DESIGNATING DEMOCRATIC DELEGATES FOR DENVER IN HAMILTON COUNTY
February 9th, 2008, 2:54 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Lehr
It didn’t matter which side would ultimately win. Both supporters of Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama had the same vision floating over their heads: a chance to become part of what may be one of the most exciting & consequential presidential conventions in the past half-century.
Everyone who turned up at the Iron Workers’ Union Hall on Belle Arbor Avenue in Chattanooga Saturday afternoon still has more hurdles before their dream trip to Denver in August is assured. Later this month, each of Saturday’s nominated delegates heads to Anderson County — Clinton, Tennessee, auspiciously enough — for the Congressional-District-wide delegate convention. That is where four Hamilton Countians — 2 men & 2 women, a supporter of both candidates from each gender — will have a shot at a trip to the Mile-High City. Hamilton County has not sent a Democratic delegate to the national convention in several elections. All who came to caucus hope to change that.
[For the record, Republicans choose their delegates a different way: voters select them on the ballot on Primary Day].
After the jump, Vote08 hears from some caucus-goers on each side & delineates demographic differences among these delegate-designees.
Hillary Clinton had 27 delegate candidates show up, while Barack Obama had 40. Early on, the room split up into two groups [see pictures above], & both sides maintained a careful yet respectful separation.
Hamilton County was kind to Barack Obama compared to the rest of the state. The county handed him an 8% margin of victory on Super Tuesday. But the margin of difference in each candidate’s delegates — his 60 to her 50 – makes it proportionately favorable to Clinton.
While each side displayed a similar enthusiasm, the demographic differences of each group was interesting. The Obama crowd had close to twice as many people as Clinton supporters; roughly two-thirds of Clinton supporters were female, while the genders split more 50-50 for Obama, which reflects national polls. 30% of Obama supporters attending were black, while Hillary had just one African-American supporter, another ratio that matches the nationwide numbers.
In general terms, it appeared that the majority of Hillary supporters had worked on a campaign in the past, while by contrast the majority of Obama fans appeared to be first-timers for a campaign.
The Clinton camp’s lone African-American, Armelia Williams, says she prefers Clinton because she’s run the more substantive campaign and ”sticks to the issues.” She says she doesn’t feel Obama has spelled out his policy positions adequately. But she says she will enthusiastically support Obama if he’s the eventual nominee. Williams says health care is the most important issue for her this election year.
Paulina Wampler of Hixson came with her husband to caucus for Obama. Wampler says she was an enthusiastic supporter of John Edwards before he dropped out, & saw him when he appeared in Chattanooga recently. She says she supports Obama because she thinks Hillary Clinton would have a tough time against the Republican nominee in the general election. She says universal health care is her top issue this year. Like Williams, she says she’ll vote for Clinton if her candidate doesn’t make it.
Mary Anglin, an attorney for Legal Aid, has been working on Presidential campaigns since Delaware Senator Joe Biden’s failed presidential bid in 1988. She believes Clinton is the most qualified to be president, & is quick to point out it’s those qualifications, & not the fact that she’s a woman, that makes Clinton her choice. Nevertheless, Anglin says she’s excited about breaking this ultimate glass ceiling in the fall.
Stephanie Teal singled herself out at the caucus by being the only person there to bring her children. She says her 6 & 8 year old daughters are big Obama fans (”they even watched the debate!”), and that became evident when the younger repeatedly waved an Obama sign to any camera pointed her way. Teal believes Obama is a much better candidate to unite the country & win over independents & Republicans. She says Iraq is one of the biggest issues for her this year, & says young people are turning out support for Obama because many of their friends are serving overseas in Iraq.
Hamilton County Democratic party chairman John Bales says today’s the first day he can finally go on the record as a Hillary supporter, though he - like everyone else there - said they would support either candidate if they become the nominee. At the beginning of the caucus, Bales rallied the entire crowd by touting the record-breaking voter numbers Democrats in Tennessee produced on Super Tuesday. Bales told Vote08 that though it would be a tight contest in Tennessee in the general, that Hillary Clinton would benefit by turnout that favors Democrats. To that the Obama crowd responded with a resounding chanting of “Yes We Can!”
After making sure their names were on the list for Clinton, Tennessee, each delegate candidate departed, dreams of the Denver Democratic convention still evident in their eyes.
