How do the primaries work?   The primaries are the elections-before-the-elections. Voters go to the polls to choose which delegates will attend the national party conventions later in the year, where the candidates are officially nominated. The rules vary from state to state. In some states, such as New Hampshire, every candidate in the race can walk away with some of the delegates. Others, like South Carolina, have "winner-take-all" systems for Republican candidates, where the state's entire delegation goes to the winner. Democrats do not allow any states to award their delegates in winner-take-all systems. Another key distinction is who can vote. Some states, including New Hampshire, allow registered independents to vote in either party's primary. About a third of New Hampshire's voters are independent.

New Hampshire Ads
All Things Considered, 1/21/2000
Most Americans now relate to the presidential campaign primarily as a long-running TV program. Whether they watch the news or not, they cannot escape the barrage of campaign ads. Candidates have flooded the airwaves with broadcast ads in Iowa and New Hampshire, where early events have begun to narrow the presidential field. Listen as NPR's Anthony Brooks reports for All Things Considered.

The Unknown Candidates
Weekend Edition Sunday, 1/16/2000
You've heard all the big names: Al Gore, Bill Bradley, George W. Bush, John McCain and other major-party candidates are on primary ballots nationwide. But voters in New Hampshire will have a lot more names to choose from when they go to the polls on Feb. 1. More than 20 lesser-known competitors are vying for the party nominations there. Listen as Doug McPherson of New Hampshire Public Radio takes a look at a few of the fringe candidates entered in the New Hampshire primary in this report for Weekend Edition Sunday.

Independent Voters
All Things Considered, 1/5/2000
About a third of the voters in New Hampshire are Independents. It's a substantial voting block, and presidential candidates are trying to win over these voters. All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer traveled to New Hampshire to talk with independents about the upcoming presidential primaries in New Hampshire. First, she visited a group of stay-at-home moms in Merrimack -- a suburban community in the southern part of the state -- where presidential leadership was a key issue. She found the same concern in Concord, with Rotarians who were meeting for their weekly luncheon. Listen to more of what Linda heard from these undecided voters.