CAMPAIGN ’88 : Hawaii GOP Caucuses Rescheduled for Feb. 4

Hawaii Republicans have rescheduled their postponed precinct caucuses and presidential straw poll for Feb. 4, but one precinct leader says she will go ahead with the meeting originally scheduled for tonight.

State chairman Howard Chong said the party’s executive committee met Monday night and was able to resolve questions that led to its decision last week to postpone the caucuses. The questions centered around possible challenges to a flood of new registered Republicans, most of them supporters of former television evangelist Pat Robertson, in recent weeks.

Any precinct elections held tonight will not be recognized, Chong said.

Cynthia Thielen, an Oahu precinct chairman, said her precinct will meet tonight. “We are going ahead with the precinct meeting to show that you don’t tamper with elections,” she said.

Thielen and other low-level party officials questioned whether the executive committee had the authority to postpone the caucuses. However, Chong said the party’s rules chairman determined that state party rules allow for such action.

When the caucuses were postponed, Robertson supporters blamed the campaign of Vice President George Bush. The vice president’s supporters in turn blamed the campaign of Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, who pointed a finger back at Bush.