National Conventions: The Politics of Picking a President

It was July 30, 1619 and the first Representative Assembly in Colonial America was convened in Jamestown, Virginia. The Assembly, chosen by the white male inhabitants of every town, corporation and large plantation, met “to establish one equal and uniform government over all Virginia” and to introduce “ just laws for the happy guiding and governing of the people.” Those assembled considered matters of religion, moral offenses, relations with the Powhatan Tribe, and set up a new democratic society based on the rule of law and consent of the governed that has continued to the present day.

This Assembly, from its beginning, was a political institution in which persons attending shared concerns in common to debate and negotiate. A large meeting of people, usually over several days, to talk about shared interests and make decisions is the definition of a convention. Corporate America holds them, nonprofits, institutions such as the National Education Association, unions, agencies … It is our conventional way of life. The way Americans usually get things done.

A direct expression of Democracy where people themselves participate in decision-making, extends to the early history of Greece and Rome. Later, as the population increased, representatives were chosen by vote of the people. This inclusion appealed to lower ranks of society to avoid being taken over by powerful warrior barons. 

In 1113, in Galicia (Spain), Bishop Diego, a Spanish bishop and archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, ordered a monthly meeting, “as it was the creation of our ancestors,” bringing together churchmen, knights and peasants to do justice, a continuation of old Celtic tradition. By 1118 this council also included, for the first time in European history, representatives of major cities and towns. 

This system is used today by political parties in America to convene like-minded people to determine the goals they hope to achieve in government … The party platform as well as a candidate for President.

Currently, in American politics, a primary election or State Caucus elects representatives (the number is determined by state population) to attend a partisan party convention for the purpose of choosing a standard-bearer for President. In addition to elected representatives that are pledged to a specific candidate, unpledged delegates of elected state leaders are also included in the Convention.

In summer 2024, the Republican Party met in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and chose Donald Trump as their candidate, selecting a platform that included “the largest deportation operation in American history; and to make America the dominant energy producer in the World, by far! “

By vote of the majority of its delegates, Kamala Harris was chosen as the Democratic candidate for President, at the Democratic Convention, held in August.

Hillary Clinton, the Democrats’ standard bearer in 2016, won the popular vote proving that a woman could capture the hearts, minds and votes of Americans. She was defeated by the electoral college and underwhelming Democratic Party voter turnout of middle America. Kamala Harris faces the same challenges, but her running mate Gov. Tim Walz, may prove more acceptable to midwest voters.

It is a lonely challenge for a woman running for public office in a male-dominated arena. On a much different scale, I ran against a United States Naval Academy graduate for Mayor of Annapolis and won, becoming the first woman Mayor in the city’s 300 years. Elected a second time, by a city that prefers one-term leaders, I remain the only woman to lead Annapolis as its CEO.

Since 1832, the preferred method for selecting a party presidential candidate has been a National Convention. Before that, starting in 1796, state party caucuses selected the candidate, resulting in conflicting state “Favorite Sons.” Florida began a primary election to establish candidate favorability in 1901. Oregon followed in 1910 with legislation to bind the public vote with delegates to a convention dedicated to the state public choice.

The founders of our nation were not favorable to establishing political parties. Both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, writing in the Federalist papers, opposed political factions. However, differing views of governing created them, with Hamilton leading the Federalist Party and Madison, the Democratic-Republican Party. They were not presidential candidates at the time but party leaders.

Choosing America’s leaders, originally by congressional party or state caucus, was perceived as undemocratic and collapsed in 1824. The current version of national conventions has been in place since 1832, representing the voice of the people. It is a representative assembly system dating back to the Middle Ages in Europe and begun in ancient Athens, the cradle of democracy.

Ellen Moyer is former mayor of Annapolis, Maryland, and the first woman to hold that office. She’s also led Government Relations for the Maryland State Teachers Association, and served as its first Political Action Committee (PAC) director. You may contact her at [email protected].