Primary Elections in the United States. By Hirano, Shigeo and Snyder, James M. Jr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. 358 p. $99.99 cloth, $34.99 paper.

Primary Elections in the United States. By Hirano Shigeo. and Snyder James M. Jr. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019. 358 p. $99.99 cloth, $34.99 paper.

Primary elections evoke differing views about their role in American politics. Reformers in the early twentieth century advocated for primaries to eliminate the corruption they saw in nominating conventions. Early critics argued that primary voters would be less able to recognize the strengths of various candidates and that primaries would prevent parties from nominating balanced tickets. Contemporary critics argue that low turnout results in a primary electorate composed of more extreme voters who nominate more extreme candidates, which contributes to today’s polarized politics. The large social science research on primary elections also provides contradictory evidence about the nature of these elections. Shigeo Hirano and James Snyder’s excellent book provides a few central themes that clarify the influence of primary elections from the beginning of the twentieth century to the early years of the twenty-first century.

Foremost, Hirano and Snyder argue that not all primaries are alike. A dominant theme throughout their book is that the dynamics and outcomes of primary elections vary by the competitive nature of the two parties in a geographic area, whether it is a state, congressional district, or county. The advantaged party, which has the support of a larger proportion of general election voters, will have primary elections with meaningful competition and result in the nomination of highly qualified candidates. Primaries in smaller, disadvantaged parties will have fewer candidates and few qualified nominees. The main reason for this pattern, the authors argue, is the strategic behavior of qualified candidates. High-quality candidates compete in primaries where the nomination is meaningful and promises a strong potential of winning the general election.

Voters also play a role in how primary elections result in the nomination of qualified candidates, according to Hirano and Snyder....