With Primary fever running through the United States, Puerto Rico has indicated that it will not miss out on the fun. Secretary of State, Kenneth McClintock, announced that Puerto Rico will hold its Republican Primary on March 18th, 2012. On that same day, local parties will hold their own primaries for the upcoming 2012 Election.

If the 2008 Democratic Primaries are to be used as a model, party affiliation will not be necessary since most Boricuas are not affiliated with either national party. So long as the elector has a valid electoral card (yes, we have voter ID), he/she will be able to vote on the Republican Primary. Now, for those voting in the local party primaries, voter affiliation will be necessary.

As of the 11th of January, the Romney campaign and the Fred Karger campaign have confirmed to the Secretary of State that they will run in said Primaries. Twenty Eight days before the election, a list of confirmed candidates will be announced to the public.

However, since our primary will fall after Super Tuesday, how relevant Puerto Rico will be in this contest is yet to be determined. An undecided primary following Super Tuesday can place Puerto Rico in an important position, if only for a brief time. During the 2008 Democratic Primaries, Puerto Rico received visits from both candidates, Clinton and Obama.

Whether or not GOP Candidates come to Puerto Rico in hopes of shoring up their Latino support, regardless of the relevancy of our primary, particularly with the strong Puerto Rican constituencies in Florida,  remains to be seen.

Here’s to a long and protracted primary season, if only so that Puerto Rico can receive some attention from the national media.