To answer an excellent question that was raised today, the terms “precinct captains,” “precinct persons/people,” “precinct committeeman or woman,” “precinct committee members,” “Central Committee members,” “precinct committee members” — all of these are interchangeable, and all refer to the same position in the county party.
It is quite simple, really, even though the interchangeable terminology can make it sound confusing. The Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee is made up of all of the precinct committeemen and women (or substitute some of the other commonly used terms) in the county.
The full Central Committee (sometimes referred to by the acronym YCRCC) is the committee that is voting Tuesday night to fill vacant positions on the Central Committee — i.e. current precinct committeemen and women will be electing additional precinct committemen and women.
The state Republican Party has been moving toward the term “precinct captain” for these positions, which is great, since it emphasizes that precinct people are to be leaders in their precincts — working together with other Republicans in their precincts to get Republicans registered to vote, campaigning, and getting out the vote. So increasingly, I will be using the term “precinct captain” to refer to members of the Central Committee.
I also want to emphasize that when in doubt, anyone can always come attend a meeting as a guest, even if you aren’t a voting member of that body. I am unaware of any Republican Party meeting that is closed to any Republican. We welcome and indeed encourage guests to listen in and observe at Executive Board meetings like the one we are having Monday night, at full Central Committee meetings like the one we are having Tuesday night, at weekly Friday Pachyderm meetings, at the upcoming Presidential Caucus, etc.
