In boxing, they call it the undercard. It is the series of bouts prior to the evening’s main event, designed to build anticipation and to prime the audience for the big fight. In politics, they call it the primary.
Ballots are due Tuesday for the primary that will set the stage for the November general election. And while voters typically view the primary as little more than an undercard, it can be a crucial demarcation point in an election season.
Washington is blessed to have a top two primary, meaning that two candidates in each race will advance, regardless of party. It also means that voters can cross party lines in the primary, a system that is much preferable to that found in many parts of the country. Most states have party primaries, and the result in modern times has been that party members often support the more extreme adherents to their ideology at the expense of moderation and without consideration of a candidate’s ability to govern.
The idea of a top two or “open” primary has been gaining momentum throughout the country. In an opinion piece for The New York Times under the headline “End Partisan Primaries, Save America,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., recently wrote, “Polarization and partisanship are a plague on American politics.” Other states also are considering top two primaries, but Washington is one of the few that has adopted such a system. As often happens, this state is on the cutting edge.
