It will be North Dakota Republicans' turn in about two weeks on "Super Tuesday" to identify which candidate they want to retake the White House.
Republicans in nine other states will also hold presidential primaries or caucuses March 6 to pick from among Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.
Participants can pick from more than 60 sites across the state in this year's caucus, including several in the Grand Forks region. They will have to identify which district they live in, but any North Dakota Republican 18 or older on Election Day, Nov. 6, can vote at any location they wish.
Like the Minnesota caucus on Feb. 7, participants will cast their secret ballots for a preferred candidate, but the vote will not commit any of the state's 28 delegates to the winning candidate.
Each candidate is allowed to have surrogates or volunteers speak on their behalf before the voting.
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The North Dakota caucus will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. local time across the state. The caucus winner is expected to be announced by state GOP Chairman Stan Stein by 10 p.m. in Fargo, and results will be updated at www.ndgop.org/caucus beginning at 9 p.m.
Caucus locations
Caucus locations are listed on the website. Here are some of the caucus sites in the Grand Forks region:
• Districts 17, 18, 42 and 43 will meet at the Ramada Inn, 1235 N. 43rd St. in Grand Forks. District 17 includes south and southeast Grand Forks; District 18 includes parts of eastern Grand Forks as well as Rye and Blooming townships; District 42 includes the UND campus and surrounding neighborhoods; and District 43 includes most of southwest Grand Forks.
• District 19, which includes Grafton and the eastern half of Walsh County as well as the rural west and north sections of Grand Forks County, will have several caucus sites on Super Tuesday.
A caucus will be held in Gilby at the Gilby Community Center, 305 Main St.; in Grafton at Ameriprise Financial, 1245 Lawler Ave.; in Larimore at Larimore Fire Hall on Third Street; and in Northwood at the Northwood City Office Building at Washington Avenue and Main Street.
• District 20 Republicans will meet in Mayville at O'Brien Seed, 945 Third St. S.E. District 20 includes Traill County, the north edge of Cass County and rural southeast Grand Forks County.
Johnson reports on local politics. Reach him at (701) 780-1105; (800) 477-6572, ext. 105; or send email to rjohnson@gfherald.com .
