Jimmy Carter was the first president nominated by popular vote - not by party bosses.

I recently became aware that Carter opened the door for candidates that weren’t backed by the old guard cigar-smoking party bosses. After Vietnam, the Chicago riot and Watergate the public was tired of the corrupt political system so the rules for nomination were changed. Now a 15% primary vote insured a chance at becoming the party candidate.  There was also a new law passed that prohibited individual contributions over $1000. Republicans have largely bypassed that with Citizens United but at the time it was crucial.

Since the Carter victory Democrats have come to expect nominations to be fair and open without domination by party bosses. This allowed Clinton and Obama to rise to the top, who certainly would have been blocked under the old system.

This is the reason why a common Republican talking point lately has been, “we are a Republic, not a Democracy”. They saw true Democracy at work and the result was Carter, Clinton and Obama. 

We all owe a lot to Jimmy Carter. 

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