It is up to the political parties to choose their candidates

Knoxville commentator thinks parties rule

by Frank Cagle
Hosting a radio talk show, I used to get calls from people outraged because they were being asked whether they were Democrats or Republicans when they went to vote in a primary. Yes, if you are picking the Democratic candidates for the general election you need to vote in the Democratic primary. If you are picking the Republican candidates for the general election you need to vote in the Republican primary. It sometimes makes people angry because they can’t pick some candidates from Column A and some from Column B during a primary election. No, you can’t go vote in the primary and vote for Democrat Randy Nichols for district attorney and simultaneously vote for Republican Mike Ragsdale for county mayor.The purpose of the Democratic and Republican party convocations is to pick candidates to represent the respective parties. ....
....If you don’t care enough to be active in either party, run as a delegate or work in elections, then don’t be surprised about being shut out of the process. You can vote in the general election and if you don’t like the candidates the parties select, don’t vote for them.....more....