Would-be Delegates Chosen for Democratic National Convention

Democrats gathered across California this past weekend to choose delegates for the national convention in Philadelphia in July.

In California, Democrats pick their convention delegates through a series of caucuses. Registered Democrats could choose to attend either a Bernie Sanders or a Hillary Clinton caucus within their congressional district. At the event, voters picked several delegates who could potentially attend the national convention.

In Sacramento on Sunday, the Clinton caucus drew more than 50 delegate hopefuls and more than 500 registered Democrats. Heather Olson came to a community center to choose delegates because she supports Clinton and thinks it’s important to participate in democracy.

“I’m not that involved. This is kind of new to me,” she said. “It’s the first time I’ve voted for actual delegates, and it’s actually kind of fun.”

Tracie Cone said she decided to run to be a delegate because she wanted to be a part of history.

“I wanted to be able to go to Philadelphia and vote for the woman who’s going to become the first female president of the United States,” she said. “And that makes me proud.”

Cone says she was surprised by how much campaigning was involved. Steve Soto agreed.

“We went through standard means such as word of mouth, face to face, as well as social meeting,” he said. “And even went the traditional way, walking through our own neighborhood dropping pieces of mail, so to speak.”

The caucus, just 2 miles from the state Capitol, drew a mix of political insiders and everyday citizens. When it was over, three men and three women were chosen as Clinton delegates. But they shouldn’t pack their bags just yet. The state’s final Democratic delegation is proportional, based on the popular vote in the June 7 primary. So, for instance, if Clinton wins 60 percent of a congressional district, she gets 60 percent of the district's chosen delegates.

At a Bernie Sanders caucus in Oakland, more than 600 people showed up to ILWU Warehouse Union Local 6 headquarters to support presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and vote for the delegates who will represent him at the national convention July 25-28.

Voters wearing Bernie hats, pins and shirts lined up outside in Sunday's 82-degree heat to cast their ballots. Inside, delegate hopefuls tried to win votes with arguments, printed fliers  and brownies. Most had never participated in a caucus event before.

“I’ve never wanted to be this involved in the internal politicking before,” said delegate applicant Lisa Kermish.

“This is for the first time in my life and I’ll say it right here before God and everybody. I’m 61 years old. It’s the first time I’ve been this excited about a candidate and thought, ‘I want to go to Philadelphia to the convention to help to move his platform forward,' ” she said.

But 79-year-old voter Pat Sax said that reasoning didn’t resonate with her: “Putting our energy into somebody who’s going to do something on the platform is the equivalent of sending a letter to Santa Claus,”

Sax said she’d vote for delegates who promised to sustain the movement even if Sanders doesn’t end up being the Democratic presidential nominee.

Over 100 people applied to be Sanders delegates in the 13^th Congressional District, but only nine were selected. The number who will actually make it to the convention is determined by how many votes Sanders received in California’s June primary.

At the caucus, one by one, the delegate hopefuls took to the stage. They each got 30 seconds to convince voters to send them to Philadelphia. Some used humor, while others promised voters they’d be able to argue Hilary Clinton supporters over to Sanders' side.

James Kelly opted to sing his pitch to the crowd. “I want to vote against racism, I want to vote against rape, I want to vote against people going hungry and I want to vote against crimes of hate. I want to vote against big corporations, I want to vote against Trump and the KKK, 'cause I vote when they tell me, I vote every year, and I’m tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. So I want to make it clear I will vote for one big union. I will vote for peace.”

Many of the speakers promised voters, “I’m Bernie or Bust!”, prompting cheers from the crowd. All the delegate hopefuls pledged their support for a candidate whose slim chance of winning the June primary doesn’t seem to have diminished their enthusiasm in the slightest.