n texas any party receiving of the gubernatorial vote in the prior election must hold a primary
Primary election
A first try in 1995 : Lionel Jospin won the nomination three months before the election . He lost in the run - off to Jacques Chirac . Later in 2002 , although the candidacy of then - PM Jospin was undisputed in his party , each of the five left - wing parties of the government he led sent a candidate , paving the way for all five to lose by the Nader effect . The idea made progress as the 2007 race approached , once the referendum on a European constitution was over . The latter showed strong ideological divisions within the left - wing spectrum , and the Socialist Party itself . This prevented the possibility of a primary spanning the whole left - wing , that would give its support to a presidential candidate . Given that no majority supported either a leader or a split , a registration campaign , enabling membership for only 20 euros , and a closed primary was organized , which Ségolène Royal won . She qualified to the national run - off that she lost to Nicolas Sarkozy . In 2011 , the Socialist Party decided to organise the first ever open primary in France to pick the Socialist party and the Radical Party of the Left nominee for the 2012 presidential election . Inspired by the 2008 U.S. primaries , it was seen as a way to reinvigorate the party . The idea was first proposed by Terra Nova , an independent left - leaning think tank , in a 2008 report . It was also criticized for going against the nature of the regime . The open primary was not state - organized : the party took charge of all the electoral procedures , planning to set up 10,000 voting polls . All citizens on the electoral rolls , members of the Socialist party and the Radical Party of the Left , and members of the parties ' youth organisation ( MJS and JRG ) , including minors of 15 to 18 years old , were entitled to vote in exchange for one euro to cover the costs . More than 3 million people participated in this first open primary , which was considered a success , and former party leader François Hollande was designated the Socialist and Radical candidate for the 2012 presidential election .
A first try in 1995 : Lionel Jospin won the nomination three months before the election . He lost in the run - off to Jacques Chirac . Later in 2002 , although the candidacy of then - PM Jospin was undisputed in his party , each of the five left - wing parties of the government he led sent a candidate , paving the way for all five to lose by the Nader effect . The idea made progress as the 2007 race approached , once the referendum on a European constitution was over . The latter showed strong ideological divisions within the left - wing spectrum , and the Socialist Party itself . This prevented the possibility of a primary spanning the whole left - wing , that would give its support to a presidential candidate . Given that no majority supported either a leader or a split , a registration campaign , enabling membership for only 20 euros , and a closed primary was organized , which Ségolène Royal won . She qualified to the national run - off that she lost to Nicolas Sarkozy . In 2011 , the Socialist Party decided to organise the first ever open primary in France to pick the Socialist party and the Radical Party of the Left nominee for the 2012 presidential election . Inspired by the 2008 U.S. primaries , it was seen as a way to reinvigorate the party . The idea was first proposed by Terra Nova , an independent left - leaning think tank , in a 2008 report . It was also criticized for going against the nature of the regime . The open primary was not state - organized : the party took charge of all the electoral procedures , planning to set up 10,000 voting polls . All citizens on the electoral rolls , members of the Socialist party and the Radical Party of the Left , and members of the parties ' youth organisation ( MJS and JRG ) , including minors of 15 to 18 years old , were entitled to vote in exchange for one euro to cover the costs . More than 3 million people participated in this first open primary , which was considered a success , and former party leader François Hollande was designated the Socialist and Radical candidate for the 2012 presidential election .