The halls of the historic Simpson County courthouse hummed with excitement. For the first time before the Primary election, registered Republicans cast their vote for the GOP presidential candidate.
In years past voters headed to the polls for the Primary election in May, but by then a candidate was already selected. This year, there was a change of plans and a bigger voice in a national battle for the White House.
"We count, we matter, and we get visits from presidential candidates for the first time in a long time," Simpson County Caucus Chair Robert Taylor.
College student McGavinn Brown knows how important this day is for Kentucky.
"I think it's good for the party, to organize early," he said. "We have a chance to perhaps alter the course of the race, 46 delegates. So because of that I think it's important for a high turnout and people to come out and express their opinions."
The voters showed up Saturday.
"We typically have 200 to 300 people in our county will vote in the primary. We've already voted that much in two hours this morning," Taylor said.
However, with every first comes a few challenges. Officials had to turn away a few dozen voters.
"We have a lot of Democrats who are coming, wanting to vote today in the Republican primary, but the way the laws are set up in Kentucky they're not allowed to vote in our primary," Taylor explained.
Kentucky has a closed primary system, meaning only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican caucus.
The GOP presidential race has garnered a lot of attention and energy, both good and bad according to voters, making it all the more important to exercise the right to vote.
"They're interested, and they see an opportunity to influence the outcome," said Taylor.
