Washoe County GOP uses television shows to explain process
Some Washoe County Republicans got the feel Thursday night of how their presidential caucus will happen.
The Reno High School cafeteria was filled with over 200 party members, some of them students, eager to learn the new primary election process coming up Jan. 19.
“(The mock caucus) is excellent, an opportunity for people to see how the caucus system works,” said Bob Morin, a politics teacher at Western Nevada Community College. “It’s a new thing for Nevada.”
The Washoe County Republican Central Committee and the College Republican National Committee hosted the mock caucus, or “mockus.”
“A caucus is a precinct meeting,” said Heidi Smith, head of the Washoe Republicans. “Just a meeting of neighbors and friends.”
Hans Gullickson, the Republican Caucus Director for Nevada, led the discussion on the caucus process.
Gullickson said registered Republicans can vote in the Republican caucus. Those who are registered independent or nonpartisan will have to change their voter’s registration to Republican by December in order to vote.
However, those who are going to be old enough to vote in the general election will be allowed to vote in the Republican caucus.
In order to demonstrate how the caucus would work, Gullickson asked for five volunteers to come up and represent people running to be delegates. He asked those people to select a TV show that they would represent, which would be replaced with Republican presidential candidates in the real caucus.
The “delegates” had one minute to inform the audience why they should be elected. The people related their shows to politics: “Gilligan’s Island” represented truth, justice and diversity; “Desperate Housewives” related the characters coming to the right decisions.
After each volunteer gave their speeches, the audience voted for four delegates they wanted to go to the national convention.
Then four more volunteers came up to the represent alternates for delegates who can’t make the national convention, again representing TV shows, some different and some the same.
Those who would be going to the national caucus in St. Paul, Minn., would have to pay out of their own pocket.
After the caucus was explained, the meeting was adjourned.
“I thought it turned out very well,” Smith said. “The College Republicans will be able to teach those who couldn’t make it tonight.”
Dax Albrecht, a wildlife conservation major at UNR, said the meeting was very interesting.
“I was able to get basic info,” Albrecht said. “Now I’m thinking about volunteering for (Republican candidate) Ron Paul’s campaign.”
J.A. Buchanan, a member of the UNR College Republicans, said he felt the mock caucus helped people to understand how to get involved in the presidential process.
“This was a great way to see how (the caucus) essentially happens,” Buchanan said.
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