Under the Montana Republican Party's new caucus system, nearly 3,000 Montanans will have the opportunity to vote for their party's presidential candidate on Feb. 5. The stakes are high, because the outcome of that caucus will determine which candidate gets the vote of all 25 of Montana's Republican delegates.
Yet at the most recent accounting, hundreds of caucus seats were still waiting to be filled.
Still, more than half the 1,740 precinct jobs in the state remain open. And that leaves a large opening for a well-organized campaign to pack the caucus with supporters. Whether the caucus will represent the majority of the party, or be highjacked by a small but forceful minority, remains to be seen.
While the Montana caucus probably won't change the national party's final selection, it does represent a rare opportunity for Montana to influence a presidential election, and perhaps encourage more presidential candidates to take notice of our state.
As it is, Montana's relatively rural population - and its three measly electoral votes - don't count for much in the final tally, so presidential candidates tend to feel their time is better spent campaigning elsewhere. That's one of the reasons why the Montana Republican Party adopted the new caucus system this fall; it was looking to have more influence over the candidate selection process.
It was also hoping to encourage more Montana Republicans to get active in the party. However, it's likely that at least some of the people who signed on for party positions only did so to secure a slot in the caucus. It shouldn't surprise anyone if they have dropped their duties by March.
Before the state's Republicans opted for the new caucus system, they voted for presidential candidates using the more common primary election system, which is what Montana's Democratic Party is sticking with - at least, for now. Montana Democrats won't be voting for their candidate until June, and every member of the party will be allowed a vote. What's more, the party's delegates won't be held to the majority's preference when they cast their votes at the 2008 Democratic convention. The primary system is a little more - well, a little more democratic.
But by June, the field of presidential candidates will have been narrowed down to just one or two. Meanwhile, the candidates are throwing all their attention to states like Iowa, where both Democrats and Republicans will cast their caucus votes Jan. 3.
Meanwhile, the supporters of at least three Republican candidates - Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul and Mitt Romney - are eyeing Montana's empty caucus seats. If any one campaign manages to stack the caucus with a majority of supporters, it won't matter who the rest of the Montana's Republicans actually prefer, because that campaign will have a lock on the state's Republican vote.
If Montana's Republicans want to make sure their interests are represented, they had best inform themselves about the new caucus system and take steps to get involved.
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