Arizona, Utah and Idaho Vote: 5 Things to Watch in Tuesday’s Primaries and Caucuses
Three states out West vote in Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses.
— -- Three states out West vote in Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses.
Both Republicans and Democrats are participating in the Arizona primary and the Utah caucuses, while only Democrats in Idaho will caucus today.
Here are five things to watch in Tuesday’s primaries:
1. How Will Trump Fare in Arizona and Utah?
The Grand Canyon State is Tuesday’s big prize as a candidate could win all 58 available delegates.
Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner looks well positioned to win in Arizona since he appeals to voters with a hard-line immigration stance. He has the backing of former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the man who oversees the controversial “Tent City” jail.
However, in Utah, Trump may have a harder time wrangling voters to his side, after insulting Mitt Romney, a Utah resident.
“Are you sure he’s a Mormon?” Trump said of Romney at a recent rally in Salt Lake City.
2. Cruz Putting Up a Fight in Utah
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz appears to be the favorite in the Beehive State, where 40 delegates are at stake for Republicans.
He won the backing of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert on Monday.
And former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced he would be voting for Sen. Ted Cruz.
“At this stage, the only way we can reach an open convention is for Senator Cruz to be successful in as many of the remaining nominating elections as possible,” the former Massachusetts governor wrote on Facebook on Friday, adding: “I will vote for Senator Cruz and I encourage others to do so as well, so that we can have an open convention and nominate a Republican.”
3. Idaho Up for Grabs
Democrats will get a chance to vote in Idaho, where 23 delegates are at stake on Tuesday.
While it is an open caucus, Idahoans who voted in the Republican primary where Texas Sen. Ted Cruz nabbed a win, earning him 20 delegates, will not get a chance to participate.
Hoping to win over Democrats of the Gem State, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have paid the state their fair share of visits.
The Vermont senator drew thousands of supporters in Idaho Falls, an area known for its conservative politics. Meanwhile, Clinton supporters, including Boise Mayor Dave Bieter and former Rep. Larry Larocco, kicked off events leading up to the caucus.
4. Sanders Still Holding On
In order to catch up to Clinton, Sanders needs to win the remaining primaries and caucuses by incredible margins and gain a large number of delegates. On Saturday, he defended remaining in the race.
“Obviously, we have some important elections coming up in the next few days here in Arizona, in Utah as well and we think that we stand a good chance to do well,” Sanders told reporters while campaigning in Arizona, saying later, “We think we have states that are more progressive, some of the states we have seen, we are feeling optimistic that we can pick up a lot of delegates.”
The Vermont senator drew large crowds at his rallies in Utah and Arizona over the weekend. At his rally in Salt Lake City, around 10,000 attended and 7,000 in Tucson, Arizona.
Sanders also gave a visually compelling news conference with the fence dividing the U.S. and Mexico behind him as he denounced the wall proposed by Donald Trump. Clinton has not made a trip to the border during this campaign.
5. Caucuses.com: New for Utah
Utah residents voting in the Republican caucuses will have the option of casting their ballots in-person or online between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.
The Utah GOP party hopes online voting will boost voter turnout and make voting “as convenient as possible.”
Voters can use laptops, smartphones and tablets.
