On the 6th of November 2012, millions of Americans will vote in their country’s 57th Presidential election.
It all starts in Iowa. This meeting in Iowa kick starts the presidential race for the Republicans and takes up to six months for them to elect a front runner, or a presidential nominee. During this time, the Republican candidates seek enough supporting delegates to win their party’s nomination.
All the Republican supporters in the 50 states and overseas will take part in the primary meetings and decide which candidate to vote. This is done by the Republican Party heads; they send these delegates with instruction about whom they should vote for.
To win the nomination, the candidates need 2, 282 delegates vote overall. The number of delegates from each state depends upon the population. For example: California is a big state and so the number of delegates representing from there is 172. Delaware, a small state, sends only 72 delegates. It is done in proportion to the size of the population.
The primaries start from Iowa and head to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. Winning in these primaries is of paramount importance to the candidates as it helps them to get established in the race. The candidates who consistently perform poorly will drop out of the race.
Before March 6th which is called ‘Super Tuesday’12 states will send their delegates and vote on a single night. The candidate gaining the majority of the delegate votes on Super Tuesday will usually be the eventual winner, and then on he will be the only contender in the race.
The other states like Illinois will hold its primary on the 20th of March. The state of New York along with four other states will have it primary on the 24th of April. On the 5th of June, California and five other states will have its primary.
The last state to hold the primary will be Utah. It will be on the 26th of June.
After the final candidate or presidential nominee is elected, the Republican Party will hold a formal coronation ceremony toward the end of August.
If there was no clear winner, the party will resort to a process called horse-trading.
In the Democratic Party, the candidate who will face Republican is Barack Obama. He will be officially nominated again in a meeting at Charlotte, North Carolina.
After this, the Presidential race heats up. There will be debates, serious campaigning, canvassing and fund-raising between the two candidates.
Right now, the front runners in the Republican Party are Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Santorum. Their fate will be sealed in Utah.
