Distinguish primary elections from general elections.

• A. Primaries elect officeholders; general elections determine party nominees.
• B. Primaries assign legislative districts; general elections assign judges.
• C. Primaries are always statewide; general elections are local.
• D. Primaries select party nominees; general elections choose officeholders from those nominees.

Answer: (D)

Primaries are the process by which voters decide who will represent each party in the next contest. They narrow the field so that, for each party, there is a single nominee on the general election ballot. The general election then selects the actual officeholder from the pool of nominees (and, depending on the race, from independent or third-party candidates as well). So primaries determine party nominees, while general elections determine who wins the office from those nominees.

The other options mix up these roles or generalities: primaries do not elect officeholders themselves, they just pick nominees; the general election is not limited to judges or to a different function than choosing from nominees; and primaries are not constrained to be statewide while general elections must be local—both levels can occur depending on the office.