Rotating Primaries Could Give West a Louder Voice

Mar 17, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert says rotating regional presidential primaries could focus attention on the West, at least once every 16 years. The current system makes it too easy for presidential candidates to avoid campaigning in the region, he says, so Western issues often go unaddressed.

"It's got flaws in it, it's not fair, it's not equitable for the candidates. It's confusing for the electorate - for the voters. And it put a hardship even on those who are responsible to put on the elections," Herbert says. "So the idea of having rotating regional presidential primaries is an idea whose time has come."

Part of the reason he's pitching this now, he says, is because the National Republican Party only considers how it conducts presidential primaries every four years. This just happens to be one of those years. But, he says, this isn't a partisan issue.

"It's truly a bi-partisan effort. This is not anything that has to do with Republican or Democrat. This has to do with what's best for the country," Herbert says. "It's not about just what's best for each state. It's not what's best for each party. This whole thing is about what is the best process for us to pick our presidential nominees."

Herbert joined forces with Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, a Democrat, to draft the plan. The National Lieutenant Governors Association agreed last week to support the proposal. In 2000, the National Association for Secretaries of State also voted to support the rotating regional primary model.

Click on the icon below for a more in-depth interview with the Lieutenant Governor about his plan.  

 

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