So, given what happened in VA are "open primary" states a good thing or a bad thing?

[yallerdawg]

4. A good thing if you have a bad party.

As a voter, you would like to think your vote matters. If you live in a State where the other party dominates at every level, what is the point of voting for people who never win? You can select your primary nominee, then get the nominee through the runoff, and then in the general election watch every opposition candidate win, and you end up completely disenfranchised -- you have no elected representation other than someone else's choices.

Even in the opposition party, there are degrees of separation. In the primary and runoffs, your vote can matter. You can affect the outcome. The general -- back to your party -- but you did have something to say in who your elected representatives will be, and who your party candidates ran against.