Iowa, the Sequel: Dems Court Former Edwards Backers in Stage 2 of State Contest
DES MOINES, Iowa — Supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are once again ardently courting Iowa Democratic activists as they vie for the support of delegates pledged to departed rival John Edwards.
Edwards finished second in the state’s leadoff precinct caucuses on Jan. 3, but those caucuses are only the first step in a complicated process of picking the state’s 45 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August.
The next step in that process are the conventions held Saturday in each of the state’s 99 counties, where 13,000 activists gathered to elect delegates to congressional district and state conventions.
The epic presidential race between Clinton and Obama has been reshaped since Iowa’s caucuses, but is no less intense with every delegate carrying weight.
“Every single one counts and that’s why we’ve been here organizing,” said Teresa Vilmain, a field organizer for Clinton.
“We’ve filled all of our slots,” said Gordon Fischer, a former Iowa Democratic chairman who is organizing for Obama.
Obama won the state’s precinct caucuses with 39 percent of the vote, with Edwards narrowly edging Clinton to finish second. State Democratic Party officials projected those results would yield Obama 16 delegates, Clinton 15 and Edwards 14. Though Edwards finished second, Clinton got the extra delegate because of her strong showing in congressional districts with additional weighting.
Those 14 potential Edwards delegates are now in play since he’s dropped from the race. An Associated Press delegate tally showed Obama with 1,603 delegates and Clinton with 1,497, so both camps are competing for every delegate available.
Rob Tully, a Des Moines lawyer and prominent Edwards backer, sent an e-mail to supporters urging them to remain neutral, but there appeared to be movement.
“Barack Obama stands for a lot of the same things that John Edwards stood for,” said Ro Foege, a state legislator from Mount Vernon who switched to the Obama camp.
The county conventions are traditionally sleepy gatherings where party leaders have trouble gathering a quorum to conduct business, largely because the party usually has a nominee by this point. With the race still up for grabs, activists jammed school gymnasiums, auditoriums and meeting halls across the state.
Former Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Clinton backer, spoke to more than 1,200 delegates jammed into a suburban high school gym.
“The reality is we are united on one thing today, we are Democrats, we are proud Democrats and we are going to elect a Democratic president,” said Vilsack, who dropped his own bid for the nomination even before the voting began. “Let us pledge that we will unite behind our nominee — be it he or she.”
Party officials expected results from virtually all the counties by late afternoon. A handful of tiny rural counties were holding their conventions in the evening.
In addition to the 45 pledged delegates, the state has 12 automatic delegates who are elected officials or party leaders. Four of those have endorsed Obama, three Clinton and the rest are uncommitted.
I have just today sent a letter to my state senator (Claire McCaskill) urging her to change her mind and vote for Hillary Clinton. It contained a petition of over 300 registered voters who agree with this decision. My state was all light blue especially the rural areas. The large heavily populated areas of St. Louis & Kansas City were the Obama strongholds. I am getting far off point. I urge others to do the same in their states if they truly care about America and our way of life. I know how bad things are with the economy, the present administration, our dependence on foreign oil….I DON’T have to list them you & I live them every day. It’s hard to find the right words due to the seriousness of this election. As you can tell I am no orator, I just feel we must save our Democratic partyand I cannot support a amn that lived and went to church for 20+ years with a pastor who spews such hateful and vile remarks and it did not have an effect on him! You can fool some of the people with your lame excuses but not ALL of the people (or I at least hope not!) That it in a nutshell Hillary might have a few skeletons in her closet…but I KNOW where I stand with her and to those of you who will vote for Mr. Bush LITE(McCain) instead of Mrs Clinton I say please reconsider…….
I would hope John Edwards would come out and give these delegates to Hillary especially after the Rev Wright video.
I am not surprised. Many people are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel by supporting Barack Obama now. I was a former Edwards supporter myself but when he dropped out of the race the choice was obvious. Choose more of the same ol same ol or choose HOPE and a chance for Change! Barack Obama is the only hope we have for change in America and thats why I am voting for him! Hillary is old news and is getting old. She doesn’t understand what we really need TODAY! She is still living in the 1990’s. I encourage everyone to be positive and vote for positive changes like Barack Obama! We can do it! WE are the ones we have been waiting for! We can change America. YES WE CAN!
What’s up. Is this Box closed.