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“When will Wyoming be holding its Presidential Primary” is a question that I am hearing often these days. The answer is simple: Just like Iowa, Wyoming does not hold a Presidential Primary. Wyoming uses the caucus/convention method for the political parties to choose their nominees for President.

So, when do the local Republicans get to “vote for their Presidential nominee”? Well, a slightly inaccurate answer would be “Tuesday, December 11 at 7:00 PM”. The answer is somewhat inaccurate because those attending their Precinct Caucus tonight will not actually vote for a Presidential nominee. Instead, they will be electing delegates to attend the Sublette County Republican Convention on January 5, 2008, and at that event, the delegates will be electing an “Alternate” to attend the National Republican Convention… where the GOP nominee for President will be elected.

“An Alternate”, you may say? Yes, each Wyoming county, except for Laramie County, is paired up with another Wyoming county, and Sublette County is paired up with Teton County. Last national convention, I served as Sublette County’s National GOP delegate, and Teton County sent an alternate. This time, it’s the other way around, and Teton County gets to send a Delegate, and Sublette County sends an Alternate. That means that the person we send to the National GOP Convention will not be able to cast a vote for President unless the Teton County Delegate becomes a no-show. From our point of view, it’s too bad it wasn’t the other way around; at the national convention I participated in last time, it was a “given” that George W. Bush would be our nominee, being he was seeking his second term, so there was really no contest. This time, however, it’s anyone’s guess who will be the GOP nominee.

However, it’s still important that Sublette County send an Alternate to the convention. Quite a few times, a Delegate gets sick or is subjected to a cancelled airline flight or something that prevents the Delegate from serving on the floor of the convention, and in this case, the Alternate takes the place of the Delegate.

So, how does the local system work? If you are a registered Republican in Sublette County, just show up at your Precinct Caucus tonight at 7 PM and find out! Only a tiny percentage of registered Republicans show up for their Precinct Caucus, and this is a shame, since it’s the only opportunity that the local “average bear” will have to influence the GOP’s choice for the presidential nominee.

There is no reason to be afraid to attend your Precinct Caucus; many people will be there for the first time, and they, too, will have no idea how it works. But, here’s a sneak preview: There are basically two main events. One is the submission of ideas for the Republican Platform, and the other is the election of delegates and alternates for the Sublette County Convention. It’s not all that complicated, and it works like this: If you vote for county Delegates who support your choice for President, then most likely these county Delegates in turn will vote for a Delegate to the National Convention to represent your choice come County Convention time in January.

Precinct Caucuses will be held tonight in three locations. The Pinedale, Pinedale West, and Boulder precincts will meet in the small meeting room at the Sublette County Library, in Pinedale. The Big Piney, Marbleton, and Marbleton North precincts will meet in the Sublette County Library in Big Piney. And, the Daniel, Cora, and Bondurant precincts will meet in the Daniel Community Center, which I assume means the old Daniel school house. For any questions, you can contact the Chairman of the Sublette County Republican Party, Cat Urbigkit, in Big Piney, at 307-276-5393.

So... who goes first in the nation? Many would say the "Iowa Caucuses" are first. But, that's not really true this year. This year, the first in the nation to hold Precinct Caucuses, and start the process of selecting a GOP nominee for President, are Natrona, Albany, and Sublette Counties... all of which will hold their GOP Precinct Caucuses tonight. It seems the national news media has yet to wake up to this fact.

So, tonight is it! If you are planning to “vote for your choice for Presidential nominee”, be sure to attend your Republican Precinct Caucus tonight. Oh, and the Democrats will be doing a similar process later in 2008. We’ll make sure to let you know about their event, too, once it is announced.