Right! I won’t be able to vote in a primary! Big deal.
I’m a conservative, and I live in ILLINOIS!!! I can’t remember the last time any of my primary choices made it into the general election. Bottom line: I’m way too conservative for this state, so not being able to vote in a primary is...well, pretty close to meaningless.
I mean, have you any idea what the Illinois GOP is like? The most conservative Republican politician in Illinois is more liberal than Indiana’s former senator Evan Bayh, who was a Democrat.
Sure, the local party is hardly worth a bucket of warm spit; how about the presidential primary? You shut yourself out of that one too.
Also consider going somewhere like Kentucky, Missouri, or Tennessee....
Also, that name tag still matters in legislative bodies. Which party controls the committees and which party gates bills to the floor matters.