clown-car primary

Etymology
From.

Noun

 * 1)  A primary election with a large number of serious candidates, usually more than four, making it possible that the winner will have been chosen by only a small portion of the electorate.
 * 2) * 2016, Joshua Holland, The Nation, "Big GOP Donors Are to Blame for Their Party's Clown-Car Primary"
 * They can shake their heads over the seething anger in the Republican electorate, but this nasty and never-ending "clown car primary" is a problem of their own creation.