BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Democrats on Thursday selected Joe Biden as their their nominee for the White House, giving the president more delegates after he already clinched his party’s 2024 nomination.
Biden won the state Democratic caucus with 95% of the vote in a low-turnout election with just over 2,400 votes cast. The win gives the president all 23 delegates at stake.
The caucus was structured a bit differently than previous Democratic caucuses. Instead of listening to speeches and moving to various parts of the room to show their support for a candidate, voters were given ballots to fill out their choices.
Only registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters were allowed to participate. Unaffiliated voters first had to sign a pledge saying they are participating as Democrats and have not participated in any other presidential nomination contest this year. Voters who are 17 years old are allowed to caucus as long as they will turn 18 before the general election on Nov. 5.
That is different from Idaho’s Republican caucus, held earlier this year. The Republican caucus allowed only registered Republicans to vote, and they had to be at least 18 at the time of the caucus. Former President Donald Trump won all of Idaho’s 32 GOP delegates at the March 2 event.
Biden will face a steep hill to climb for Idaho’s general election. The Republican presidential candidate has won the deep-red state in every election since 1968.
Democrats in Idaho utilized caucuses for years but switched the presidential contest to a primary for 2020. Biden won with about 49% of the vote, compared with roughly 42% that went to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Both the Republican and the Democratic parties had to caucus this year, however, after state lawmakers inadvertently scrapped the state’s primaries during the 2023 legislative session. The error happened when lawmakers were trying to change the date of the state’s primary from March to May, but the new date wasn’t included in the bill.
By next year, Idaho’s closed presidential contests could become a thing of the past. A voter initiative that would open the state primaries and switch the state to a ranked-choice voting system is expected to be on the general election ballot this fall.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
FILE - The Idaho state flag hangs in the State Capitol in Boise, Idaho, Jan. 9, 2023. Voters in Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Georgia and will hold state primaries on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, to choose nominees for U.S. House and other contests. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, File)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his war Cabinet Monday, a move that consolidates his influence over the Israel-Hamas war and likely diminishes the odds of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip anytime soon.
Netanyahu announced the step days after his chief political rival, Benny Gantz, withdrew from the three-member war Cabinet. Gantz, a retired general and member of parliament, was widely seen as a more moderate voice.
Major war policies will now be solely approved by Netanyahu's security Cabinet — a larger body that is dominated by hard-liners who oppose the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal and want to press ahead with the war.
Netanyahu is expected to consult on some decisions with close allies in ad-hoc meetings, said an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
These closed-door meetings could blunt some of the influence of the hard-liners. But Netanyahu himself has shown little enthusiasm for the cease-fire plan and his reliance on the full security Cabinet could give him cover to prolong a decision.
Here’s key background about the war Cabinet, and what disbanding it means for cease-fire prospects:
The war Cabinet was formed after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel when Gantz, an opposition party leader, joined with Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a show of unity.
At the time, Gantz demanded that a small decision-making body steer the war in a bid to sideline far-right members of Netanyahu’s government.
But Gantz left the Cabinet earlier this month after months of mounting tensions over Israel’s strategy in Gaza.
He said he was fed up with a lack of progress bringing home the dozens of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. He accused Netanyahu of drawing out the war to avoid new elections and a corruption trial. He called on Netanyahu to endorse a plan that — among other points — would rescue the captives and end Hamas rule in Gaza.
When Netanyahu did not express support for the plan, Gantz announced his departure. He said that “fateful strategic decisions” in the Cabinet were being “met with hesitancy and procrastination due to political considerations.”
The disbanding of the war Cabinet only further distances Netanyahu from centrist politicians more open to a cease-fire deal with Hamas.
Months of cease-fire talks have failed to find common ground between Hamas and Israeli leaders. Both Israel and Hamas have been reluctant to fully endorse a U.S.-backed plan that would return hostages, clear the way for an end to the war, and commence a rebuilding effort of the decimated territory.
Netanyahu will now rely on the members of his security Cabinet, some of whom oppose cease-fire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza.
After Gantz's departure, Israel's ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, demanded inclusion in a renewed war Cabinet. Monday's move could help keep Ben-Gvir at a distance, but it cannot sideline him altogether.
The move also gives Netanyahu leeway to draw out the war to stay in power. Netanyahu's critics accuse him of delaying because an end to the war would mean an investigation into the government's failures on Oct. 7 and raise the likelihood of new elections when the prime minister's popularity is low.
“It means that he will make all the decisions himself, or with people that he trusts who don’t challenge him,” said Gideon Rahat, chairman of the political science department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “And his interest is in having a slow-attrition war.”
FILE - From left, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz speak during a news conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023. Israeli officials said Monday, June 17, 2024, that Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)
People take part in a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, demanding new elections and the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, outside of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
