BILLINGS – Montana Republican Party leaders have scrapped the caucus voting system introduced during the 2008 presidential primary race after complaints the vote was too exclusive.
GOP executive director Bowen Greenwood said Friday that the party will revert to an open primary in which anyone can vote.
The caucus had been open only to party insiders. Set in February before most states had voted, it was meant to boost the Montana Republican Party’s national influence.
But Greenwood says many Republicans complained — especially after being allowed to vote in a June primary in 2008 only to be told that the caucus vote was the one that mattered.
The decision to scrap the caucus came from the party’s central committee during its annual convention in Billings.