How This State Cancelled Their Presidential Primary

Donald Trump fans are furious upon finding out that a year ago, Colorado changed the way its primary system was run. This week, in light of Trump campaign allegations, the Denver Post ran a column from August of last year predicting the impact such changes would have. It's prophetic:

For Republicans, no declared winner means the caucus will lack much of its hype. The presidential campaigns still may try to win delegate slots for their supporters, but experts say the move makes it less likely that candidates will visit Colorado to court voters.

The Colorado system often favors anti-establishment candidates who draw a dedicated following among activists — as evidenced by Rick Santorum's victory in 2012 caucus. So the party's movemay hurt GOP contenders such as Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Rand Paul, who would have received a boost if they won the state.

State Republican Party Chairman Steve House said the party's 24-member executive committee made the unanimous decision Friday — six members were absent — to skip the preference poll.

The move, he said, would give Colorado delegates the freedom to support any candidate eligible at the Cleveland convention in July. Republican National Committee officials confirmed that the change complies with party rules.

"If we do a binding presidential preference poll, we would then pledge our delegates ... and the candidates we bind them to may not be in the race by the time we get to the convention," House said in an interview Tuesday.

So how does the new system work? The Washington Post explains:

In February, Colorado Republicans began meeting at the precinct, district and county levels to select candidates to run for delegate seats. Party faithful are gathering this week to elect three delegates for each of its seven congressional districts. Thirteen more statewide delegates will be chosen Saturday.

Anyone seeking a delegate slot has the option of declaring a preference in advance or running as part of a slate of like-minded candidates such as the ones organized by Unruh and others. Pledged delegates who win must vote for their preferred candidate on the first ballot at the national convention. “Unpledged” delegates have until votes are cast in Cleveland to make a decision. If the race remains unsettled, unpledged delegates will become some of the most sought-after Republicans in the country as Cruz, Trump and Kasich seek to win them over.

“We have a lot of people coming out of the woodwork,” said Amy Stephens, a former Colorado House majority leader who is supporting Kasich and helping organize slates of his supporters to win delegate slots.

Colorado GOP leaders decided not to hold presidential caucuses this year, citing the costs and potentially chaotic nature of the contest. Many party members disagreed, thinking that the party was surrendering any chance of influencing the outcome.

In short, delegates are selected at the precinct level through caucuses, and those delegates, who express a preference or don't, go on to cast votes at the convention. If they chose not to select a candidate, they make their choice in Cleveland.

Source: AAN