BELLEVUE—Thousands of Republicans across Washington state endured freezing temperatures on Saturday, January 13, to participate in grassroots democracy—a statewide caucus— with hopes of becoming a delegate who will not only endorse candidates for statewide and federal offices, but also cast their vote for their preferred presidential candidate at the 2024 Republican National Convention.

“This is a great time to get to know your neighbors, enjoy yourselves, talk to people…figure out the issues you want to see in the election cycle coming up this year,” Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh said on a video post on X at his Precinct Caucus in Aberdeen.

Not only did caucus attendees nominate delegates, but they also voted their preference for United States President and Washington State Governor.

“We are changing the way Republicans in Washington State campaign for statewide and congressional office,” Walsh added in a separate post on X.

At the Republican State Convention in April, for the first time ever, 2,500 delegates will have the opportunity to endorse statewide executive candidates including Governor, a US Senate candidate, and congressional candidates from their respective districts, Walsh shared.

In addition to not diverting millions of dollars away from intraparty politics, an added benefit to the new policy will provide an additional three-and-a-half months for Republican candidates to win over “independent – and even Democrat – swing voters,” according to Walsh.

Because the Iowa Caucus, on January 15, must be the first in the country to report their results, the Washington State Republican Party is not releasing official tallies of its presidential and gubernatorial votes from Saturday’s precinct caucus for two weeks. However, multiple sources in the largest counties—King, Snohomish, and Pierce—have informed the Lynnwood Times that supporters of the 45^th President of the United States, Donald J Trump, overwhelmingly attended the caucuses on Saturday and that he is expected to win, with a split between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, in that order.

Due to inclement weather, the Clark County Republican Party is rescheduling its caucus at a future date.

Sources also informed the Lynnwood Times that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert is the expected winner of Saturday’s caucus but again, this is unofficial as the tallies are not yet complete. The official results will be released within the next two weeks.

Dave McMullan, Chair for the Pierce County Republican Party, shared that over a thousand Republicans participated in his county’s caucus.

“The enthusiasm was there,” McMullan said. “We are excited with the new process to pick the state and federal candidates. Because of the new endorsement process, more people want to get involved. In the past, the state committee selected who to endorse at the state level. I share their enthusiasm and am excitement for the new process and our new state party chairman.”

Saturday’s caucus didn’t go without alleged political opposition research. The Snohomish County Republican Party informed the Lynnwood Times that it is investigating allegations of two “known democrats” who signed caucus documents “certifying that s/he is a member of the Republican Party” to “infiltrate” the caucus.

“Two democrats signed up to be delegates at two separate caucuses,” Bill Cooper, Chair of the Snohomish County Republican Party said. “I find that fascinatingly appalling. To have people out there that are so disingenuous, that are so dishonest, that they will infiltrate an organization to find whatever they want—information intelligence—about what we are doing, what we are planning, and then turn around to use that against us. I find that extremely disturbing.”

Cooper shared that he will be contacting his counterpart at the Snohomish County Democratic Central Committee about the incidents.

“We will be vetting all delegate requests, and I will sign off on their approval,” Cooper said.

He would not say what that vetting process will entail but did say that the Snohomish County Republican Party will present their findings to the County Auditor’s Office to “file a legitimate complaint.”

DeSantis for President Washington State Leadership Team Member and Chairman of the King County Republican Party Finance Committee, Hossein Khorram, shared that he has “never see our nation and the world in such a crisis,” and offered the following prayer from the Archdiocese of New Orleans for the nation:

“God our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for your glory and dwell among your people.

“Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will…… We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.”

Real Clear Politics 2024 Presidential Polling Data

According to the latest Real Clear Politics aggregate 2024 Republican Presidential polling data from several pollsters as of January 9, the 45th President of the United States President Donald J Trump is leading the nearest challenger, Nikki Haley, by 49.8 points. Currently, Trump leads with 61.1%, Haley with 11.3%, DeSantis with 10.9%, Ramaswamy with 4.1%, and Chistie with 3.2%.

Article updated 5:55 a.m., January 15, 2024, to reflect Clark County Republican Caucus postponement.