As the Washington state caucus draws nearer, candidates and nominee hopefuls are making a last-minute stand in Seattle to make an impression on voters.

New York Sen. Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pier 30 last night will be followed by Barack Obama’s rally at Key Arena today at 11 a.m. and John McCain’s speech at the Westin at 6 p.m. The presidential hopefuls are gearing up for tomorrow’s caucus, at which point Washington’s choice for Democratic candidate is made, and half of the delegates for the Republican National Convention are chosen.

The caucus, open to all registered voters in their respective precincts, begins tomorrow at 1 p.m. Each precinct has a location where residents can participate, by selecting delegates to attend their respective parties’ conventions.

“The caucus is … important for Democrats,” said Max Wagner, president of the Young Democrats (YD) on campus. “Our club is doing a lot of stuff to get people to attend. We’re going as a group on Saturday, and we’re really encouraging our members to attend.”

The YD have been preparing for the complex process that caucusing entails.

“There’s usually three or four votes [during the session],” he said. “It can take awhile. We had a practice caucus a couple of weeks ago, so everyone in the Young Democrats has had that practice.”

Of the front-running Democratic candidates, the YD support Washington favorite Barack Obama.

“I think a lot of the younger people in the club were moved by Obama’s message of hope and change,” he said. “We think that a lot of the positions between Hillary and Obama are similar, but Obama tended to be more progressive than Hillary. A lot of it was his personality.”

Of the three remaining Republican candidates, Ron Paul seems to be the poll favorite to win the caucus and primary.

“He’s a supporter of constitutionally limited government, and that’s what I’m for 100 percent as a Libertarian,” said Morgan Catha, president of the Libertarians at the University of Washington.

Catha intends to show his support by voting in the Republican caucus, and he encourages anyone who’s interested in making a difference in the nomination to participate.

“They’re much more important than voting in the primaries, so if you want to say you made a difference, you better get out to your caucus,” he said.

[Reach reporter Jeff Tripoli at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]