A firehouse primary, also called a firehouse caucus or "unassembled caucus", is a term sometimes used in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to describe a

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

run by a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

, not a government, to select the party's candidates for a later

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. Firehouse primaries were originally held in public buildings such as firehouses.

United States

Because firehouse primaries are held with more limited locations and time frames than state-run primaries, and party officials have more control over who the candidates are, firehouse primaries have been criticized as relatively undemocratic by some commentators.Roger Chesley
Undemocratic way of selecting Democratic Party nominees
''The Virginian-Pilot'', March 1, 2017

Virginia

The term has been used principally for special elections in the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. A 2021 law authored by Virginia state delegate Dan Helmer which requires firehouse primaries to not discriminate against disabled or remote voters who are otherwise unable to vote in the primary, was the subject of a federal lawsuit by the 6th District Committee of the

Republican Party of Virginia The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) is the Virginia chapter of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. It is based at the Richard D. Obenshain Center in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond. As of May 2024, it controls all three statew ...

on grounds of freedom of association.

Other states

South Carolina Democrats used a firehouse caucus in 2000 for presidential nomination. During disputes between the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

and the state Democratic parties of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

over the

2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party chose their nominee for President of the United States, president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illi ...

, a potential "do-over" of both states' primaries in a firehouse setting was floated but never used. For the 2020 Democratic party presidential primaries,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

conducted firehouse primaries largely by mail. North Dakota used the term ''firehouse caucus'' for its event. A closed, ranked-choice firehouse primary was conducted for the 2024 Democratic presidential primary in Missouri due to the abolition of state-run presidential primaries by the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...

, as was a Republican presidential firehouse caucus. A firehouse caucus was held in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

by the Democratic Party under similar circumstances in 2024.{{Cite web , last=Corbin , first=Clark , date=October 16, 2023 , title=Idaho will have a presidential caucus in 2024 — not a primary. Here’s how they differ. • Idaho Capital Sun , url=https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/10/16/idaho-will-have-a-presidential-caucus-in-2024-not-a-primary-heres-how-they-differ/ , access-date=July 15, 2024 , website=Idaho Capital Sun , language=en-US

Elsewhere

Systems similar to 'Firehouse primaries' are the norm for the selection of candidates for public office in political parties outside of the United States and some parts of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The selection of candidates to compete for political officer on behalf of a political party in European nations is usually done by paying party members or party officials, or a mix of both, often without the use of any public infrastructure or direct funding. It is unusual for there to be any particularly strict or explicit legislation governing how parties can select their candidates. In some countries, such as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and other countries using the

Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

, party leaders are automatically candidates for prime minister and no separate selection process is held. Terms like 'party selection', 'party election' or another local term are more likely to be used than 'firehouse primary'. Most countries also do not have a system for voters to publicly register as identifying with a particular political party as in the United States which makes it more difficult to hold primaries separated by party affiliation.

References

Politics of Virginia Caucuses in the United States Primary elections in the United States Politics of North Dakota