Trump overwhelmingly wins Boundary County and Idaho

BONNERS FERRY — Despite heavy snow, voters lined up outside the Boundary County Middle School to vote at the Republican Presidential Caucus on Saturday, March 2.

Voters waited in the snow for the doors to open at 11 a.m., to vote for their nominee in the Republican presidential caucus. Due to the presidential primary election being removed from the May Primary, political parties have had to organize a caucus, in order to send delegates to the national convention in July to decide their presidential nominee. 

Lines moved quickly as registered Republicans found the sign in the table and poll book representing their precinct. Once they provided ID and were found listed as a registered Republican, voters were allowed access to the gymnasium where the caucus was being held.

The vast majority of voters went straight to the stands, and waited for proceedings, which did not start until 12:15 p.m. Conversations were abuzz, many were confused on whether or not they were voting for sheriff and other county offices at the caucus. This uncertainty was partially due to the presence of candidate booths in the caucus. Candidates for local county and legislative races were given the option to purchase booths for their campaign at the caucus, with the proceeds going to the Boundary County Republican Central Committee to cover renting and insurance fees at the BCMS. 

Around 11:30 a.m., caucus coordinator Dave Wenk advised voters the proceedings would not begin until 12:30 p.m., giving those who had checked in the option to leave and get food or a coffee. However, they would have to be back in the building by 12:30 p.m. when the front doors were locked and voting would begin. 

Around 12:10 p.m., the caucus was opened with prayer, pledge of allegiance and an impromptu rendition of the national anthem. 

Elena Quinn and Sue Larson were appointed as tabulators. Representing the Trump campaign was Linda Fioravanti. The empty ballot box was displayed to the crowd, and then locked. 

Wenk said if voters wanted to get in line as videos of the candidates — former President Donald J. Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — played, they could. Before he finished, the majority of those present got up and moved into line.

Trump received the most votes with 462, or 90.8%, and  Haley received 39, or 7.7%

Candidates who have suspended their campaigns also received votes including, Ron DeSantis with three votes, Vivek Ramaswamy with three votes and Ryan Binkley with one vote. One ballot was left blank, with a total of 509 votes cast.

While 526 Republicans signed the poll book, 15 did not cast a ballot. 

Tabulators Larson and Quinn kept going back and forth wondering why five ballot packets were used, which should have contained 100 ballots each, ended up being 509 cast ballots with six unused, instead of 500 total ballots. 

Caleb Davis, caucus coordinator and chair of BCRCC, said the ballot packets were issued by the Idaho Republican Party, which stated each pack had 100 ballots, however party rules did not allow caucus working to verify the count of ballot packets. 

He chalked it up to some ballot packets containing more than 100 ballots.

“I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to our Boundary County community for their unwavering dedication during the recent Republican presidential caucus,” Davis said in a press release. “Despite adverse winter weather conditions, their commitment to engage in this crucial process was truly commendable. Winning over 90 percent of the vote locally, Donald J. Trump also emerged as the resounding choice statewide and received all of Idaho's 32 delegates to the Republican National Convention. 

“And a big thank you goes to our Caucus Captain, Dave Wenk, whose tireless efforts helped ensure the success of the event. Dave's work ethic embodies the spirit of service that is truly inspiring,” Davis said. “I also want to express appreciation to our other volunteers who selflessly devoted their time and energy to make the Caucus a reality. Their hard work and enthusiasm created a very positive environment for everyone.”

“Boundary County exemplifies the true spirit of patriotism and civic engagement, and I am proud to be part of a community that values the need for participation, even in challenging circumstances,” he said. 

In Bonner County, Trump received 1,883 of the votes, roughly 91.3%, cast in Bonner County's caucus, while Haley received 152 votes, or 7.3%. Also receiving votes were former candidates whose names still appeared on Idaho caucus ballots. Of those, Ryan Binkley received two votes; Chris Christie, two votes; Ron DeSantis, 19 votes; and Vivek Ramaswamy, four votes. It is unclear how many of the state's registered Republicans voted Saturday.

In Kootenai County, Trump had garnered more than 3,900 votes at press time, nearly 91% of the county’s total. Nikki Haley received 330 votes countywide. Also receiving votes were DeSantis, who had received 51 votes at press time, while Vivek Ramswamy earned five votes, Ryan Blinkley got four votes, and Chris Christie received 6 votes.

About 6.5% of the county’s more than 66,000 Republican voters turned out for the caucuses.

Despite it being many people's first experience with a caucus, Bonner County Republican Central Committee Chair Scott Herndon said it went relatively smoothly. However, a handful were unaware they needed to be in line by 11 a.m., or that voting would only take place for a 90-minute period.

"I'm sure there were a few voters who expected it would be like a normal voting day where you can just show up [between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.]," Herndon said. "That, unfortunately, was not the case."

Two of those voters emailed local legislators and the media, expressing both frustration and disappointment, saying that while the start time of 11 a.m. was clear, the ending time was not.

"We arrived at 2 p.m.," Mark Watson and Rebecca Revak wrote in an email. "We had to bang on the doors, and finally, a person identified as a local Republican committee person informed us they had stopped all voting at 1 p.m. and were counting the ballots then, and there was to be no more voting today.

We are flabbergasted and disgusted. General election voting is usually from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. While we were questioning the person, six other people arrived and were also turned away."

The limited time to vote disenfranchised residents and took away their right to vote, the pair wrote in the email.

With more than 84% of the state's precincts reporting, Idaho Republican Party Chair Dorothy Moon announced that Trump had won all 32 delegates in the state.

According to ABC News, Trump received 85% of the vote statewide, with 31,885 votes, or an estimated 85% of the ballots counted as of press time. He was followed by Haley with 5,003 votes, or 13%; DeSantis received 510 votes, or 1%; Ramaswamy, 94 votes; Christie, 85 votes; and Binkley, 40 votes.

"Idaho has reaffirmed its steadfast support for President Trump today," Moon said in a press release. "We recognize that our state stands as a beacon of support for Republican ideals, reaffirming Idaho’s status as 'Trump Country' with his resounding victory in our caucus."

While the caucus was the state's first since 2012, Herndon said a bill making its way through the Idaho Legislature could move the state back into a primary election to vote for the party's presidential nominee.

The state's primaries were inadvertently removed entirely when Idaho attempted to consolidate its primaries to the same May date. While the Legislature attempted to address the issue by holding a special session, party members could not agree on a proposal in time, leaving the state with a caucus as its only option. 

However, Herndon said a bill is expected to go before the Idaho Senate this week. Senate Bill 1371, which is on the state's third reading calendar, would move the state's primary election to the third Tuesday in April.

"I don't know why we're not voting on it, and I haven't heard of anyone who loves the idea," Herndon said, who also serves as the District 1 state senator. "So it's a very interesting choice for everybody."

Herdon, who is up for re-election, is running against the previous holder of the seat, Jim Woodward, in the May 21 primary election.

Herndon encouraged voters to weigh in with the local state senators to share their thoughts on moving the state's primary to April.

"Do they want voting in April, the presidential election and primary election?" Herndon said. "Or would they like to go back to the old way and keep it in May and put a presidential primary election back on the books?"