The 2012 Idaho Caucus will take place on Super Tuesday and 32 delegates are up for grabs.
HuffPost's Mark Blumenthal reports that polling has been virtually non-existent in Idaho leading up to the contest.
Local station KTVB reports that according to the state GOP office, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate with a physical campaign office in the Super Tuesday battleground. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and form House Speaker Newt Gingrich reportedly have staffers on the ground in Idaho.
NWCN reports on the process for awarding delegates in the state:
Here in Idaho, any GOP candidate who gets over 50 percent of the state's caucus vote is pledged Idaho's 32 state GOP delegates. However, if the state's caucus vote is split where no candidate receives over 50 percent of the total vote, the delegates are distributed according to a percentage of votes each candidate receives in each county.
Local news radio station 1310 reports:
Historically, Idaho held a May GOP presidential primary. But the state Republican Party this year opted to move up its selection process two full months by joining nine other states holding “Super Tuesday” nominating contests. An earlier caucus – when the GOP nomination was still up for grabs – was designed to lure candidates to a state often ignored during election years, despite its strong Republican roots.
While the leap on the primary calendar has generated enthusiasm among Republicans in Idaho, Magicvalley.com reports that the scheduling shift comes with complciations in not allowing absentee voting.
That means people with disabilities, the elderly and rural voters are at a disadvantage, and those who aren’t in their counties on Tuesday, including military members and people serving on church missions, won’t be able to vote at all.
KTVB reports that ahead of the contest, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made a stop in the Gem State and urged voters to cast ballots in the race.
"You have the opportunity in the Idaho caucus for your voices to be heard across this country," he told his audience, adding that if voters remain undecided on the crop of candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination, "it is time to get decided."
Nine other states are holding primary and caucus contests on Tuesday, including: Alaska, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.