In just over a month, Kentucky Republicans will hold a presidential caucus for the first time in more than three decades. Republicans in the past have joined Democrats in holding a May primary election for president. But this year is different.
Warren County Caucus Chairman David Graham spoke to WKU Public Radio about the differences between a caucus and primary.
Graham: Caucuses can be very different, but in our case, it's going to be very much like a primary, only it will be at a different date, and it will be run by the party and not the county or state. Our caucus will be March 5. Most every county will have one voting location and voters can come in anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and vote very much like they would in a normal primary.
Autry: The caucus in Warren County will be held at the Knicely Conference Center. What can Republicans expect when they arrive? Walk us through the process.
Graham: Well, we hope when they walk in we'll have tables and booths set up from different organizations and campaigns. One difference is that we're going to allow some electioneering at the polling place. Each campaign will be invited to set up booths if they want to, so voters can expect to see some folks right when they come in, but voters shouldn't feel any obligation to stop and listen to those folks it they don't want to. They can move straight on to registration where we'll have a long hallway full of tables organized alphabetically where folks will find their last name and volunteers will be there with books very much like the ones election officers use at polling places, jut to verify people's address and check their photo ID, and then they'll go in to another room and cast their ballot.
Autry: The Republican party decided to move to a caucus to give Kentucky more relevance in the presidential nominating process, but another big reason was to allow Rand Paul can run for both President and Senate re-election at the same time. Years from now when that’s not that case—does it still make sense for the state Republican party to hold a presidential caucus?
Graham: I think that's something we're going to find out. A lot of people were pleasantly surprised that 11 candidates paid the fee to participate, and with that many participating, that's paying the bulk of the fee to to operate the caucus statewide. I think it will give Kentucky more relevance. Of course, everyone expects the field to narrow after Iowa and New Hampshire, but by March 5, there will certainly be five or six candidates still running. It will matter a great deal, especially since our delegates will be based on a proportion of the vote. Every candidate that gets at least five percent of the vote will get some amount of delegates from Kentucky at the national convention, and especially as closely contested as the race is, that could really matter. I think after this election cycle is finished that will be a great conversation for the folks at the state level to have. Is this something we want to pursue or should we go back to the way it was?
Autry: How is the winner determined and will we know the results by the end of the day?
Graham: Sites across the state will be reporting their vote totals in to Frankfort throughout the day. Polls close in our half of the state at 4:00 p.m. central. We should have a statewide total by 6:00 or 7:00 that night certainly.
Autry: Those wanting more information about Kentucky’s GOP presidential caucus can contact their county Republican Party Chair, or go online at rpk.org/caucus.
