OLYMPIA -- State lawmakers may cancel Washington's 2008 presidential primary, an election that some say is expensive and meaningless since the state's parties rely heavily on caucuses in deciding whom to support as presidential nominees.

The state's presidential primary was created in 1989 through an initiative to the Legislature. State Democrats have ignored it; state Republicans have used its results in varying degrees in allocating delegates who support a particular candidate.

Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia and main sponsor of the bill to cancel the primary in 2008, said he's not opposed to the idea of the primary, but doesn't see its merits in its current form -- especially since there is a $9.7 million price tag attached to it.

"Do we want a primary that is in effect a beauty contest, or do we want a primary that has impact?" he asked.

Several people spoke against the measure at a public hearing Thursday before the House Appropriations Committee.

"Should we spend money in our budget to let the people participate in who's going to be nominated president of the United States? I would hope that you, as good Americans, say yes, definitely we should," Secretary of State Sam Reed said.

In the 2000 presidential primary, more than 1.3 million voters participated in the election, compared with the approximately 60,000 who participate in Republican and Democratic caucuses.

"Why would we want to go back to something as archaic as caucuses that have paltry turnout and can be manipulated?" Reed asked, referring to what led to the initiative push. Backers of Christian conservative candidate Pat Robertson stacked the GOP caucuses in 1988.

But since the state's first presidential primary in 1992, only the Republicans have used its results, at varying levels.

Hunt said the concern with the parties is that since Washington is a no-registration state, there's no way to prove that only Democrats or only Republicans are voting in their primaries. A measure that passed the House this year and is awaiting action in the Senate would do away with the unaffiliated presidential primary ballot, so that only voters who declared their party preferences could participate.

Democratic Chairman Dwight Pelz said the presidential primary is a "single-question public opinion poll financed by taxpayers."

"Washington has always been a caucus state," he said. "We think it's a more grass-roots way to involve people in this choice."

State GOP Chairman Luke Esser said that lawmakers should wait until both parties decide how to allocate their delegates -- the Democrats in April and the Republicans in June -- before making a decision.

"There's no need to be in a hurry to eliminate the vote of the people," he said.

Washington's primary is in May, one of the latest in the country, and after the major party candidates have typically been decided. Reed will meet with Democratic and Republican leaders next week to discuss moving the date to Feb. 5.