BOISE, ID – This year, Idaho switched from a May Primary to a March Caucus. That breaks new ground, says Idaho GOP Party head Jonathan Parker.
Jonathan Parker “This is our first time at Republican Party Headquarters and I’m personally involved in a caucus, so there’s definitely a learning curve and there’s been some growing pains, but we’ve been practicing and we’ve been equipping our county chairs with the tools necessary to conduct their caucus.”
Parker says the Party has planned ahead, to anticipate any problems.
Jonathan Parker “Some of the hiccups we might encounter will likely be at the larger counties where there’s gonna be a lot more people to organize and lines potentially could get long, so in preparation for that, we’ve lined up hundreds of volunteers in these larger counties to help expedite the process.”
Parker says Idaho’s switch from a primary to a caucus builds party loyalty, and saves the state money. But Boise State University Political Science Professor Gary Moncrief says it will have a ripple effect on state elections. That’s because the GOP caucus will draw people out to nominate a President. But the May primary will only focus on state elections. That historically draws fewer voters. Moncrief says that could mean May could look like an off-year for Republicans.
Gary Moncrief “You tend to have a much lower participation and the people that do vote tend to be the kind of true believers, you know, the strong partisans.”
In Idaho’s last primary, about a quarter of registered voters turned out. In 2008, nearly 90-thousand people voted for John McCain. Almost 30-thousand voted for Ron Paul.
