The system for choosing candidates to run for Congress might have been designed with the welfare of journalists and lobby groups in mind. Primary elections begin in March and end in September, allowing reporters to travel the country eating barbecue with candidates for seven months. They attract relatively few voters (under 20% of those eligible turned up in 2010), meaning that well-organised lobby groups can hold disproportionate sway. Organised labour influences Democratic primaries more than ought to be the case given that only 11% of workers are union members. In Republican primaries, relatively small outfits like the Club for Growth, which campaigns for smaller government, can make a big splash.
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机译：考虑到记者和游说团体的利益，选择候选人竞选国会的制度可能是设计好的。初选从3月开始，到9月结束，记者可以在这个国家与候选人一起吃烧烤，旅行七个月。他们吸引的选民相对较少（在2010年有资格投票的选民中不到20％），这意味着组织良好的游说团体可以发挥不成比例的影响。鉴于只有11％的工人是工会会员，有组织的劳动力对民主党初选的影响应该超过实际情况。在共和党初选中，规模较小的机构，例如成长俱乐部（Club for Growth），为较小的政府竞选活动，可能会大放异彩。
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