Picking a presidential nominee will be a new experience for many Missouri Republicans this year.
When the state legislature voted to end funding for presidential preference primaries in 2022, Missouri’s political parties were left to their own devices.
The Missouri GOP is conducting caucuses in each county on March 2 to help decide the party’s choice for president. Voters will have four candidates to choose from: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, David Stuckenberg and Ryan Binkley.
The Missouri caucuses will still be held even if Trump — the current frontrunner — is the only remaining candidate for the Republican nomination, as caucus participants will still provide input on the Missouri Republican Party platform, and elect delegates and alternates for congressional and state conventions.
Requirements to caucus
Voters must register to attend and be a registered voter in the county they plan to caucus in to participate. Registration for the caucus will begin at 8 a.m. on March 2, and will continue until everyone who is in line by 10 a.m. is registered. Pre-registration is available on the Missouri Republican Party’s website, and provides participants with a receipt that allows them to enter the caucus through an express line.
All attendees, pre-registered or not, must show a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo identification and sign a pledge affirming their loyalty to the Republican Party. The pledge reads:
“I, , do hereby pledge my allegiance to the Missouri Republican Party. I believe in the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and a strong national defense. I commit to upholding the values of the Republican Party and to working to advance its goals. I am a strong and faithful Republican voter, residing and registered to vote in for which this caucus/convention is being held.”
A caucus will be held in each of Missouri’s 114 counties, and the city of St. Louis. The Greene County caucus will take place at the Oasis Convention Center, located at 2546 N. Glenstone Ave. in Springfield. Other caucus locations can be found on the Missouri Republican Party's website.
What to expect
While the presidential selection process will be the highlight of the day, the caucus will feature other important matters, and provide voters with information on southwest Missouri Republican organizations, according to Danette Proctor, chair of the Greene County Republican Central Committee.
“This is a good place to network and get people informed on other things we’re doing,” Proctor said.
The caucus will start with a prayer, the pledge of allegiance, an introduction of officeholders and candidates in attendance and an update on the Republican National Convention from RNC committeeman Gordon Kinne, according to Proctor.
Shane Schoeller, Greene County Clerk and Republican candidate for Secretary of State, will then provide a “credentials” report, which will tally the total number of caucus participants, who will vote on the report.
Once caucus leadership is established, the floor will open to nomination speeches — limited to three minutes — for presidential candidates, with one speech allowed per candidate.
Participants will then divide into subgroups for each candidate. Any subgroup with less than 15% of caucus participants will be eliminated, and its participants will be allowed to join another subgroup. A subgroup with a simple majority of participants will win all of the delegates, whereas a plurality would “prorate” the delegates — selected within the qualifying subgroups — among the remaining candidates.
Delegates from each county will participate in the congressional and state conventions, where they will decide the electors to represent the Republican Party’s nominee at the Republican National Convention in July. In Greene County, caucus participants will select 42 delegates and 42 alternates for each convention.
Following the presidential caucus, participants will have a chance to help shape the Missouri Republican Party platform by suggesting additions, deletions, or changes to the draft of the document, which will make its way through the congressional and state conventions before being given a final edit and approval by the state platform committee.
Proctor said there's no telling how long the caucuses last, and recommended people dress comfortably and bring snacks. Water will be provided.
More information on the caucuses can be found on the Missouri Republican Party’s website and the Greene County GOP’s website.
The Democratic primary will be held on March 23, with mail-in ballots required to be requested by March 12, and also due on March 23. Greene County Democrats plan on having polling locations throughout Greene County, but the locations and times will be different from typical elections. The Missouri Democratic Party will still hold a caucus, but only to select delegates to send to the party conventions.
