Tagged: caucuses

In February, Missouri voters picked Rick Santorum as the winner of the state’s presidential primary. But the results didn’t count.

Infighting among Republicans in Jefferson City had left the state’s presidential primary date in violation of party rules. Missouri was at risk of losing delegates to the GOP national convention. So the primary went on as scheduled – but state GOP leaders declared that delegates would instead be awarded at caucuses. The first of those gatherings are Saturday.

But those votes may not count either.

Updated 3:25 p.m.

Missouri Republicans will start the process of picking presidential candidates on different days next month.

Republicans in most counties will hold caucuses at 10 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Republicans in Jackson County and St. Louis city are waiting a week and will meet March 24. Chariton County in central Missouri is holding its caucus March 15, and southeastern Wayne County is meeting March 16.

Requests to change caucus dates are considered by the state Republican Party chairman.

Missouri House leaders will now attempt to get rid of the state’s presidential primary and replace it with party caucuses.  A similar move fell short in the Missouri Senate.

Some Senate Republicans tried and failed Monday night to swap out the bill to move the primary from February to March with one that would have replaced it with caucuses.  Speaker Pro-tem Shane Schoeller (R, Willard) has filed a new bill in the House that would do the same thing.