Tagged: Election 2012

Updated 3:25 p.m.

Missouri Republicans will start the process of picking presidential candidates on different days next month.

Republicans in most counties will hold caucuses at 10 a.m. on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. Republicans in Jackson County and St. Louis city are waiting a week and will meet March 24. Chariton County in central Missouri is holding its caucus March 15, and southeastern Wayne County is meeting March 16.

Requests to change caucus dates are considered by the state Republican Party chairman.

The "beauty contest" nature of Missouri's presidential primary earlier this week may have contributed to the lowest turnout for a presidential primary  in the state's history.

Just 8 percent of the state's registered voters cast ballots in the Republican and Democratic primaries. About 252,000 people voted in the GOP race, and 73,000 in the Democratic primary. While the Democratic vote awarded delegates, unlike the Republican contest, President Obama faced no serious opposition.