Many GOP Leaders Lament Open Primaries
Many Republican leaders are steamed about Sen. Thad Cochran winning re-election by capitalizing on Mississippi’s open primary, which permits voters of any political party to vote in its primary, according to The Washington Times.
Cochran, a six-term establishment Republican, narrowly defeated tea party candidate Chris McDaniel in the June 24 runoff after McDaniel bested Cochran in the primary by 1,400 votes, ABC News reported at the time.
“The Mississippi primary shows what can happen when you have an open primary,” Alabama GOP Chairman Bill Armistead told the Times. “Most often it is for mischief. The Democrats who vote in our primary either want to support the weaker candidate so they will have a better shot at winning in the general election, or they have been coerced into voting in our party’s primary to elect a candidate more closely aligned with their party’s views and philosophy.”…
…At the Republican National Committee’s annual summer meeting taking place in Chicago this week, members of the GOP who disagree with open primaries said a party that permits them is a PPINIO or “political party in name only,” according to the Times.
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour reminded the crowd that while staunch members of the party dislike them, “the public still prefers open primaries.”
Newsmax
8/7/14
Magnolia Tribune
