Recently, a letter writer lamented the poor turnout at a Feb. 25 Republican candidates forum at the Technical College of the Lowcountry. Only 11 potential voters showed up.

I would have gone, but I didn't know about it. The March 2 newspaper carried a story about a Hilton Head Island Republican Club function on March 1. I would have gone, but I didn't know about it.

The Republican Party cannot allow the primary winner for the 1st Congressional District to be selected based on who is listed on the ballot first, who sends out the most postcards, who posts the most campaign signs on any given 1,000-foot stretch of highway, or who makes the most "robo-calls" at dinnertime.

Instead, the Republican Party must arrange forums to allow voters to meet all the candidates.

I challenge the Republican Party on Hilton Head Island to hold three functions between now and March 19, featuring five or six candidates at each. Maximum publicity must be given to each function, so as to attract 800 to 1,000 voters at each gathering. This would be less than 3 percent of the island's population. Can the Republican Party do it?

Ray Collins

Hilton Head Island