The Idaho Democratic Party announced that President Joe Biden won the Idaho Democratic Caucus on Thursday in a landslide victory, receiving 95% of the vote in the six-candidate caucus.
Results released late Thursday night by the Idaho Democratic Party showed Biden received more votes than all the other candidates combined.
- Biden: 2,297 votes, 95%
- David Olskamp: 14 votes, 0.5%
- Jason Palmer: 5 votes, 0.2%
- Armando Pérez Serrato: 3 votes, 0.1%
- Dean Phillips: 14 votes, 0.5%
- Marianne Williamson: 79 votes, 3.28%
The Idaho Democratic Party reported 2,412 votes were cast in Thursday's caucus.
The total of 2,412 votes meant turnout on Thursday was extremely low, though calculating turnout could be difficult because Democrats and independents were also able to vote in caucuses.
of The Idaho Secretary of State's office reported 125,585 Democratic registered voters. The state's turnout rate could be calculated as about 1.9% based only on the 125,585 Democratic voters, but that calculation ignores the fact that independent voters cast ballots in Democratic caucuses. The Democratic Party did not disclose how many independent voters cast ballots on Thursday.
According to the Idaho Secretary of State's office, there are 273,862 unaffiliated voters across the Gemstone State.
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Either way, Biden's victory was indisputable: As the sitting president, he already had enough delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination.
The presidential primary is new to Idaho voters this year because the Idaho Legislature inadvertently eliminated presidential primaries in Idaho. House Bill 138 During the 2023 legislative session, the Idaho Republican Party held its presidential caucus on March 2. The Idaho Republican Party is a former President Donald J. Trump Wins the Idaho Republican Caucus.
Voters and officials say they prefer primaries to presidential caucuses
Several Democratic caucus-goers and elected officials told the Idaho Capital Sun they would prefer to vote for president in a primary election rather than a separate caucus.
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“It seems like such a no-brainer, but I don't understand why we have a primary and a caucus,” voter Sally Davis Sexton, who cast her ballot for Biden at the Timberline High School caucus site in Boise on Thursday, told the Idaho Capital Sun. “It's just that we have two events, and it's not like it's just around the corner.”
Idaho's primary, in which no presidential candidate ran, took place earlier this week on a Tuesday.
Voter Mary Lack volunteered as a poll worker and served as the lead elections official at her polling place during Tuesday's Idaho primary. Lack said she biked to the caucus site at Timberline High School to vote for Biden, but wanted to vote in the primary. Primaries are run by county election boards and the state, while caucuses are run by political parties.
“Primaries are much more organized and government-led,” Lack said.
Lack said this year's Democratic presidential caucuses were a big improvement over the 2016 Democratic caucuses. It was marred by many voters waiting in long lines for hours..
Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, told The Sun on Thursday that the Idaho Legislature needs to reinstate presidential primaries.
“We were really keen to have a primary because we were very concerned about the limitations of caucuses and how that would limit full participation,” Rubel said.
“I sincerely hope we can bring back primaries before the next presidential election,” Rubel added.
Idaho Democratic Party rules allow voters who turn 18 by the Nov. 5 general election to register to vote and cast a ballot in Thursday's presidential primary.
Kennedy Fletcher, a 17-year-old first-time voter, was applauded by Democratic volunteers and other voters as she turned in her ballot at Timberline High School on Thursday night. Fletcher told The Sun she supports Biden because of the clear differences between him and Trump.
“I like being involved in politics. I know who I'm going to vote for and all that, and I'm really looking forward to voting in the actual presidential election,” Fletcher said.
Lauren Necochea, Idaho Democratic Party chair and outgoing deputy House minority leader, said she wasn't surprised by Biden's strong performance in Thursday's caucus. Necochea said the party is united in strong support of Biden heading into Election Day, Nov. 5.
“President Biden is the only person to have beaten President Trump in a presidential election,” Necochea said.
Idaho Democratic Party allows absentee voting and media coverage
While the Idaho Republican Party's March 2 caucus only required voters to attend in person, the Idaho Democratic Party allowed voters to request and mail in an absentee ballot if they couldn't attend due to military service, religious activities, work, disability, illness, childcare responsibilities or an inability to travel.
The Idaho Democratic Party also allowed reporters to observe the caucuses and interview voters. The Idaho Republican Party did not allow non-Republican reporters to observe the caucuses.
