Why Does Oregon Even Bother To Have Primary Elections?

I agree with Burton here: Why does Oregon even bother having primary elections? By the time the election happens in May, most of the candidates will have dropped out of the race, making Oregon’s influence on the Presidential election pretty much nil.

Is there any reason for this, other than tradition? Am I missing something obvious? I’d like to think our votes actually mean something (not like they do in a Presidential election anyway — damn that Electoral College).