Republicans the problem?  The KKK was democrat.  The Civil Rights acts after the Civil War were Republican.  The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 were Republican, and opposed by the Democrats.

Shenanigans??  The reason that we have the primary system in Alaska that we have now is that the open primary did not work.  The democrats were smarter than the republicans at that time in electing candidates.  They would run a single candidate for an office.  The Republicans might run two or three candidates.  If the republicans did not, the democrats might find a weak candidate to run as a republican.  Since the democrat would be on the general election ballot automatically, the democrats would switch over and vote for the weakest republican candidate - the one that the democrat could more easily defeat in the general election. I remember when the democrats crossed-over to select the Republican C.R. Lewis, and then defeated him in the general election.

Lots more to say - no more space