This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 21, 2011 - Filing begins next Tuesday for Missouri's presidential primary, now set for Feb. 7.
The only question is whether the results will count.
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said Thursday that she hopes the primary results will be used by both major parties to allocate their presidential delegates. She added that she's surprised that, at the moment, the GOP plans to ignore the primary.
One of the subplots of this year's special session was a bipartisan effort to move the 2012 presidential primary from February to March. Both national parties have been threatening to punish states who held their primaries or caucuses before March 1. Only four states are sanctioned to hold earlier primaries or caucuses.
Gov. Jay Nixon supported the move, but vetoed the primary bill approved during the regular legislative session because of other provisions.
The General Assembly was to tackle the matter during the special session. The state House handly approved a bill moving the primary to March, but critics in the state Senate blocked the shift on various grounds.
Two days before the national GOP's Oct. 1 deadline, the Missouri Republican Party announced that it would use the existing caucus system -- already in place to choose the delegates -- to also determine which presidential candidate they will support. Both parties' caucuses begin in March.
But this week, some Republican legislators tried, and failed, to cancel the February primary entirely. They argued that it was a waste to spend millions of dollars on a primary that won't count.
The Senate also rejected a last-ditch move to try again to pass the House bill moving the primary to March.
(Democrats haven't said much publicly about the controversy, largely because President Barack Obama is expected to face no major opposition in a 2012 primary or caucus.)
With the Feb. 7 primary now still in place, Carnahan announced Thursday that candidate filing will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday. And despite the turmoil within GOP ranks, Carnahan said in an interview, "I encourage the candidates to come to Missouri and campaign."
As for the Republican objections to the primary, Carnahan told the Beacon, "I am surprised that anybody would want to limit the right of voters...It doesn't make any sense to me."
Carnahan Says Voters Deserve To Be Heard
She noted that 1.4 million Missourians cast ballots in the 2008 presidential primary, which was hotly contested by Democrats and Republicans. Obama and Republican John McCain narrowly won their party's respective contests.
That's far more than the few thousand who usually get involved in the presidential caucuses, which were generally used in Missouri. The state held a presidential primary in 1988, and then every four years since 2000.
"I think it's serious business to elect a president and we should similarly let ordinary Missourians -- Democrats, Republicans and independents -- have a voice in that and not just leave it to party insiders to decide who the candidates will be," Carnahan said. "So I am in favor of a primary system and it's a better reflection of what ordinary Missourians are looking for."
Carnahan acknowledged that state law gives the parties discretion in whether to use the primary results to allocate presidential delegates.
"Parties can choose to say 'The voters made this decision, that's how the delegates will be allocated,' or parties can choose to ignore the voters' will," Carnahan said. "And I would encourage all the parties to go along with what Missourians are looking for."
"Look, we're living in a time when people are desperate to have their voices heard. I don't think political leaders are reflecting wellenough their values and interests," she added. "I think it is the wrong time for anybody to say 'we don't care what you want voter. We're going to let party insiders make that decision.' I just think that's the wrong way to go."
Republicans Remain Split
Carnahan's comments were echoed on Monday by some like-minded Republicans during the Senate debate.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, told his colleagues that Americans were teaching other countries about democracy, and "under no circumstances would we tell them it's OK to get a group of party activists and elites in a closed room and decide who we want to be president of the United States of America."
Schmitt's anti-caucus view narrowly prevailed in the Senate, although other Republican lawmakers in both chambers have continued to press to cancel the primary to save money.
Later, in an interview, Schmitt reaffirmed his belief that it is "a terrible idea'' for his party to return to the caucus system to dole out delegates
Still, two members in the state House filed such legislation earlier this week. "We've heard from taxpayers that they don't want their money wasted if they're not going to actually move the primary date and the result that comes from that," said House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, who is co-sponsoring that bill.
(Schoeller also is considering a 2012 bid for secretary of state. Carnahan is not seeking a third term.)
Schoeller's bill appears to have little chance of passing, since both chambers aren't expected to convene again before the special session's time runs out November 5.
Carnahan, like Schmitt, doesn't buy the financial argument.
"Every election costs money," Carnahan said. "And if we're going to decide that elections aren't worth the cost, I'm not sure we're going to be living in the country we think we are. I think it is worth the investment to let people have a say in nominating the candidates for the highest office in our country."
Carnahan added that she also is encouraging Missouri leaders in both parties to abide by the primary results.
She suspects that the national parties won't end up penalizing Missouri for its February 7 primary -- particularly since several other states also are bucking the March 1 rule.
Carnahan noted that in 2008, two states-- Florida and Michigan -- defied the parties' rules by holding their presidential primaries early. For all the talk of punishment, she observed, "what happened?"
In the end, nothing. Both states' delegations were seated at the 2008 presidential conventions.
Nixon Also Supports Primary
Any move to eliminate the presidential primary also would need the approval of Nixon, a Democrat.
After weeks of saying little about the legislative fight, Nixon indicated this week that he would oppose the idea of cancelling the statewide vote.
"I think the more people who get a chance to voice their opinion -- especially as something as important as a presidential election -- the better off we are," said Nixon after an unrelated news conference Wednesday in Millersburg, Mo.
Nixon said his preference would have been to move the primary to March, which is why he put the matter on the special session's agenda.
"That would have been of benefit in a number of ways [and would have] taken away any questions of delegate seating and what not," Nixon said. "I certainly support that system. I think it's a better system. So we'll be working to give as many people a voice as they possibly can have."