Each of Washington's 39 counties has a local Democratic Party organization that determined the event at which delegate selection would take place.
Mr. Devine, 32 years old, is the director of delegate selection for the Dukakis campaign.
They did this simply to make enough time available for the levels of delegate selection before the state convention.
Neither caucus awards any delegates, but are to be used as a guide for delegate selection in June's party conventions.
The Republican Party does not mandate a proportional representation system for delegate selection, but instead allows each state to determine its selection process.
On January 3, 2008, actual delegate selections began.
Only votes of party members count for delegate selection.
The Republicans are also holding a straw poll, but the outcome will have no binding effect on delegate selection.
No statewide polls have been conducted on the race, but Mr. Gore is expected to dominate the delegate selection.
I don't think she should have necessarily understood the problems of delegate selection before she explored a candidacy.