Idaho GOP Will Study Open Primary
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho State Republican Party convention delegates in Twin Falls likely skirted a renewed, potentially messy internal fight over their party's closed primary by recommending the issue be studied, not addressed head-on. According to a resolution that cleared a convention committee on Friday, state leaders will be asked to scrutinize the 2012 closed primary's consequences before deciding if changes are necessary come 2014. The Republican Party limited its May 15 primary election to registered GOP voters, on concern Democrats were crossing over and skewing results. Some Republicans, including Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, want to undo it. But instead of taking up a resolution pushing an open primary, delegates agreed to study the matter, on grounds rehashing the old question would re-ignite feuds between entrenched factions on both sides, ultimately resolving nothing.