Bernie Sanders dominated Tuesday night's democratic caucus here in Idaho, taking home 18 of the 23 delegates up for grabs, leaving Hillary Clinton with just 5 delegates.
Officials say it was the largest caucus in U.S. history. After delays of nearly two hours and lines as long as a mile to get in to the Ada County caucus, many are now debating whether the caucus system is the right way to go.
"We are really thrilled with the turnout. We had record numbers. About 24,000 people turned out across the state and that's the most we have ever had," said Dean Ferguson, communication director for the Idaho Democratic Party. "Of course there is plenty of people saying you know we need to do things differently and we embrace that and welcome that."
While they said there are definite disadvantages to the caucus system, "the inconvenience involved with making time for a three, four, five hours out of an evening does dissuade some people," explained Ferguson, they said there are also many advantages that a primary election simply doesn't have.
"You also have a big community event where people get together and see each other and talk to each other and build community. You weigh those one against the other."
Now it will be up to leaders of the Democratic Party to determine what future voting for the party will look like.
"Understand the leadership of the Democratic Party is not like a couple people, it's about 165 people all across the state who meet twice a year to decide these things," said Ferguson. That will certainly be something they talk about."
Ferguson said when those talks happen, all options are on the table.
"For instance, in other states they do it by voting precinct. They can talk about those kinds of options or they can talk about going to a full primary. That's a possibility too," said Ferguson.
They said they would love to hear your feedback and suggestions. You can send comments to Info@idahodems.com
