Hawaii’s GOP presidential caucus is big party-building event

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s world-class beaches and swaying palm trees may lure tourists, but as Republicans prepare for Hawaii’s GOP presidential caucus Tuesday, the far-away state isn’t drawing the candidates’ love.

So far, none of the Republican candidates have visited the deep-blue state, including Donald Trump, who could stay in his own luxury Waikiki hotel.

The Rubio campaign even left Alaska and Hawaii out of its logo, which featured a miniature map of the U.S. mainland dotting the “i” in his name.

But fiscally minded Republicans in the state say they don’t feel snubbed.

“If I were on a candidate committee and I were looking at the money that I had, and I was looking at the record Hawaii has always had as one of the bluest of blue states, I can’t really fault them for it,” said Sam Slom, the state Senate’s lone Republican, who led Ben Carson’s Hawaii campaign until he dropped out, and then shifted his alliance to Ted Cruz. “Of course, we’d love to have the candidates here. And we still might.”

Six candidates will appear on Hawaii’s Republican presidential caucus ballot, including current contenders Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Trump. Jeb Bush and Carson also will appear, despite dropping out, since they did so after Hawaii’s ballot deadline.

Rubio’s logo not including Hawaii and Alaska was a design issue, and his campaign has always included all 50 states, said Erin Fale, Hawaii state chairwoman for Rubio’s campaign. Rubio’s ideas about economic innovation should resonate in a state with a high cost of living, she said.

“I think people are just trying to distract from the real issues here,” Fale said.

Hawaii will send 19 delegates to the Republican National Convention. The caucus voting will determine how many delegate votes each candidate will get, based on a proportion of the votes. Then, based on the results, each candidate’s campaign will select which delegates they’ll send to the convention to cast their votes.

Of the states, only Vermont and Delaware have fewer than Hawaii’s 19 Republican delegates, with just 16 each, compared to hefty Texas’ 155.

But despite being small and being sandwiched between Super Tuesday and major battles in Ohio and Florida, Hawaii’s Republican presidential caucus is a big deal in the state.

“This is one of the biggest party-building activities for the GOP,” said Charles Djou, a Republican former U.S. congressman who volunteered to spearhead Kasich’s campaign in Hawaii. “We get a lot more interest, a lot more outreach and a lot more people connecting with the Hawaii GOP through the presidential caucus.”

Because the state doesn’t have a party-line voter registration system, the caucus is the way Republicans bring more people into the party, said Andrew Walden of the Hawaii Republican Party. Any registered voter who signs a Republican Party card can vote in the caucus, and unregistered residents will be able to register to vote at polling locations on caucus day.

In 2012, the Republican caucuses in Hawaii drew 10,000 participants, and organizers are hoping for the same amount this year.

The Hawaii Republican Party is running the caucus in a style similar to a primary election. Unlike other caucus states, there will be no speeches or cajoling; Republicans will simply walk in and privately cast their votes.

They’re setting up polling stations on every island, for a total of 45 polling places at 44 locations.