The idea of resurrecting a Washington presidential primary next March is getting a cool reception from Democrats. After passing the Republican-controlled state senate, the bill is running into opposition in the state House, where Democrats say their national party rules prohibit them from using both a primary and a caucus to select delegates to their national convention. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican, says voters will expect to weigh in on the presidential nominees, and is urging lawmakers to allocate $11.5 million to run the election.
If the parties agree to use the primary results to determine at least some of their delegates, the bill would require voters to select either a Democratic or Republican ballot. The list of voters, and which ballot they chose, would be public record, and a useful list for political parties. If the parties do not use the primary for allocating delegates, Wyman says there would simply be one ballot with all the presidential candidates, making the voter list less useful for the state political parties.
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