Ár Ré presidential primary, 4256

Ár Ré held a presidential primary in 4256. The primary was automatically triggered when the incumbent presidential candidate, Angus Pollux, withdrew hiscandidacy for the Presidency. The election was a straight contest between Jennifer Bowens, Leader of the party, and dark-horse candidate Callaghan Conway. 64,842 votes were cast, and Bowens won with the election, albeit with the lowest vote share of any primary winner in the party's history.

Background
Angus Pollux, the incumbent presidential candidate, withdrew from the candidacy after he resigned as Leader of the Party after the 4252 elections. In the party's leadership election of 4252, Bowens won against Michael Arthur-Doyle, the then Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Internal Affairs, to become the next Leader of Ar Re.

As the 4256 general elections approached, Bowens, who promised to heavily advertise the party's agenda, adopted vague policy positions and drew the ire of her fellow party members. With the presidential primaries approaching, a heated contest was brewing as opponents of Bowens sought to field a rival to her, if not to prevent her from claiming the presidential nomination, then to diminish her reputation to the point where she was forced to resign.

Procedure
Although the party's last constitutional review was held in 4250, there were no major changes to the presidential primary procedure.

The timeline for the primary is as follows:
 * August 1 - August 31: Nominations are open
 * September 1 - December 31: Campaigning.
 * November 15 - December 15: Ballots are sent out.
 * December 1 - December 27: Filled ballots are returned.
 * December 27 - December 31: Ballots are counted.
 * January 1: Winner is announced.

Candidates
Much discussion took place as to who would contest Bowens in the presidential primary. Michael Arthur-Doyle, who was defeated in the previous leadership election, had the highest odds of being Bowen's competitor, according to most betting agencies. In the end, Bowens' opponents stood behind Callaghan Conway, a relatively unknown backbencher, in fronting a challenge against Bowens.

Results
Bowens won the primary, but with the lowest numbers of any winning presidential candidate in Ar Re's history. Much of Bowens' opposition solidified around Conway and fronted a serious challenge.

In previous presidential primaries, where the results were announced close to the election date, there would have generally been a sense of who the winner was, thus allowing campaigning for the presidential election to start even before the primaries had concluded. However, due to the uncertainty of Bowens' win in the 4256 primaries, campaigning for the presidential election started significantly later, and even then was toned down heavily.