As Tennesseans go to the polls to elect county leaders, the party faithful are also choosing their nominees for state and federal office. Most Americans understand the importance of voting in general elections. Fewer understand that primary voters determine far more than their nominees.

Primaries build the momentum that carries candidates to victory. Early supporters don't just cast a vote; they become volunteers, donors and advocates for the rest of the cycle. Once voters commit to a candidate, they defend that choice, explain it to neighbors and vote for that candidate again.

Multiply that across a primary electorate, and early support doesn't just reflect momentum – it manufactures it, shaping media narratives and donor confidence long before November.

In one-party dominated districts, the primary is the election. Where a single party dominates, the general election is often decided months earlier in the primary. This is especially true of down-ballot races that rarely make headlines, but determine the laws governing daily life – and that serves as the proving ground for future governors, senators and congressmen. Even many state and federal House and Senate seats are drawn safely enough that the primary, not the general, is where the real contest happens. Skip the primary, and you've skipped the only vote that matters. Sitting out a primary hands your voice to others. 

Primary turnout is always a fraction of general turnout, so each ballot carries outsized weight – for better or worse. Low turnout opens the door for special interests, well-funded outside groups and narrow factions to punch above their numbers. Turnout and results also send signals: parties and candidates read them as a map of where to spend attention, money and policy focus for the foreseeable future. 

Even a losing candidate can shape the outcome – a strong contender often shifts the winner's platform toward the voters who nearly beat them. None of that happens if you don't show up.

In Tennessee, your primary ballot is your party record. Without party registration, the only record of party affiliation is the primary in which you choose to vote – thus the Tennessee GOP’s long-standing use of primary voting history as a key qualification for carrying the party's banner and all it represents. Your primary vote isn't just a preference. It's your standing in the party, on the record.

The Founders understood self-government as a habit, not an event – a discipline exercised often, not reserved for the moments that draw the most attention. Who governs matters, and over the next several weeks, Tennesseans can make that choice twice: once in the county general election, and once in the primary that decides who even appears on November's ballot. Exercise both. Vote early through Aug. 1, or on election day, Thursday, Aug. 6.

Tina J. Benkiser, J.D. for Hamilton County Republican Party