From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprimary electionˌprimary eˈlection noun [countable] PPVan election in the US at which people vote to decide who will be a party’s candidate for a political position in the main election
Examples from the Corpus
primary election• So, 18 months before the primary election, their being together was news.• One of the contests on Tuesday was the primary election for Illinois's next governor.• Nine of those will be chosen in a state-wide primary election on March 12, the traditional date for delegate selection. 