From 10:00am to 12 noon today, I was calling Kansas.
I wanted to make sure that every last voter in the Sunflower State turned out to vote for Ted Cruz.
Most of the people whom I called told me that they were voting for Cruz.
The Kansas Secretary of State provided some in-depth explanations for choosing a caucus forum rather than a primary:
Why Does Kansas Use a Caucus and Not a Primary?
Two reasons:
1. Cost: A primary election would cost about $2
million. Most states that use a primary
merely combine it with the state's regular primary- so the presidential
candidates are just one more line on the ballot. Kansas' regular primary is in August, too late
for a presidential contest, so it would need an entirely separate
election. A caucus costs the state
nothing.
million. Most states that use a primary
merely combine it with the state's regular primary- so the presidential
candidates are just one more line on the ballot. Kansas' regular primary is in August, too late
for a presidential contest, so it would need an entirely separate
election. A caucus costs the state
nothing.
2. Party
Building: The political parties use the
caucus process to engage volunteers and gain contact information from active
voters. Additionally, these are not like
regular elections, the votes do not determine a candidate, the votes are the
key input into a formula which determines the number of delegates allocated to
a particular candidate.
Building: The political parties use the
caucus process to engage volunteers and gain contact information from active
voters. Additionally, these are not like
regular elections, the votes do not determine a candidate, the votes are the
key input into a formula which determines the number of delegates allocated to
a particular candidate.
Some states have later primaries because of whether conditions. Other states have instituted later primaries for different reasons.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback instituted massive cuts across the board. Very likely election costs were also reduced. Brownback also endorsed Rubio for President, and so far, based on more than three quarter of precincts reporting, that extra boost did nothing for "Little Marco".
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Some of the Republicans I called told me that the lines were two hours long to attend the different caucuses.
It was incredible.
The time frame for participation was four hours: 10am to 2pm.
How did anyone plan to process so many people in such a small window of time?
At least three people told me that they had gone and waited in line, then had to return home out of frustration or to take care of their health.
One thing is clear:the turnout was HUGE.
The Kansas Republican Party provided a clear list of caucus locations for every county, and I helped every person I called who needed information.
At least three more people made it to the caucus because of my calls. It worked out very well.
Very well indeed, since the turnout turned in Ted Cruz' favor.
He crushed the Donald, even after Trump decided to skip the CPAC conference and compete heavily in Kansas and other states.
Trump is getting trumped. The real estate mogul's efforts have now become a complete waste, and did not help him one bit!
Sorry, Donald, but you're not in Kansas anymore, and it looks like the Ted Cruz campaign just dropped a house on you, big time!