Republicans headed to the polls to participate in Kentucky’s GOP presidential caucus on Saturday.
Reports from across the state show bustling crowds in many caucus locations, which were open Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
More than 100 caucus-goers lined up in advance of doors opening at Henry Clay High School in Lexington Saturday morning. Organizers said the crowd was “larger than expected,” but no official voter turnout number has been tallied.
Lexington attorney Chris Hunt was passing out information supporting candidate Ted Cruz outside the Lexington caucus site. Hunt said he likes the fact that the caucus is so early in the nominating process.
“It’s always been a little disappointing to me as a Kentuckian that we’ve been so late in the process that a lot of the time, our primary didn’t seem to have as much impact on the election,” he said.
The Kentucky Republican Party decided to switch to a March 5 caucus from a May 17 primary last year.
Party officials say the contest is much like a conventional election, but there are notable exceptions. Most counties have only one caucus location, meaning voters in remote parts of counties had to travel to a central polling place. That’s a change from traditional primaries, in which there are far more voting locations.
Also, supporters were allowed to advocate for their candidates very near the polling stations — normally, “electioneering” is forbidden within 100 feet of a polling place.
“I like the idea that people can gather some information, there can be some give and take. They can talk to somebody in person about those things if they’re on the fence,” Hunt said.
At a caucus location in far Western Kentucky’s Fulton County, WKMS reporter Becca Aronson said there was “higher turnout than expected” at a private residence designated as that county’s polling place.
In Calloway County, WKMS reporter John Null said when doors opened, there were about 100 caucus-goers lined up, putting the site on track to surpass the 542 total Republican voters who participated in the county’s 2012 presidential primary.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul cast his ballot in Bowling Green this morning but declined to say who he voted for.
Although Paul was for a time running for Senate and the White House simultaneously, he suspended his presidential campaign last month to focus on reelection to his senate seat.
Paul convinced party officials to switch to a caucus last year to skirt a state law that forbids candidates from appearing on the same ballot twice.
In a statement, Republican Party of Kentucky Chairman Mac Brown called Saturday’s turnout “remarkable.”
“It is exciting to see Kentuckians so engaged, and it is great that so many voters used this opportunity to have a meaningful impact on the presidential race,” Brown said. “Today’s success was also possible because of the preparation and hard work of the Republican volunteers at the local level.”
