No presidential primary held in Washington state in 2012

Washington state has used a combination system with both a primary and a caucus to allocate delegates to the national Republican convention since 1989, after a successful initiative to the legislature in 1988. The Democratic party continued to rely on the caucus system to select their delegates, although Democratic candidates appeared on the primary ballot. This year, the secretary of state and the state legislature decided to cancel the presidential primary due to budgetary considerations.

As the largest state to caucus since Florida and coming just two days before Super Tuesday, the spotlight will be on Washington. Three presidential campaigns have already made or have announced campaign events in Washington, another indicator of the attention being paid to the Washington Republican caucuses this year.

In the caucus, members of local communities meet and elect delegates to the county convention. Every county across the state will be holding Republican precinct caucuses simultaneously on Saturday, March 3, starting at 10 a.m. “We know it’s the same day as the finals of the State B tournament,” said Lincoln County Republican Chairman Sue Lani Madsen. “We promise to get you on your way to the games by noon if not sooner.”

The caucus agenda also includes a discussion of issues and presidential candidates, followed by a presidential straw poll. The hard-fought GOP primary race has media attention on straw polls this year as a key barometer of grass roots opinion. Statewide straw poll results will be distributed by the Washington State Republican Party for the Saturday evening news.

Delegates to the county convention will select delegates to the state convention, and the state convention will select 40 delegates to the national convention. Lincoln County Republicans will hold their county convention in Davenport on Sunday afternoon, April 15, and the state convention will be May 31 to June 2 in Tacoma.