, the 5 regions were arranged in a 5 point star (MW at the top, NE to the right, SE to the lower right, SC to the lower left, and W to the left).    This sort of leads to the process jumping back and forth around the country.  I the selected the starting region and direction of traversing the star by lot. 

Within each region, I then grouped the 45 CDs into 9 groups of 5, somewhat keeping groups within a state, and also to arrange them somewhat in a loop.  The starting group and direction of loop traversal were drawn by lot.   In the southest, it really didn't work to make a loop, so that there is a jump between Mississippi and Maryland.

[jimrtex]

The 4th primary on May 6 is in the South Central region stretching from Arizona to Kentucky and Tennessee, and from Missouri and Kansas to Texas and Louisiana.

The 9 subregions are:

Arizona (4) and New Mexico (1)
West and South Texas (5)
Central Texas and DFW (5)
Houston area (5)
Louisiana (4) and NE Texas (1)
Oklahoma (3) and Arkansas (2)
Tennessee (4) and C Kentucky (1)
W Kentucky (2) and E Missouri (3)
W Missouri (2) and Kansas (3)

The debate tour starts in E Missouri, including St. Louis and Western Kentucky and proceeds in a clockwise direction.

April 18	Kentucky	CD 1	Hopkinsville	Edwards	Gravel	F Thompson	Gingrich
	Kentucky	CD 2	Elizabethtown	Dodd	Vilsack	Brownback	Huckabee
	Missouri	CD 1	Florissant	Biden	Richardson	Giuliani	T Thompson
	Missouri	CD 3	St. Louis	Gore	Clinton	Hunter	Paul
	Missouri	CD 8	Cape Girardeau	Kucinich	Obama	McCain	Romney
April 20	Kentucky	CD 6	Lexington	Vilsack	Gravel	Paul	T Thompson
	Tennessee	CD 2	Knoxville	Dodd	Richardson	F Thompson	McCain
	Tennessee	CD 3	Chattanooga	Clinton	Obama	Giuliani	Huckabee
	Tennessee	CD 6	Murfreesboro	Kucinich	Gore	Gingrich	Hunter
	Tennessee	CD 8	Jackson	Biden	Edwards	Brownback	Romney
April 22	Arkansas	CD 1	Jonesboro	Dodd	Biden	Gingrich	Huckabee
	Arkansas	CD 4	Pine Bluff	Clinton	Gravel	Brownback	Paul
	Oklahoma	CD 1	Tulsa	Kucinich	Vilsack	Giuliani	Romney
	Oklahoma	CD 2	Muskogee	Gore	Obama	F Thompson	T Thompson
	Oklahoma	CD 5	Oklahoma City	Richardson	Edwards	Hunter	McCain
April 24	Louisiana	CD 1	Metairie	Richardson	Obama	Huckabee	T Thompson
	Louisiana	CD 2	New Orleans	Gore	Gravel	F Thompson	Hunter
	Louisiana	CD 3	Houma	Kucinich	Clinton	Gingrich	McCain
	Louisiana	CD 7	Lafayette	Dodd	Edwards	Brownback	Giuliani
	Texas	CD 4	Greenville	Biden	Vilsack	Paul	Romney
April 26	Texas	CD 8	Conroe	Richardson	Clinton	Huckabee	Romney
	Texas	CD 9	Houston	Vilsack	Edwards	Gingrich	T Thompson
	Texas	CD 14	Galveston	Gore	Biden	Brownback	Hunter
	Texas	CD 18	Houston	Obama	Gravel	F Thompson	Paul
	Texas	CD 29	Houston	Kucinich	Dodd	Giuliani	McCain
April 28	Texas	CD 3	Plano	Gore	Richardson	F Thompson	Giuliani
	Texas	CD 5	Mesquite	Kucinich	Edwards	Hunter	T Thompson
	Texas	CD 12	Fort Worth	Biden	Obama	Brownback	McCain
	Texas	CD 17	Waco	Dodd	Gravel	Gingrich	Romney
	Texas	CD 20	San Antonio	Clinton	Vilsack	Huckabee	Paul
April 30	Texas	CD 11	Midland	Dodd	Gore	McCain	T Thompson
	Texas	CD 13	Amarillo	Kucinich	Richardson	F Thompson	Huckabee
	Texas	CD 15	McAllen	Biden	Gravel	Hunter	Romney
	Texas	CD 19	Lubbock	Clinton	Edwards	Brownback	Gingrich
	Texas	CD 28	Laredo	Vilsack	Obama	Giuliani	Paul
May 2	Arizona	CD 2	Glendale	Richardson	Gravel	Brownback	T Thompson
	Arizona	CD 3	Phoenix	Dodd	Clinton	Huckabee	McCain
	Arizona	CD 4	Phoenix	Gore	Vilsack	Gingrich	Paul
	Arizona	CD 6	Mesa	Kucinich	Biden	F Thompson	Romney
	New Mexico	CD 2	Las Cruces	Edwards	Obama	Giuliani	Hunter
May 4	Kansas	CD 1	Salina	Kucinich	Gravel	Huckabee	Hunter
	Kansas	CD 3	Overland Park	Richardson	Vilsack	McCain	Paul
	Kansas	CD 4	Wichita	Gore	Edwards	Gingrich	Giuliani
	Missouri	CD 5	Kansas City	Dodd	Obama	Romney	T Thompson
	Missouri	CD 6	St. Joseph	Biden	Clinton	Brownback	F Thompson

[jimrtex]

The 5th and final primary of the first round is May 27 in the Midwest region which stretches from Ohio to Nebraska and points north.

The 9 subregions are:

S and C Ohio (5)
N Ohio (5)
SE Michigan (5)
W and C Michigan (3) and NE Wisconsin (2)
Minnesota (4) and South Dakota (1) (North Dakota will be used in Round 2).
Iowa (3) and SW Wisconsin (2)
Outstate Illinois (4) and Nebraska (1)
Chicagoland (5)
Indiana (5)

The debate tour starts in Outstate Illinois, except for Edwards and Obama who begin in Lincoln, Nebraska before flying to Chicago to join the other candidates for the 2nd group of debates.  The tour moves eastward into Indiana and Ohio for the next 3 debates, before heading northwest to the Detroit area.  It then proceeds westward across Michigan, jumping Lake Michigan to NE Wisconsin, and on to Minnesota and South Dakota.  The final debates before the primary are in Iowa and SW Wisconsin.

May 9	Illinois	CD 8	Schaumburg	Richardson	Gravel	McCain	T Thompson
	Illinois	CD 12	Belleville	Dodd	Clinton	F Thompson	Huckabee
	Illinois	CD 14	Aurora	Gore	Vilsack	Hunter	Romney
	Illinois	CD 15	Champaign	Kucinich	Biden	Brownback	Gingrich
	Nebraska	CD 1	Lincoln	Edwards	Obama	Giuliani	Paul
May 11	Illinois	CD 3	Berwyn	Richardson	Obama	Huckabee	Romney
	Illinois	CD 5	Chicago	Gore	Gravel	Gingrich	T Thompson
	Illinois	CD 6	Wheaton	Kucinich	Clinton	Brownback	Hunter
	Illinois	CD 10	Waukegan	Dodd	Edwards	F Thompson	Paul
	Illinois	CD 13	Naperville	Biden	Vilsack	Giuliani	McCain
May 13	Indiana	CD 1	Gary	Edwards	Gravel	F Thompson	Gingrich
	Indiana	CD 4	Lafayette	Dodd	Vilsack	Brownback	Huckabee
	Indiana	CD 6	Muncie	Biden	Richardson	Giuliani	T Thompson
	Indiana	CD 7	Indianapolis	Gore	Clinton	Hunter	Paul
	Indiana	CD 8	Evansville	Kucinich	Obama	McCain	Romney
May 15	Ohio	CD 1	Cincinnati	Kucinich	Gravel	Huckabee	Hunter
	Ohio	CD 2	Cincinnati	Richardson	Vilsack	McCain	Paul
	Ohio	CD 3	Dayton	Gore	Edwards	Gingrich	Giuliani
	Ohio	CD 15	Columbus	Dodd	Obama	Romney	T Thompson
	Ohio	CD 18	Zanesville	Biden	Clinton	Brownback	F Thompson
May 17	Ohio	CD 9	Toledo	Dodd	Gore	Paul	T Thompson
	Ohio	CD 11	Cleveland	Kucinich	Richardson	F Thompson	McCain
	Ohio	CD 13	Akron	Biden	Gravel	Giuliani	Huckabee
	Ohio	CD 14	Mentor	Clinton	Edwards	Gingrich	Hunter
	Ohio	CD 17	Warren	Vilsack	Obama	Brownback	Romney
May 19	Michigan	CD 5	Flint	Gore	Richardson	F Thompson	Giuliani
	Michigan	CD 10	Sterling Heights	Kucinich	Edwards	Hunter	T Thompson
	Michigan	CD 12	Warren	Biden	Obama	Brownback	McCain
	Michigan	CD 13	Detroit	Dodd	Gravel	Gingrich	Romney
	Michigan	CD 15	Ann Arbor	Clinton	Vilsack	Huckabee	Paul
May 21	Michigan	CD 3	Grand Rapids	Dodd	Biden	Huckabee	T Thompson
	Michigan	CD 4	Mount Pleasant	Clinton	Gravel	F Thompson	Hunter
	Michigan	CD 7	Jackson	Kucinich	Vilsack	Gingrich	McCain
	Wisconsin	CD 6	Oshkosh	Gore	Obama	Brownback	Giuliani
	Wisconsin	CD 8	Green Bay	Richardson	Edwards	Paul	Romney
May 23	Minnesota	CD 1	Mankato	Vilsack	Gravel	Gingrich	Huckabee
	Minnesota	CD 3	Plymouth	Dodd	Richardson	Brownback	Paul
	Minnesota	CD 4	St. Paul	Clinton	Obama	Giuliani	Romney
	Minnesota	CD 7	Moorhead	Kucinich	Gore	F Thompson	T Thompson
	South Dakota	CD 1	Pierre	Biden	Edwards	Hunter	McCain
May 25	Iowa	CD 2	Iowa City	Richardson	Clinton	Brownback	T Thompson
	Iowa	CD 3	Des Moines	Vilsack	Edwards	Huckabee	McCain
	Iowa	CD 4	Ames	Gore	Biden	Gingrich	Paul
	Wisconsin	CD 2	Madison	Obama	Gravel	F Thompson	Romney
	Wisconsin	CD 3	La Crosse	Kucinich	Dodd	Giuliani	Hunter

[muon2]

The 5th and final primary of the first round is May 27 in the Midwest region which stretches from Ohio to Nebraska and points north.

The 9 subregions are:

S and C Ohio (5)
N Ohio (5)
SE Michigan (5)
W and C Michigan (3) and NE Wisconsin (2)
Minnesota (4) and South Dakota (1) (North Dakota will be used in Round 2).
Iowa (3) and SW Wisconsin (2)
Outstate Illinois (4) and Nebraska (1)
Chicagoland (5)
Indiana (5)

The debate tour starts in Outstate Illinois, except for Edwards and Obama who begin in Lincoln, Nebraska before flying to Chicago to join the other candidates for the 2nd group of debates.  The tour moves eastward into Indiana and Ohio for the next 3 debates, before heading northwest to the Detroit area.  It then proceeds westward across Michigan, jumping Lake Michigan to NE Wisconsin, and on to Minnesota and South Dakota.  The final debates before the primary are in Iowa and SW Wisconsin.

May 9	Illinois	CD 8	Schaumburg	Richardson	Gravel	McCain	T Thompson
	Illinois	CD 12	Belleville	Dodd	Clinton	F Thompson	Huckabee
	Illinois	CD 14	Aurora	Gore	Vilsack	Hunter	Romney
	Illinois	CD 15	Champaign	Kucinich	Biden	Brownback	Gingrich
May 11	Illinois	CD 3	Berwyn	Richardson	Obama	Huckabee	Romney
	Illinois	CD 5	Chicago	Gore	Gravel	Gingrich	T Thompson
	Illinois	CD 6	Wheaton	Kucinich	Clinton	Brownback	Hunter
	Illinois	CD 10	Waukegan	Dodd	Edwards	F Thompson	Paul
	Illinois	CD 13	Naperville	Biden	Vilsack	Giuliani	McCain

I can just imagine the furor in IL when the list comes out and it shows all four majority-minority districts in Chicago (CDs 1, 2, 4, 7) are skipped. I can imagine Jesse organizing marches already.

[jimrtex]

I can just imagine the furor in IL when the list comes out and it shows all four majority-minority districts in Chicago (CDs 1, 2, 4, 7) are skipped. I can imagine Jesse organizing marches already.

1, 2 and 4 are used in the 2nd round.

But I really should have also done stratification within states, instead of just between states. 

I first created the 5 regions such that they were comprised of whole states and had 87 CDs.  I then determined the number of CDs used from each state for each round.  The first round used 45 CDs in each region, so Illinois had 19 * 45/87 = 9.83, or 9 CDs and a 83% chance of a 10th.  As it turned out, they only got 9. 

I then selected the 9 Illinois CDs at random.  But the first proces could have been repeated within Illinois.  So we could have subgroups of:

Minority-majority: 1,2,4,7
Chicagoland: 3,5,6,8,9,10,13
Chicagoland-Outstate: 11,14,15,16
Outstate: 12,17,18,19

In this case each of groups with 4 CDs should get 1.89, but they all got 2; and the group of 7 should get 3.32 but got 3.

We divide the groups of 4 into two pairs geographically and pick one from each pair:

CD 2, 4, 15, 16, 17, and 12 are picked and
CD 1, 7, 11, 14, 18, and 19 are excluded.

Then we split the Chicagoland group into a Chicago group (3,5,9) and Metro group (6,8,10,13).  The Chicago group ends up with 2, and the Metro group 1.

CD 3, 5, and 8 are picked
CD 9,            6, 10, 13 are excluded.

Working our way outward from Chicago: 2, 3, 4, and 5; 8, 15, and 16; 17 and 12.

[jimrtex]

We move on to the 2nd round, with the top 6 from each party advancing.  Known as the Select 6, "Super 6" - USA Today, or "Sixpack" - New York Daily News the candidates will once again compete in head-to-head matchups.

There are 5 primaries in the second round, each using 30 CDs from across the country.  In each primary, a candidate faces an opposing candidate from his party in 10 CDs across the country.  The candidate matchups switch for each primary.

For the 1st primary of the 2nd round on June 17th, the Democratic matchups are Clinton-Richardson, Dodd-Edwards, and Gore-Obama; while on the GOP side it is Giuliani-Hunter, Huckabee-McCain, and Romney-Thompson,F.

As in the 1st round, the candidates hold head-to-head debates in the weeks before the election, with the GOP and Democrats alternating dates and sites withing the 5 regions.  In the table for each matchup, the dates, sites, and candidates for each debate are shown; but the opposite party will also contest the corresponding CD.  For example, Duncan Hunter and Rudy Giuliani will compete for votes in TX-32 in North Dallas, though their South Central debate will be held at Johnson City, Tennessee; and similarly John Edwards and Christopher Dodd will seek votes in TN-1 in far eastern Tennessee, while their debate is in Dallas.  Edwards and Dodd might travel to Tennessee to campaign, and then fly down to Atlanta for their 2nd debate in the eastern suburbs.

CSPAN will carry all debates, the cable news networks will carry one debate each night.  Local broadcast stations may carry the debates of interest in their area on a tape delay.

June 6	Texas	CD 32	Dallas	Edwards	Dodd
June 7	Tennessee	CD 1	Johnson City			Hunter	Giuliani
June 8	Georgia	CD 4	Decatur	Edwards	Dodd
June 9	North Carolina	CD 3	Jacksonville			Hunter	Giuliani
June 10	New York	CD 5	Queens	Edwards	Dodd
June 11	New York	CD 28	Niagara Falls			Hunter	Giuliani
June 12	Michigan	CD 14	Detroit	Edwards	Dodd
June 13	Wisconsin	CD 5	Waukesha			Hunter	Giuliani
June 14	Idaho	CD 2	Twin Falls	Edwards	Dodd
June 15	California	CD 41	Redlands			Hunter	Giuliani
June 6	Arizona	CD 1	Flagstaff			McCain	Huckabee
June 7	Missouri	CD 9	Columbia	Obama	Gore
June 8	Maryland	CD 5	Bowie			McCain	Huckabee
June 9	Georgia	CD 8	Macon	Obama	Gore
June 10	Pennsylvania	CD 19	York			McCain	Huckabee
June 11	Connecticut	CD 5	Waterbury	Obama	Gore
June 12	Indiana	CD 3	Fort Wayne			McCain	Huckabee
June 13	Wisconsin	CD 7	Wausau	Obama	Gore
June 14	California	CD 50	Escondido			McCain	Huckabee
June 15	Oregon	CD 5	Salem	Obama	Gore
June 6	New Jersey	CD 11	Morristown	Richardson	Clinton
June 7	New York	CD 11	Brooklyn			Romney	F Thompson
June 8	Minnesota	CD 8	Duluth	Richardson	Clinton
June 9	Illinois	CD 2	Calumet City			Romney	F Thompson
June 10	California	CD 3	Citrus Heights	Richardson	Clinton
June 11	Washington	CD 2	Everett			Romney	F Thompson
June 12	New Mexico	CD 1	Albuquerque	Richardson	Clinton
June 13	Missouri	CD 4	Sedalia			Romney	F Thompson
June 14	Mississippi	CD 4	Gulfport	Richardson	Clinton
June 15	North Carolina	CD 10	Hickory			Romney	F Thompson

[jimrtex]

The second round of the Select 6 primaries will be held on June 29.  As in the first round, pairs of candidates from each party contest 10 CD's from across the country.  In the two weeks prior to the primary, each pair hold a debate in 5 of the 10 CD's that they will contest.

The Democratic matchups are Obama-Edwards, Richardson-Gore, and Clinton-Dodd, while on the GOP side it is Thompson-Giuliani, McCain-Hunter, and Romney-Huckabee.

Please note a change in site for the Georgia 2 debate on February 15.  That debate has been moved to Albany, to free up Columbus for the Georgia 3 debate on June 24.

June 20	Minnesota	CD 5	Minneapolis			F Thompson	Giuliani
June 21	Ohio	CD 8	Hamilton	Obama	Edwards
June 22	Maine	CD 2	Bangor			F Thompson	Giuliani
June 23	Pennsylvania	CD 9	Altoona	Obama	Edwards
June 24	Georgia	CD 3	Columbus			F Thompson	Giuliani
June 25	North Carolina	CD 13	Raleigh	Obama	Edwards
June 26	Texas	CD 6	Arlington			F Thompson	Giuliani
June 27	Arkansas	CD 2	Little Rock	Obama	Edwards
June 28	California	CD 13	Fremont			F Thompson	Giuliani
June 29	California	CD 21	Visalia	Obama	Edwards
June 20	North Carolina	CD 8	Concord			McCain	Hunter
June 21	Florida	CD 6	Gainesville	Richardson	Gore
June 22	Texas	CD 21	New Braunfels			McCain	Hunter
June 23	Kentucky	CD 3	Louisville	Richardson	Gore
June 24	Washington	CD 4	Yakima			McCain	Hunter
June 25	California	CD 5	Sacramento	Richardson	Gore
June 26	Ohio	CD 7	Springfield			McCain	Hunter
June 27	Michigan	CD 2	Muskegon	Richardson	Gore
June 28	New Jersey	CD 12	East Brunswick			McCain	Hunter
June 29	New York	CD 2	Islip	Richardson	Gore
June 20	Nevada	CD 1	Las Vegas			Romney	Huckabee
June 21	California	CD 46	Huntington Beach	Clinton	Dodd
June 22	Tennessee	CD 4	Tullahoma			Romney	Huckabee
June 23	Arizona	CD 8	Tucson	Clinton	Dodd
June 24	Georgia	CD 1	Waycross			Romney	Huckabee
June 25	Florida	CD 19	Coral Springs	Clinton	Dodd
June 26	Massachusetts	CD 7	Lexington			Romney	Huckabee
June 27	Pennsylvania	CD 13	Abington	Clinton	Dodd
June 28	Minnesota	CD 6	St.Cloud			Romney	Huckabee
June 29	Illinois	CD 4	Chicago	Clinton	Dodd

[Frodo]

What do you all think of having rotating regional primaries (as laid out by jimrtex in this thread, but retaining Iowa and New Hampshire as the bellweather states candidates must go through before proceeding further?   

[Verily]

What do you all think of having rotating regional primaries (as laid out by jimrtex in this thread, but retaining Iowa and New Hampshire as the bellweather states candidates must go through before proceeding further?   

It's like reforming the Electoral College rather than getting rid of it; it's not a compromise, it's a waste of time.

[Χahar]

I vote Gravel over Richardson on March 17!

Seriously, though...Brownback v. Hunter in SF?

[StateBoiler]

jimrtex, good effort, but it violates the KISS rule.

How about this idea if we have to continue with primaries not on the same day.

In the preceding general election, the state with the highest turnout among the voting age population gets the right to be first primary. Think of the good points about this:

-If state had high turnout, it most likely meant the state was competitive, which means both parties would be catering to voters in around a 50/50 state.
-Their voters actually "care" if they were the highest turnout in the country, and so would treat with respect the primary process. Lets all remember that tomorrow, regardless of results, the overwhelming result will be the 94% of Iowans that just don't give a s***. If they don't care, why should we?
-Gives a reward to state parties that GOTV.
-Most likely to not be a large state for people that hate commercial big money politics.

So for this time around per Dave's numbers, the first primary would be Minnesota, with a turnout of 74%. (Maine had 73%, Wisconsin 72%.)

Maybe this could be modified a bit where you split the country in regions and take the highest turnout state in each region to be first.

[jimrtex]

I vote Gravel over Richardson on March 17!

Seriously, though...Brownback v. Hunter in SF?

Why not?  They would go face to face in 5 CDs, VA-5 (Danville); CA-8 (San Francisco); MA-6 (Peabody); TX-9 (Houston); and IL-6 (Wheaton).   The results (wins and losses) would be added to their records in similar matchups against the other 8 candidates.   Each candidate would have results from 45 CDs in the first round, with the top 6 advancing to the second round.

While there might be a few oddities, over 45 matchups, the top candidates would prevail.

[jimrtex]

jimrtex, good effort, but it violates the KISS rule.

You confuse the unfamiliar with complexity.

In each CD, voters would only choose between the two candidates in each party that drew that match-up.  This would let them concentrate on the two candidates, which simplifies the selection process for the voter.

Overall, the process is like following the baseball standings (before divisional plays, inter-league play, the designated hitter, and steroids).   Your alternative is more like the BCS.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Here's my idea. Have 51 or however many days, each with a primary or caucus to be scheduled on that day. The order of the states is determined by an auction of how which fraction of their delegates they are willing to give up. For instance, the 1st place state might end up having to give up 100% of their delegates, the next state 90%, while the last few states wouldn't give up anything.

If a lot of states really wanted to be first, I could see allowing bids of over 100%, and so the first state would end up with NEGATIVE delegates, and the winner of that state would LOSE delegates.