On Sunday, April 29, the State Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Washington state voted to use a caucus to choose delegates to the national convention. The caucus will be on February 9, 2008. This means that Washington state’s presidential primary, at least for the Democrats, will be just a “beauty contest” with no real power. That primary is now set for May, although a committee of state officials has the power to move the date.

The Democratic Party’s decision makes it likely that the Washington Republicans will now also opt for caucuses. Washington Republicans worry that if the Democratic presidential primary is meaningless, large numbers of Democrats would vote in the Republican presidential primary, possibly to make mischief. Washington state does not have registration by party.