ST. LOUIS—The Missouri Republican Party will hold presidential caucuses today, offering voters their only chance to weigh in on who should represent the party on the November presidential ballot. 

Former President Donald Trump looks to extend his string of primary and caucus victories this year, while Nikki Haley, his former U.N. ambassador, seeks her first win of the campaign. Trump prevailed twice under the state’s old presidential primary system, first in 2016, when he barely edged Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and again in 2020, when he won 97% of the vote as the incumbent.

In 2022, state lawmakers eliminated the state-run presidential primaries as part of a larger election bill that added early voting and voter ID components. Lawmakers have failed to reinstate the primary, despite calls to do so by both the state Republican and Democratic party leaders. Democrats will hold a party-run primary on March 23.

The caucuses will also start the process of awarding 51 of Missouri’s 54 Republican delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer.

How to Participate

  • Be a registered Missouri voter by Feb. 19: Caucus-goers must also sign a pledge declaring their “allegiance to the Missouri Republican Party” 

  • Find your caucus site: Some counties will have more than one caucus site depending on the number of delegates being elected to the state level convention. Caucus-goers will need to attend the one based on their congressional district

  • Bring an unexpired government-issued photo ID

How it Works

In Missouri, caucus participants will “vote with their feet”, by gathering in groups to support their candidate. Former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and David Stuckenberg, a Florida businessman, are the only remaining candidates with active campaigns.

While Missouri’s caucus draws on some of what voters have come to know from watching Iowa, there’s a significant difference this year in particular. Iowa used a secret ballot, prompting scenes where some votes were collected in brown paper bags.

The last time Missouri Republicans held caucuses was 2012, but the format was different and there was no binding presidential preference result.

Watch a Missouri GOP training video demonstrating a mock caucus event

Delegate Allocation Rules

Missouri has 54 Republican delegates. Fifty-one of them are awarded to candidates through a months-long process that begins Saturday.

A candidate with more than 50% support will get all the county’s delegates to the congressional district level and state level conventions. If there is no majority, but candidates have at least 15% support, delegates would be split between those candidates.

Here is a break down:

  • 11 delegates will be awarded to candidates at the statewide level
  • 40 delegates will come from Missouri's eight congressional districts, 5 delegates from each one
  • 3 delegates are the state party chairman and Missouri’s Republican national committeeman and committeewoman, who may support any candidate they wish regardless of caucus results

The individuals who will serve as national convention delegates will be selected at congressional district conventions on April 6 and the state convention on May 4.

How Long Will Vote-Counting Take?

The caucuses convene without a hard stop time. Chairs of individual caucus sites must report their results to the state party no later than 5 p.m. CST. An announcement of the statewide results could come later in the evening. The state party has not provided a more detailed timeline.

There’s an additional purpose to the caucus event. It’s the time when any participant can talk about shaping the party’s platform moving forward. All told, the event at each site should last roughly three hours.