clown-car primary

English

Etymology

From clown car +‎ primary.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈklaʊn kɑɹ ˌpɹaɪməɹi/

Noun

clown-car primary (plural clown-car primaries)

1. (US politics, chiefly derogatory) A primary election with a large number of serious candidates, usually more than four, making it possible that the winner will have been chosen by only a small portion of the electorate.
   • 2016, Joshua Holland, The Nation, "Big GOP Donors Are to Blame for Their Party's Clown-Car Primary"

     They can shake their heads over the seething anger in the Republican electorate, but this nasty and never-ending "clown car primary" is a problem of their own creation.

   • 2015, Michael Page, This Is Your Government On Drugs‎^[1], Xlibris Corporation, page 282:

     The Republicans held a clown-car primary in 2012 with a dozen debates where their credo of hewing to the party line (more conservative than thou) prevented any candidate from emerging looking presidential.

   • 2012, Jon Ponder, Pensito Review, Two Months into Republicans' Clown Car Primary, WSJ/NBC Poll Finds Voters Turning against the GOP - Again: