Bingham County voters go out in snowy weather to participate in Idaho Presidential Caucus
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BLACKFOOT — Republican voters in Bingham County joined with others around the state and traveled out in snowy weather to their local caucus.
The 2024 Idaho Republican Presidential Caucus took place on Saturday, March 2, in lieu of a primary election. There were three caucuses in Bingham County, held in Blackfoot and Shelley, serving 28 voting precincts.
According to the Idaho Capital Sun, the Idaho Legislature eliminated the presidential primary election last year “seemingly” by accident, and didn’t pass a trailer bill or call a special session to restore it. There will still be Republican candidates in the primary election in May for statewide and local races.
While all but Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley have dropped out of the presidential race, Bingham County voters had a choice of six candidates on the ballot including Trump, Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Chris Christie and Ryan L. Binkley.
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The caucuses were ran as private Republican events, so media was not allowed inside the building unless they were registered as a Republican. Journalists should remain neutral on topics they cover, so EastIdahoNews.com stayed outside the caucus sites.
Kirt McKinlay, captain of the Blackfoot Caucus said people who entered the caucus could expect to be greeted by volunteers, and then vetted to ensure they were a registered Republican voter.
Inside the caucus, McKinlay said, “It’s kind of like a party. Music, videos, pamphlets, bleachers, all that kind of stuff. Not quiet, it’s kind of rowdy with music.”
After that, McKinlay said they would call the meeting to order, show a video about why they were holding a caucus and then introduce all six of the candidates.
McKinlay said voters would have a choice to go to a private ballot box or check the box and bring it to the ballot master directly.
“It’s the best effort that the party can make in the state to prevent voter fraud. You have to be there in person and prove it’s you to be able to vote,” McKinlay said.
When asked if voter fraud had been a problem in the state of Idaho, McKinlay said he couldn’t prove that, but, “when there’s mail in ballots all across the country, not just Idaho… I think it’s a lot harder to keep tabs on what’s real and what’s not real.”
After the caucus, EastIdahoNews.com was not able to reach McKinlay for information about voter turnout in the caucus.
Out of the 13 people interviewed in front of the Blackfoot caucus, no one said they planned to vote for Haley.
Blackfoot Mayor Marc Carroll, 75, said while he’s never been registered as a Democrat, he votes on the issues rather than the candidate.
“I’ve voted for Democrat candidates and Republicans. I think the whole world ought to be nonpartisan,” Carroll said.
Carroll planned to vote for Trump in the caucus because, “I think he did a really good job in his first term. Personality aside, his policies were good.”
Kathy Gonzales, 73, who used to be a Democrat but switched over around thirty years ago said she planned to vote for Trump.
“I want to keep our freedoms. I want to keep our gun rights. I want the government to quit spending our money. I want people be able to talk. I’m tired of everybody getting offended if you say something,” Gonzales said.
Corbis McKinley, 47, said he’s been a Republican for about eight years and he planned to vote for Trump as well.
“I saw what they put him through and it just wasn’t right,” McKinley said. “I’m just an American-first guy. I care about the country more than other countries.”
While most people didn’t express strong opinions about having a caucus versus a primary, some said they had wished that it was a primary instead.
Carroll said in his experience, primaries normally run smoother than caucuses.
“I think the primaries just seemed to go more orderly, but this might be different. Maybe they’ve got it organized better,” Carroll said.
Sarah Curan, 21, said that she preferred primaries as well.
“I feel like it’s just a better way to do things, and then more people usually know about it,” Curan said.
Ron Kelley, 73, who declined to share who he was voting for, said he preferred primaries because it offered more privacy for voters.
“I just like the privacy of being able to go and vote in the way that I want to vote,” Kelley said.