Nebraska Democrats Overflow Caucus Sites
OMAHA, Neb. — Thousands of people statewide overflowed school gyms, sat in traffic and stood in groups on Saturday to be counted as part of Nebraska’s first Democratic presidential caucus.
Sen. Barack Obama was in tight race with Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, with 24 delegates at stake in Nebraska.
In Douglas County, the state’s most populous county, an average of 1,000 people turned out at each of 15 caucus sites, said Eric Fought, spokesman for the state party.
Sarpy County had only one caucus site for 28,000 registered Democrats, triggering traffic backups for miles, complaints from voters and changes in the way officials conducted the caucus.
“To only have one polling place for the third largest county in our (state) was certainly a mistake,” said Joe Pilakowski, a 31-year-old high school teacher from Papillion. “It’s kind of a mess.”
Steve Dawes, a volunteer from Bellevue, said most people were upbeat about the long lines.
“There have been complaints, but people do want their voices to be heard so they’re trying to be patient,” Dawes said.
Destini Howard, 38 of Bellevue, came to vote for Obama and said the wait was worth it to be part of electing the first black president.
“I’m willing to stand here as long as it takes,” Howard said.
Law enforcement shut down Highway 370 and the intersection leading into the caucus site — a public high school — because the area was packed with cars.
The influx of people was so massive that volunteers began collecting preference cards for people who preferred Obama or Clinton, then telling them they could leave. Traditional caucus procedures allow for more interaction, with supporters standing on either side of a room trying to convince the undecided and not-so-sure supporters of other candidates to join them.
“People are threatening to leave and we didn’t want anyone to leave without being counted,” said Marea Bishop, 43, of Bellevue, a volunteer at the caucus. “The turnout is so far above all our wildest dreams.”
“Desperation,” Sarpy County Democratic Party Chairman Burke Summers said when asked why officials changed procedures at the last minute. School officials wanted the school cleared of caucus-goers by mid-afternoon to make way for a pair of youth basketball games.
Fought, the state party spokesman, said it was up to each county’s party leaders to adjust plans in the best way possible without drastically deviating from the procedures.
An early count showed that 6,000 people showed up at the high school to caucus, including 2,000 people who registered as Democrats on Saturday, Summers said.
“There’s a hell of a lot fewer Republicans in Sarpy County than there were yesterday,” Summers said.
The turnout was so high that officials in Douglas and Sarpy counties announced that they would delay the announcement of their results at least one-and-a-half hours.
“We had no ability to imagine anything,” Fought said. “That was part of the challenge here because we’ve never done this before.”
A total of 161 delegates were at stake Thursday in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington and the Virgin Islands.
Clinton began the day with a slender delegate lead in The Associated Press count. She had 1,045 delegates to 960 for Obama. A total of 2,025 is required to win the nomination at the party convention in Denver.
“It is time for a change and we need to voice our opinions,” said Christian Thiede, 34, of Bellevue, who brought three children ages 2, 4 and 8 to the Sarpy County caucus because plans with a baby sitter fell through.
“We’ll wait it out as long as these guys are patient,” he said, referring to his kids.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson told Democrats at one Omaha site that has never been so excited on an election day — even his own.
Suzanne Nolte, 39, of Bellevue was a Republican, but changed parties Saturday to vote for Obama, saying she’s sick of the same old politics and wants something new — including a process that lets her have a say in the national race.
“How can you pass this up?” Nolte said. “This is great.”
The Florida voters came out and voted, everyone was on the ballot and no one campaigned there, However some of Obama’s ads were purposely put in markets that are carried or bled over into Florida. The voters of Florida came out and voted in record numbers and made thier decision based on the debates and what they see in the media and can learn on their own at each candidates web site. If the Florida election had went for Obama, John Dean, the DNC and the media would not be talking about another vote. The people have voted. They did not change the date. The politicians did. Why were they told their vote would not count. Punish the people who changed the date not the legitimate votes of that state or any state. Another case of the people paying the price because the politicians made stupid decision. By the way, do we the taxpayers have to pay for another election so Obama can have another chance. How far backwards do we have to bend to keep from being called “racists”. Treat him just like everyone else or you are being racist. Favorable treatment is just bigotry and smacks of Affirmative Action.
This is a very weird development in Omaha!!!! The turnout for the Obama rally on Thursday was writing on the “wall.” For a city like Omaha, with such a HUGE military presence….to turn out, and have such motivated voters is a bit odd. Omaha is a city that is fairly conservative….but seems to be changing for the better. Our city suffered a tremendous loss on December 5th with the shooting at Von Maur!!!! The people rallied around each other…….loved one another……cared for one another. And since that day…..our city has seemed to have “changed its tune.” For the first time……I believe that the people of Omaha finally get it!!! We do want change……we do long for hope……and we do want to make America a better place!!! And for these reasons……people came out today in support of Senator Obama!!!!
While I personally believe that Senator Clinton is a fine person, and would make a fine president……I believe that Senator Obama is a better fit not only for Omaha….but for America as a Whole right now.
Honest politicians are hard to come by in this day and age. Senator Obama is the man to bring about this change! As the ONLY candidate left in this election that opposed the “war” in iraq…..only Senator Obama can be trusted to lead our nation in the future!!!! As a vetran of the first gulf war…….I speak my mind with a bit of knowledge regarding this subject!!! The American people were led into a “war” of desire in Iraq……and nearly 4000 kids have paid the price for a policy set forth by a “president” that was/is not fit to lead!!! Finally…….people across all political spectrums are beginning to see this……..and the proof is in todays voting in the beautiful city of Omaha…….in the wonderful state of Nebraska!!!!
In the past…….Nebraska has always voted for the republican candidate…….in this election year…….don’t count on those votes….if you’re a republican!!!! Finally…….the BLIND DO SEE!!!!!
I think it’s sad that the GOP choice is almost as bad as the Dem.
God help us please!
YES WE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Say goodbye to the days of old dirty politics and say hello to a better America.
Do not think that if Obama gets the nomination the Republicans won’t play on the whole “muslim” thing….I think it is stupid, but there are a WHOLE LOTTA stupid people out there that would believe this and vote against him in November. I really do not think he would beat McCain…no matter how good a speaker he is.
Could somebody tell me who the guy was that actually did get sworn in with the Koran? And what office does he hold? Please dont respond to this unless you have the CORRECT INFORMATION!! As for the race, I think alot of people are so tired of the Bush regime that they want to return things to how they were before he took office. Don’t get me wrong, those were slightly better times, but not good enough to go back. The main thing that makes people nostalgic about the Clinton era? One word. FEAR. They feel as if Hillary is the safe choice. We already know what we’re gonna get. It’ll be better than Bush and that’s good enough for many of the timid and cowardly-hearted. What they fear is the unknown. They fear taking a quantum leap foward into a brave new world. This is a historic time for us as a nation. We all have an opportunity to seize this moment and come together as a united people, dedicated to a common cause, learning from the mistakes of past administrations(Clinton, Bush), ready to forge ahead into a greater future than we thought possible just a short time ago. Obama is the only one who can bring us all together, especially in these tumultuious times. In addition, imagine the trickle-down effect an Obama presidency would have on the rest of the globe! We may never get an opportunity like this again, people. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. I’m not referring to an uneducated, falsely optimistic type of leap, but the type that is neccessary when one observes what this man has been able to do in such a short time. Look at the crowds at his rallies. It’s a total cross section of America! Young/old, man/woman, rich/poor, straight/gay, black/white/jew/hispanic/asian/arab/hindu - all galvanized behind a mutual belief that we all matter and can all make a difference! Lastly, in response to the paranoid, uninformed, cowardly and yes, RACIST individuals who keep posting comments about Obama’s so-called ties to Islam and would-be cooperation with terrorists, all I have to say is do your homework. Obama’s story is as classicly American as any you can find - the story of one taking advantage of the opportunities this great land has to offer - overcoming adversity, embracing all walks of life while alienating none, striving to be the best while evoking in his countrymen the desire to do the same. I don’t know, maybe I’m just a young dreamer, but I’ve never been this interested or emotionally involved in politics before, and many Americans of my generation can attest to the same. If we are truly the future of this great nation, this is our defining moment. I’m going to cut it short now because I’m at work and my boss is looking at me crazy, but GOOOOOBAAAAMAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!
Nebraska has always been over-looked and ignored in every presidential race; it’s refreshing to see my state get some attention, even though I’m Republican and won’t vote for either Obama or Hillary. Though if a Democrat does win the White House, I must admit that Obama is more tolerable to listen to than Hillary. He appears to care more about the American people, while Hillary cares more about her political career and proving some kind of point about her “woman-hood”. I don’t believe the stupid emails about Obama being a Muslim (I’ve done my research), and I think it’s wonderfully kind of him to reach out to Nebraskans.
Man oh man, some interesting comments by people who obviously have no education and are unwilling to read or hear. If he wins I’m voting for blah blah, if she wins I’m voting for blah, blah. Such intelligence, such a waste. Knee jerk response…neaderthal mentality. But heh it’s OK, we all got what we deserved as a nation for the last 7 years…fear, smoke and mirrors, deceit, lies, special interests. No candidate is perfect….but it certainly is time for change. The least experienced presidents have been…Washington, Lincoln, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Truman. The most experienced have been LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Bush, Mckinnley.
I was able to attend the Caucus in Omaha today, and I think the next time something like this takes place there needs to be a larger place for the amount of people that showed up. I had to take my 2 kids with me (the sitter was sick) and my youngest (who is 3) kept asking why every one was shouting and was getting very upset and wanting to put them all on the naughty mat! My oldest (11yrs) was excited about it all too, and I was very happy that she was able to go along with me to see a part of history being made. I felt some parts were unfair with people taking over the microphone with out being authorized, and how the speech for Obama went over the allowed time and everyone was quiet for him to speak but when it was time for the speech for Clinton it got very loud and I could only hear part of the speech and I was sitting right next to the speaker. I guess there are a lot of people out there that need to go back to kindergarten and learn how to act during an assembly. I understand that emotions were high, but people need to act their age!