Biology
Why Party Primaries Push Candidates to the Extremes
Quick fact
In the 2020 Democratic primary, only about 9% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the Iowa caucuses, and these voters were significantly more liberal than the average Democrat. Similarly, Republican primary voters in 2016 were more conservative than GOP general election voters, helping propel Donald Trump's rise.
Why this is interesting
You might think that to win an election, a candidate should appeal to the most voters. But in many US elections, the real competition happens in a tiny primary, where only the most devoted partisans vote—and that changes everything.