Imperfect Primary

Barbara Norrander is a professor in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. She has been writing about presidential nominations since the 1980s.

• 1. Happenstance and Reforms 2. Presidential Nomination Politics at the Dawn of the 21st Century 3. Is This a Fair Way to Select a Presidential Nominee? 4. The Nomination Calendar: Problems and Imperfect Solutions 5. Connections to the General Election 6. Oddities, Biases, and Strengths of U.S. Presidential Nomination Politics

"Barbara Norrander’s new edition of The Imperfect Primary confirms the book’s status as the first place to look for anyone wanting to understand the complex and often arcane process used to nominate American presidential candidates. It provides a lucid, thorough, and concise account of the system’s origins, current configuration, and strengths and weaknesses as a way of selecting national leaders. This new edition will serve as an authoritative guide for students and others who want to follow the action heading into the 2020 election." —Gary Jacobson, University of California—San Diego"Barbara Norrander’s updated edition of The Imperfect Primary is an eminently readable and authoritative book on the presidential nomination process. The Imperfect Primary is an excellent book for the politically engaged reader as well as for the reader looking for a place to begin to understand the process by which the major political parties select their presidential nominees. The book takes readers through a concise history of the evolution of the process, the kinds of candidates who run, the signaling that goes on among party elites and aligned groups, how money and media influence the campaign, as well as astutely covering how the rules and the primary calendar affect candidates and the selection of the eventual nominee. The Imperfect Primary frames these topics as problems to be solved with discussion of the pros and cons of aspects of the process. It serves as an authoritative resource for students and is framed in a way that is excellent for generating discussion as we approach the 2020 nomination cycle." —Wayne Steger, DePaul University"Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty." —CHOICE