PHOENIX — Arizona's Presidential Preference Primary is March 19th.
While there are eight people running for the Republican nomination, for the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC), there is only one candidate that matters.
"The actions taken by the M.C.R.C. are in solidarity with President Trump," Maricopa County Party Chairman Craig Berland wrote in a social media post.
Berland was demanding the State Party withdraw from the government-run 2024 preference primary and run one of its own, with the party, not the state, picking up the tab.
"One day, one vote, paper ballot, hand count all at the precinct level," Berland said. "I thought it was ridiculous."
Republican County Recorder Helen Purcell oversaw elections in Maricopa County for 28 years. Purcell believes the logistical hurdles Republicans will face to stage an election will make it nearly impossible to pull off.
It involved everything from recruiting thousands of volunteers to work at the polls to buying the paper and printing the ballots to letting voters know they can only vote on Election Day and at a precinct. That's just for starters.
"In anything you do in elections, the devil is in the details and there are a lot of details that have to be worked out for an election," Purcell said.
State Party Chairman Jeff DeWit wonders if what the MCRC is pursuing is nothing more than a publicity stunt.
DeWit estimates the cost to hold the election will be more than $10 million. In its demand for a party-run election, Berland did not make any offers to help pay for it.
"If they choose some other method, then the party itself has to pay and I think that's going to be one of the big considerations as folks think through this issue," Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said.
DeWit says the state party's executive board will meet with Maricopa County party officials before deciding if it's worth the time and effort to stage its own primary.
