County looks to have party member input

First Montana Republican Caucus slated for Feb. 5

The Mineral County Republican Central Committee wants the county's party members to step up and take an active role in selecting their presidential nominee.

With the first-ever Montana Republican Caucus fast approaching the central committee is still looking for a chairman and a chairwoman for the Alberton and St. Regis precincts and a chairwoman for the precinct on the east side of Superior. The committee will hold a meeting to fill these positions Wednesday, Jan. 16 , at the commissioners' office at 7:30 p.m.

Bob Mahon, the chairman for the committee, said the people seeking these positions will be given 10 minutes to give a presentation on why they should be selected and after that the voting will take place.

The ballots will be counted by a group of three; the results will be telephoned into Helena.

Mahon said that the committee is trying to get as many local Republicans involved in the process as possible.

"We want everybody's voice to be heard," he said. Mahon said that it is important that the party members show up so that they can feel they played a role in the democratic process.

He said these should be exciting times for Republicans in the county.

"Mineral County gets to let their voice be heard across the state," he said.

Those selected to the position in the Jan. 16 meeting will join a group of about 15 people in the county and they get to cast a vote in the Feb. 5 caucus.

The Mineral County Republican Caucus will take place at the commissioners' office at 7:30 p.m.

Mahon said that the doors will be open at 7:15 p.m. and he would invite anyone who would like to speak on behalf of any of the GOP candidates.

Although Mineral County, with only six precincts, only makes up a small portion of the about 1,700 precinct positions voting in the Montana Caucus, Mahon said in such a tight race they could still play a crucial role in the selection of the nominee. "Every single vote is going to count," he said.

With the caucus, Montana joins 23 other states that will be holding a voting contest on Feb. 5 or "Super Tuesday."

"This is a big deal for Montana," said Mahon. There will be a caucus held in each of Montana's 56 counties and the results have to be phoned to the Republican state headquarters by 10 p.m.

All of Montana's 25 delegates to the Republican National Convention are required to vote for the winner on the Montana Caucus.

At the convention, the Republican candidate needs 1,191 delegates to secure the Republican nomination.