Election 2012: One week till Republican caucuses

Since the Republican presidential-nomination race seems far from settled, expect a lot of national-media attention on our state in the coming week, with the party’s precinct caucuses set for one week from today – 10 am to noon, Saturday, March 3. To get your Republican caucus location online, you have to use the “caucus locator” lookup; we tried a sampling of precinct numbers (using this map) and so far it looks like north West Seattle goes to West Seattle High School, south West Seattle to the Evergreen Campus in White Center (let us know if your precinct comes up with someplace different). Though in 2008, both parties caucused on the same day, this year they’re more than a month apart; Democratic precinct caucuses are on April 15th, ~~also 10 am-noon~~, location list and times to come. And in case you’ve forgotten, there’s no presidential primary; it was called off to save an estimated $10 million.

Forest February 25, 2012 (8:47 pm)

I’m confused. The Washington state presidential primary is called off? Since when has Washington state ever had a presidential primary election?

WSB February 25, 2012 (9:03 pm)

Four years ago.
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http://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/2008presidential_primary.aspx
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https://westseattleblog.com/2008/02/our-official-election-results-post-check-em-discuss-em

Ann February 26, 2012 (8:46 am)

Please note that the Democratic caucuses are not from 10 to noon, but will be in the early afternoon, from about 1 to 3 pm. Exact time will be announced closer to the date of the caucuses. Thanks for including information about the Democratic caucuses. This is a great time to meet your neighbors and exchange ideas!

WSB February 26, 2012 (9:24 am)

Sorry, Ann, I’ll take the time reference out. I scoured the 34th DDs’ site among other places first and somehow came up with that somewhere … TR

Marcee Stone February 26, 2012 (3:42 pm)

It is noteworthy that the Washington State Democratic Convention will be taking place in Seattle in June. So those interested in becoming delegates in our area will not have far to travel in order to do so. This is an opportunity to participate at the national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina in September as well. We are expecting a much larger turnout for our precinct caucuses and have secured 11 locations so far. Please check http://www.34dems.org for further information in the next week or 2.

JoAnne March 2, 2012 (8:04 am)

Republicans who wish to vote or be a delegate in the precinct caucus: Arrive at the caucus location EARLY (West Seattle High School Commons for many of us).
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Try to arrive early–no later than 9:30 pm–to allow time for credentials (verifying that you are who you say you are). If you are late, you may not be admitted!
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You MUST bring some form of government-issued identification in order to be admitted.
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Plan on staying until noon at least. You may not leave and return, so bring snacks and reading material if you will need them.
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WSB March 2, 2012 (9:06 am)

JoAnne – if you know who is in charge of tomorrow at WSHS, I would love to touch base with them to see about their planned media protocol. Otherwise I’m just showing up and wandering around and hoping somebody’s precinct will let me sit with them to observe, since the county GOP never answered my inquiries (even about location!) … TR

JoAnne March 2, 2012 (8:08 am)

Saturday’s caucus is a HUGE event for Republicans. Believe it or not there ARE Republicans in West Seattle!

WSB March 2, 2012 (8:25 am)

And we’ll be there to cover it. Glad the two parties are not caucusing at the same time this year, though even if they were, the Republicans are the ones with the contest – Democrats certainly have things to discuss, but unlike four years ago, the nomination decision is not still up in the air! – TR

JoAnne March 2, 2012 (8:26 am)

A few more bits:
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You do not have to BE a Republican to attend the caucus and vote. You DO have to sign a statement saying that you will vote for a Republican.
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You must be a registered voter and show ID.
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TEA party folks in West Seattle will be there, too, along with regular GOP (although it might be hard to tell the difference).
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Paul, Santorum, and Romney supporters are ALL equally welcome. It’s almost a sure bet that no matter which candidate you support, you will find allies at the caucus.
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Even though the GOP has not been structured as a grass-roots organization in the past, that is beginning to change with the infusion of TEA!
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