“Unnecessarily difficult.”
That was a common refrain from Utah Republican voters after participating in Super Tuesday.
The state Republican Party shook things up this year with a presidential preference poll at local caucus meetings rather than a state-run primary with mail-in ballots. The party required voters to pre-register online and attend in person.
Experiences were uneven. Some locations had a relatively quiet, straightforward night, and others saw long lines and frustrated voters.
The relative ease of a primary was reflected in the results of the Democratic pick for president. Five minutes after Utah’s polls closed at 8:00 p.m., The Associated Press called the primary for President Joe Biden. Conversely, Republicans had to wait till Tuesday became Wednesday to learn who Utah chose as its pick for president in the poll — Donald Trump.
The AP called the Republican poll for the former president at 1:39 a.m. MT. Later Wednesday morning, Nikki Haley officially suspended her campaign.
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“What a mess,” “disarray,” “unorganized,” and “the caucus convention system should be done away with” were common ways GOP caucusgoers described the evening at Cyprus High School in Magna. As crowds waited in line for credentials, many were told they didn’t sign up correctly or didn’t have the proper materials to receive their slip of paper with the three presidential candidates on it (Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ryan Binkley). At one point, the Utah GOP Party website crashed, making it impossible for voters to register for the caucus.
One voter, Sandra Lancaster, questioned the wisdom of a caucus in lieu of a primary election.
“I don't think that the Republican Party did a good job of getting the information out correctly, and I think that a primary would have been more effective and convenient for people,” she said.
Party officials said the decision could save the state somewhere in the neighborhood of $2-3 million. And in February, State GOP chair Robert Axson told KUER that a neighborhood caucus “creates wonderful opportunities for neighborhoods and communities to come together and reconnect.”
At Republican Party headquarters in West Valley City, Axson said the issues were a combination of turnout bottlenecking the internet registration option and a lack of manpower at some precincts.
“There was certainly some confusion,” Axson told reporters Tuesday night. “At Brighton High School, where I go to caucus because I live over in the Cottonwood Heights area, there were a number of volunteers that didn't show up.”
Despite the confusion and long waits at some precincts, others throughout the state enjoyed a smooth process. Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson posted to social media that about 100 people showed up to her precinct. While acknowledging the challenges some were experiencing, she said precinct workers where she was were “crushing it.”
A hundred people showed up to my precinct. I know there are challenges in some locations, but my caucus leaders and volunteers are crushing it tonight. 💪🏼
— Deidre Henderson (@DeidreHenderson) March 6, 2024
Critics say the in-person nature of a caucus drives down turnout, and participants skew toward the hyper-involved in politics or those with the resources to attend an in-person event on a Tuesday evening. Weber County voter Jennifer Funk was surprised by the turnout she witnessed.
“I don't know how many people are in our precinct, but I'm guessing it's like a thousand,” she said. “And for 30 people to represent all those people, I don't like that.”
Other Republican voters pointed specifically to how the Utah GOP approached the event.
“I’ve attended caucuses, albeit in other states. They’re much more organized,” said Salt Lake City voter Rachel Craig. “It just seems like they underestimated how many people would actually show up.”
The vibe in Magna
Caucus volunteers at Cyprus High School in Magna were working diligently to inform people how to sign up to participate in the process, helping people navigate smartphones and fielding questions from every direction. Many voters here didn’t pre-register online before showing up. When they tried to register in person, some were unable to access the state party website because it crashed due to high traffic.
Victor Hugo Pinilla-Coxe arrived right when doors opened at 6 p.m. He thought it was going to be a straightforward process. Things didn't go as planned. Pinilla-Coxe had to re-register for the caucus more than once and wait in multiple lines before he was able to vote with his precinct.
The process, he said, made him question if he should even follow through or if he should just head home.
“I want to elevate my vote. But with this and also considering who we think is going to win, I'm wondering if it is worth it to do it,” Pinilla-Coxe said, referencing that he believes Trump would win the nomination.
He eventually made the call to stay. It was his first caucus, and as an immigrant from Venezuela, Pinilla-Coxe said “we don't have this benefit,” which motivated him to stick it out.
“It’s worth the wait for this country,” he said. “For my rights? Yes, it’s worth [it]. And this is what the U.S. expects us to do – to be supportive to our country.”
It was also Terry Rodriguez’s first time participating in a caucus. From her perspective, it started OK and then it got “to be a little more flustered and a little more disarray” as people started to file in. Even with the hectic start, she was encouraged by the number of people who showed up.
While it took him over two hours, Juan Rios described the whole operation as “surprising,” especially once he was in the room voting for delegates and president.
“I did not think that we would start this [voting] with a prayer. So that caught me off guard a bit,” he said. It's also very disorganized … Nobody knew what they were doing.”
To Rios, the caucus isn’t representative of the voting population. As he looked around the crowd, Rios said there wasn’t “a lot of engagement from younger people.”
“I think that shapes a lot of what's going on here,” he said. “The caucus convention system should be done away with, and Utah should just move to our regular primary elections.”
Precinct chair Brian McCann acknowledged it was hectic this year, which he attributed to the presidential election. The last caucus McCann attended was a non-presidential year and “the turnout was abysmal.”
What’s next
While Super Tuesday covers who Utahns want as nominees in the presidential election, nominees for other big-ticket races haven’t been determined yet.
During the caucus Tuesday night, Republicans and Democrats selected which of their neighbors they would like to be delegates. On April 27, the chosen delegates will attend their respective parties' conventions to decide which candidates will be the party nominee for governor, Utah Attorney General and U.S. House and Senate.
Republicans will have more options to choose from – and a few candidates will be out of the races for good if they don’t secure the nomination from their party. And delegates are known to be more conservative than the typical Utah Republican, meaning they might not represent the party as a whole with their candidate selection.
On the Republican side for governor, delegates will pick between incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox, state Rep. Phil Lyman and former Utah GOP Party Chair Carson Jorgensen. Cox and Lyman are both gathering signatures to end up on the ballot even if they lose the convention vote. Jorgensen’s journey will end if he’s not picked by delegates.
The race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney is another sought after spot. It’s a crowded field with 11 Republicans gunning for the nomination. Sitting U.S. Rep. John Curtis is vying for Romeny’s Senate seat, along with former Utah Speaker of the House Brad Wilson.
All four of Utah’s U.S. House seats are also up for grabs. The only incumbent that isn’t running for reelection is Curtis.
