Washington State Caucuses, Primaries Draw Near

Washington state voters will have two chances to register their preference for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, in a statewide primary Feb. 29 and precinct caucuses March 7.

While the primary is likely to get more attention from voters, the majority of the delegates will be selected through the caucuses.

Because national Democratic rules don’t allow delegates to be selected before March 7 in most states, Washington Democrats will use caucuses to divide their 65 “pledged” delegates among candidates. Jim Kainber, the state party’s executive director, said the Democratic National Committee refused an exemption for Washington when the primary was scheduled for Feb. 29.

Washington state Republicans will select one-third of their 37 delegates based on the results of the primary, and two-thirds on the results of the caucuses.

In Idaho, Democrats will caucus on March 7 to decide how to divide up 23 delegates to nominate the party’s presidential candidate. Republicans will use the May 23 primary to choose 80 percent of their 28 delegates, and the remainder will be selected at their state convention on June 23 and 24.