Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Kansans have not had a say in which presidential candidate the Republican Party endorses for two decades. But on Saturday, Kansas Republicans will caucus for the first time since 1988.
Christian Morgan, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, said in the past, elected officials decided which candidate the Kansas Republican Party would pledge its delegates to. Morgan said Kansas has not historically been a caucus state, but that the Kansas Republican Party is making proactive measures to increase Republican activity throughout the state.
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“It’s hard for me to see national attention like Nevada or South Carolina got, but they’ll get more attention then they would usually get."
—Mark Joslyn, associate professor of political science
“I can’t tell you why Iowa and New Hampshire have been, but I can tell you why Kansas hasn’t been,” Morgan said. “There has always been talk about how Kansas Republicans are not united and they are always fighting, but this is a common goal Republicans have and it is just focused on making Kansas relevant when picking the next president of the United States.”
Morgan said the Kansas Republican Party decided to hold a caucus this year to build and unite the party. He said the party decided to hold the caucus after Super Tuesday in a conscious effort to put Kansas’ caucus in the national spotlight. Only two other states, Washington and Louisiana, will hold their Republican caucuses on Saturday.
Mark Joslyn, associate professor of political science, said he expects a large turnout on Saturday. He said turnout at Republican primaries and caucuses across the nation have increased because it is a competitive race and there is no incumbent.
Joslyn predicted that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would sweep this evenings’ caucuses. He said if that did happen, Kansas would not receive any national attention. If the vote is fairly even, Joslyn said Kansas’ caucus could be influential.
“It’s hard for me to see national attention like Nevada or South Carolina got, but they’ll get more attention then they would usually get,” Joslyn said.
Morgan acknowledged the possibility that McCain could win a majority of the delegates up for grabs in tonight’s caucuses. But Morgan said even if that did occur, it would be statistically impossible for McCain to have already won enough delegates to win the Republican nomination.
“From what it looks like, Sen. McCain, Gov. Huckabee and Gov. Romney will be making their way through Super Tuesday neck and neck,” Morgan said. “We will probably continue to see that kind of activity going into our caucus and the spotlight is going to be on us for about four days.”
Joslyn said if the race was still close after this evening, the likelihood of the candidates visiting the Kansas City area would increase. He also said he expected Kansas Republicans to support McCain because he is the frontrunner.
Jesse Vaughn, president of KU College Republicans, said his organization would attend the caucus as a group, but that the organization had not yet planned any other events. He said the group has been involved in local campaigns, but it did not usually get involved in national campaigns until the fall semester during an election year. He said once the Republican candidate is announced, the group would become much more active.
— Edited by Katherine Loeck
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Comments
Kansas Republicans assemble for first presidential caucus in 20 years
I realize that this comment may show how ignorant you think I am, but I feel that the caucus system is totally inappropriate and maybe even crooked for the U.S. Those of us who want to participate in the election process are prevented from doing so. Some of us have to work and have lives that prevent us from driving to places to "caucus". Besides, that process does not truly represent the will of the people and skews the election process towards those who can participate. I believe the only honest way to elect the candidate for our party should be at the ballot box. Why can't that be done? By the way, I think my comments are worth more than 2 cents.
Dr. Tracy M. Baker, M.D.
Kansas Republicans assemble for first presidential caucus in 20 years
Dr. Tracy makes an excellent point which I will try to answer. Whether a state holds an election or a caucus is determined by the State Legislature. A statewide primary would have cost the Legislature in the neighborhood of $3 million. Caucuses cost the State nothing because they are not State sanctioned, or officially a function of the State in any way. It was debated last year in the Legislature and both houses, Republican controlled mind you, voted against having a primary - mainly due to budgetary reasons. If you would like to have a primary then it is important to make sure your State Representative and State Senator hear from you. Write them a letter or call them.
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