Cruising ahead
On March 23rd, 596 days before election day, Senator Ted Cruz said he was running for president. Before the 1970s campaigns were mercifully shorter (see chart), but this was because nominees were picked in back-room negotiations. Campaigns grew longer after the parties gave more weight to primary elections. This forced candidates to make their pitches directly to ordinary voters, which takes longer.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline "Cruising ahead"
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